In early February, the Minister for Immigration asked the Parliament’s Standing Committee to launch a fairly urgentinquiry into skilled migration visas,with the final submission deadline at the end of March. The keywords for this inquiry should bethe post-pandemic periodandskilled migration.
About a month has passed now, andPPublic Hearings have already been held five times,the most recent of which was on 3 March,as for submissions, the Committee has received, as of today, a total ofclose to 80, of which 13 are from individuals, with most coming from organisations — official bodies, relevant industry associations, practitioners and so on. Many are names we know well, so let’s pick out a few and take a look together!
Department of Home Affairs
This is one submission we simply have to look at
Permanent Skilled Migration Programme
2.1.3 The skilled stream of the 2020-21 Migration Programme focuses on helping Australia prepare for the future and recover from the pandemic,so priority is given to the following three categories, particularly those in health care and other shortage skills.These three priority categories are:
the Business Innovation and Investment stream(13,500 PR places)
the Global Talent Independent (GTI) programme(15,000 PR places)
the Employer Sponsored stream(22,000 PR places)
The submission says that given ongoing uncertainty from the global pandemic, it’s difficult to predict trends for the next few years. However, they’ve heard feedback that Australia’s effective handling of the pandemic can be used to attract prospective migrants, and they believe this givesAustralia’s skilled migration programme an opportunity to actively attract entrepreneurs and start-ups, along with exceptionally talented individuals and highly productive businesses.
Planning is under way for the composition and size of the Migration Programme for the 2021-22 financial year, the next financial year,
Temporary Skilled Visas
This part of the Department’s submission focuses mainly on employer sponsorship for temporary visas. They believe that offering various pandemic-related exemptions and flexible processing for temporary visas will help Australia recover from the pandemic. The PMSOL list currently has 18 occupations considered critical to Australia’s economic recovery,but as Australia gradually recovers, the priority order of these occupations will change.
These prospective migration applicants are the ones Australia is especially keen to attract
— if you click into each one, they actually correspond to the three categories mentioned above,the Business Innovation and Investment stream,
the Global Talent Independent programme, and prospective applicants under the Employer Sponsored stream.
The Department’s submission runs to many pages, but most of it is appendices — it feels like official language and a showcase of work already done. Let’s look at the submissions with real recommendations instead.
The Migration Institute of Australia (MIA)
MIA, which regularly talks directly with the Department and passes official information on to us, has offered much more down-to-earth recommendations. Some of them include:
— significantly increase migration numbers over at least the next three years, to offset the pandemic’s impact on the sharp drop in overseas migrant numbers; resume entry for student visa holders as early as possible; give priority processing to employer-sponsored visas so that skilled migrants can return to Australia immediately once the border reopens to provide skills support; priority should also be given to offshore partner migration
—recommend offering favourable conditions to onshore skilled migrants,to help restore the Australian economy
—allocate more resources to deal with the large backlog of visa applications
—expand the PMSOL shortage occupation list, and give priority processing and grants to offshore applications falling within the expanded list,and, if these applicants are from countries with relatively low pandemic risk, arrange for their entry as well
— applicants in occupations on the PMSOL list should not need a skills assessment, or, if studying in Australia, should likewise be exempt
— lower the requirements for 494 and 482 employer sponsorship, such as abolishing or reducing English language requirements, or salary requirements for regional employers
—no further adjustments or changes should be made to the GTI programme over the next three years.
Well, every single one of these is a lovely recommendation — perhaps a bit too lovely.
Quick interruption, quick interruption, quick interruption
This Friday
MIA’s State Nomination Migration Briefing
Newstars will be taking part throughout!
Livestreamed all day in our WeChat group!
Highlights include:
— senior state government officials from NSW/ACT/VIC/TAS/QLD/NT/WA/SA introducing the direction and updates for their state nomination programmes
— analysis of changes to skilled permanent residency in the 2021 Budget
— senior Department of Home Affairs officials on the latest visa processing and border exemption arrangements
— senior Department officials previewing the 2022 Migration Programme (Programme Overview 2022)
— and more…
Event time: 12 March 2021, 10am-5pm (Australian Eastern time)
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ACCI (Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry)
has always been vocal on skilled migration issues
Their recommendations centre on four main points
—increase the occupations on the PMSOL shortage list, with other additional occupations also receiving priority processing and border entry exemptions(for non-PR visas):
they believe the current 18 occupations are too few; their research identified other high-demand occupations that had been left off, and these have also been submitted to the Committee
— ease the pathway from employer sponsorship to PR: for temporary migrants currently on employer sponsorship in Australia, or who can secure employer sponsorship, if their occupation is skill level ANZSCO 1-3, they should have a pathway to PR.
— reduce the cost to employers of providing sponsorship — mainly referring to training levy costs — for at least the next 12 months
— the last point is probably the most fundamental one,there should be a clearer plan for reopening international borders.As things stand today,entrants from different countries already carry different levels of risk, yet all are treated under the same rules — which they believe is, to some extent, unreasonable.
As always, ACCI primarily represents employers’ interests, hoping to attract overseas migrants more easily and quickly to fill onshore skills shortages.
Business NSW
ACCI represents business owners and employers across the whole of Australia — so what does the ever-popular New South Wales think? Let’s look at Business NSW’s submission.
Their recommendations are:
—develop a safe plan for reopening international borders,spelling out, under safe operating conditions, when and how the international border will open, and which categories or groups of people will be given priority entry to Australia
— current restrictions on the number of international flights and hotel quarantine places place major limits on employers bringing in overseas talent; even once a visa is granted, there’s no guarantee the person can return straight away,so quarantine and flight caps should be raised for skilled migrants, particularly those with shortage skills. Australians and shortage-skilled migrants should each have separate arrangements
— review and resolve processing delays: employers are unhappy with current visa processing speeds, particularly for the 482 and working holiday visas, which are most relevant to them
—for skilled migrants already onshore, a more direct pathway to PR should be provided,including speeding up processing of 186 visa applications and temporarily easing requirements; for working holiday visa holders, more options for transitioning to longer-term visas should be provided as support.
— temporarily waive visa application charges for independent skilled migration and employer-sponsored visas
— and international students haven’t been forgotten either
Now let’s hear what the state governments have to say
NT — Northern Territory
On skilled migration, they mainly discuss the DAMA programme, which we won’t go into detail on here.
On border entry, as currently the only state or territory government to have successfully piloted bringing international students back to Australia,they recommend that border entry exemption policies should be made more flexible.Since the border closure, large numbers of temporary visa holders have been stranded offshore, preventing them from taking up employment in the Northern Territory,but the Commonwealth’s list does not properly reflect the Northern Territory’s needs, and different state and territory governments face different risk and quarantine requirements.
In short, they are recommending that entry exemption policy be made more flexible.
SA — South Australia
— the state government will continue to support state nomination programmes, including the 491 and 190 visas. However, theystrongly recommend that the Commonwealth reconsider the definition of “regional area” used for migration purposes, to ensure the definition properly represents and benefits the states and territories that genuinely need population growth.They believe the current skilled migration occupation lists should include clearer settings to encourage migrants to settle in regional areas. On visa processing, they’ve heard from many regional employers that processing is too slow, particularly for occupations not currently on the PMSOL list.
So some of their recommendations are:
— ensure application requirements are not a barrier stopping skilled migrants from working for regional employers
— simplify employer sponsorship requirements and the nomination and visa grant process
— find an alternative way to address the limitations created by ANZSCO skill-level ratings, so skilled migrants across a wider range of skill levels get a chance
— strengthen the Department’s capacity to administer and oversee employer sponsorship programmes
There’s still a little time left before the submission deadline, yet there are already plenty of submissions — and we haven’t even gone into detail on the Group of Eight, EY, VETASSESS and other bodies we deal with regularly. It seems that after the upheaval caused by the pandemic, everyone clearly has plenty to say.
Of course, submissions are exactly that — opinions — but it’s clear that a plan for reopening the border, faster visa processing times, an expanded shortage occupation list and bringing international students back to Australia are shared views across many stakeholders. There’s still a long way to go before any of this becomes reality, but it undoubtedly gives the government both momentum and pressure when making future decisions.
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A must-read for working professionals!Click “Original Link”,What are the requirements for employer sponsorship — age? Language? Skills assessment? Employer eligibility?
