Changes in skilled ve 175 offshore

Skilled Migration: Australia Again Releases Details of Key Changes Immediately Before Xmas

Author: Alan Collett
Date: Friday, December 18, 2009

For the second year in a row Australia's Department of Immigration has announced important changes within days of the start of the Xmas and New Year holiday.

Last year's bombshell was the introduction of a Critical Skills List and a significant shake up of skilled visa processing priorities. This year we have two important alterations to skilled visa applications in the form of amendments to the Migration Regulations, as follows:

Offshore Skilled Visa Applicants
At present one of the threshold requirements that must be satisfied when a skilled visa application is lodged with the Department of Immigration is the need to have worked in a skilled occupation for at least 12 months in the 2 years immediately prior to the submission of the visa application. This work must be paid, and for at least 20 hours per week.

In addition, a skilled visa applicant must nominate in their visa application a skilled occupation (as defined) and - in the case of offshore applicants - undertake a formal assessment from the relevant delegated authority (eg Trades Recognition Australia, the Australian Computer Society, etc) of the applicant's competencies in a skilled occupation, as discussed more fully in DIAC booklet 1121i.

Importantly, at the present time, the skills assessment classification can be in a different occupation to that in which the visa applicant has been working in the 12 months out of 24 immediately prior to their visa application being lodged.

This is particularly relevant to individuals who have had a change of career, who can satisfy the qualifications/work experience requirements for a skills asssessment based on their initial occupation, but who cannot do so in their new occupation.

The change that comes into effect on 01/01/2010 is to require offshore skilled visa applicants (subclasses 175, 176, and 475) with occupations that are to be specified by the Immigration Minister details of the occupations in question are not available at the time this article is being written to have a skills assessment classification in the same skilled occupation as that in which they have been working for a minimum of 12 months in the 2 years immediately prior to their visa application being submitted to the Department of Immigration.

The Explanatory Memorandum to the amending legislation advises that the change " ... will ensure that applicants for an offshore skilled visa who have nominated a (to be specified) skilled occupation hold relevant up-to-date practical experience in their nominated occupation."

Details of affected skilled occupations are not yet known, and may well not be available until the date on which the change comes into effect (01/01/2010, as noted above), so we recommend that persons with skilled occupation career changes as described above and who have obtained skills assessment classifications should lodge their visa applications straightaway.