With Australian immigration scheduled to switch to using the ANZSCO occupation classification upon the implementation of the new Skilled Occupation List on 1 July, 2010, we've been speaking to a number of the key Australian assessing bodies to get an idea of what their approach will be going forward.

After receiving comments from Engineers Australia and VETASSESS yesterday, we've now received a statement from the branch of VETASSESS that assesses the skills of tradespeople, which is informally known as VETASSESS Trades:

VETASSESS Trades comment on the ASCO-ANZSCO switch

"Please be advised that VETASSESS can offer you the following information at this stage:

VETASSESS will not be issuing Skills Assessments in ANZSCO until the 1st of July, 2010.  The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) have advised that they will be publishing an ASCO-ANZSCO mapping table which will detail the conversion of occupations from ASCO to ANZSCO.  Generally speaking, if an occupation has a direct match from ASCO to ANZSCO and VETASSESS are still the assessing authority for that occupation, applicants will not require a reassessment under the ANZSCO code. 

Please see the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) website at www.immi.gov.au for future publication of the ASCO-ANZSCO mapping table and the latest SOL list."

While this statement doesn't provide much new information, it is reassuring to see VETASSESS reiterate that they will accept positive ASCO skills assessments, provided the occupation has a direct match on ANZSCO.

Additionally, the reference to the ASCO-ANZSCO mapping table is interesting, with the current assumption being that the mapping table will provide a fairly comprehensive method of matching occupations from ASCO to ANZSCO.

While I still anticipate that not every occupation will be accounted for, it seems that efforts will be made to make allowances where possible and reduce the need for applicants to undergo reassessment. It may be that DIAC will simply follow the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) method of mapping ASCO occupations to ANZSCO occupations (which you can see by clicking here), but until further details are released, it's impossible to know how the new mapping table will work.

- Lauren Mennie is Casework Department Manager for the Australian Visa Bureau.

©Visa Bureau 2003-2010

Visa Bureau takes no responsibility and cannot be held accountable for action taken as a result of any information or comment provided on this blog, and we recommend that you always seek a number of opinions before making a decision regarding your migration or visa application. Please refer to the Visa Bureau terms of use for more information.

Yesterday, we saw the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) release the new Australian Skilled Occupation List (SOL), with a key part of the announcement being their decision to switch to using the ANZSCO occupation classification upon the new SOL's introduction on 1 July, 2010.

The switch to ANZSCO raised a few questions which we're still waiting for DIAC to provide definitive answers to. However, we have seen two of Australia's prominent skills assessing bodies provide comment: 

VETASSESS comment on the ASCO-ANZSCO switch

"Thank you for your enquiry to VETASSESS.  VETASSESS will not be issuing Skills Assessments in ANZSCO until the 1st of July, 2010.  Assessments issued before this date under ASCO will be accepted by DIAC as long as the occupation has a direct match on the ASCO-ANZSCO mapping table to be published by DIAC, and VETASSESS are still the assessing authority for that occupation."

Engineers Australia (EA) comment on the ASCO-ANZSCO switch

"DIAC have advised us that they will honour the ASCO code assessment for a period of 12 months after the introduction of the new SOL, or the expiry date of their 12-month validity of the assessment outcome letter, whichever is the sooner."

What new information can be drawn from these comments?

From these comments, we can assume that it will be standard policy for the assessing bodies to continue issuing skills assessments according to the ASCO code assessment until 1 July, 2010, and that these positive skills assessments will be accepted by DIAC for up to 12 months after the new SOL is introduced (or until the assessment outcome letter expires). However, as this deadline hasn't been officially confirmed by DIAC yet, it should be taken with a grain of salt for the timebeing.

Additionally, while it's useful to have some further clarification, there are still a number of points we remain uncertain about. For example, even though an ASCO-ANZSCO mapping table is forthcoming, we don't yet know what will happen should any ASCO occupations not have a direct ANZSCO match, or how an assessing body will be assigned to such occupations.

However, it's still very early days and I do anticipate further information regarding the ASCO-ANZSCO switch to be forthcoming.

- Lauren Mennie is Casework Department Manager for the Australian Visa Bureau.

©Visa Bureau 2003-2010

Visa Bureau takes no responsibility and cannot be held accountable for action taken as a result of any information or comment provided on this blog, and we recommend that you always seek a number of opinions before making a decision regarding your migration or visa application. Please refer to the Visa Bureau terms of use for more information.

Today, the new SOL (Skilled Occupation List) for the Australian General Skilled Migration (GSM) program was finally announced, with the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) releasing the following statement:

"The new list (based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations, or ANZSCO) identifies occupations that reflect the high value, nation building skills Australia needs – skills that take time and diligence to acquire, that are put to the use intended, and where the cost to the economy and local communities of the skill being in short supply is great."

The new list of targeted occupations was determined by the independent body, 'Skills Australia' and will be instrumental in determining who is eligible to apply for an Australian skilled visa upon its implementation on 1 July, 2010. This is also the date when State Migration Plans will be announced and introduced, as well as when the offshore skilled GSM program will be restarted, which was temporarily suspended on 7 May, 2010.

Please note that, as expected, all occupations on the new SOL are from the ANZSCO (Australia and New Zealand Skilled Classification of Occupations) as opposed to the previously used ASCO (Australian Skilled Classification of Occupations).

See below for the new Skilled Occupation List: 

What do we still need to know?

While it's a relief that the new Australian SOL has been announced, there still remain a few unanswered questions, many of which stem from the fact that the new list of occupations is drawn from the ANZSCO as opposed to the ASCO.

For example, while the ANZSCO is very similar to the ASCO in some respects, it still doesn't match up exactly in terms of the names and classifications of the occupations. Therefore, even though we can make a fairly informed prediction for most of the occupations on the new SOL, it's still unknown as to how many points will be allocated to each occupation. Additionally, while we can make assumptions, we still don't know exactly which Australian body will be responsible for assessing which ANZSCO occupations.

It's also currently unknown what will happen to applicants who have already obtained a positive skills assessment. Potential solutions are that that the assessing bodies will simply transfer an applicant's positive assessment in the ASCO occupation to the corresponding ANZSCO occupation (if possible) or that the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) will accept old skills assessments for a time. However, it's also possible that these applicants will need to obtain a new skills assessment, particularly if their previous ASCO occupation only has a partial ANZSCO match on the new SOL.

Another factor that makes the transition confusing is that the skill level requirements (i.e. the level of degree, trade certificate or years experience required) for the ANZSCO is different than the ASCO in some instances. Therefore, even though an applicant might have a valid skills assessment and perform the ANZSCO-listed associated tasks for that occupation, they will still need to meet the skill criteria for DIAC.

As a result, further clarification will be needed from DIAC before we can be sure how to proceed in advising our clients going forward. However, it's still useful to finally have the new Skills Occupation List and have some idea of what Australian skilled migration will look like going forward, even though many questions remain unanswered.

On 1 July, 2010, I hope to be able to provide a more definitive statement on the full range of migration pathways available to skilled visa applicants, as this is the date when the State Migration Plans will be introduced and hopefully further clarification regarding the points test review will have been received by then. In the meantime though, I will continue monitoring the situation and provide updates as and when I receive them. 

- Lauren Mennie is Casework Department Manager for the Australian Visa Bureau

©Visa Bureau 2003-2010

Visa Bureau takes no responsibility and cannot be held accountable for action taken as a result of any information or comment provided on this blog, and we recommend that you always seek a number of opinions before making a decision regarding your migration or visa application. Please refer to the Visa Bureau terms of use for more information.

The Australian Government has today announced that they will not accept applications for offshore general skilled visas, with this unprecedented measure taking effect from midnight 7 May, 2010. The temporary suspension will then remain in place until the end of the current program year on 30 June, 2010.

You can read the announcement here, where the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) state the following:

"The Australian Government has decided to temporarily suspend the acceptance of new applications for certain General Skilled Migration (GSM) visas. The number of pending GSM applications continues to grow as the demand for GSM places exceeds the available supply. The temporary suspension is being implemented to ensure that the occupational profile of applicants for GSM clearly reflects the needs of the Australian labour market.

The temporary suspension will also facilitate the transition from the current Skilled Occupation List (SOL) to the new SOL. It is anticipated that the Government will announce proposed changes to the SOL in May 2010.

The temporary suspension will apply from 8 May 2010. It is expected that it will cease at the end of the 2009-10 program year, that is at the end of 30 June 2010, subject to the approval of the Governor-General in Council of proposed amendments to the Migration Regulations 1994 which will enable the implementation of the new SOL.

Temporary suspension means that people will not be able to lodge a valid application for an affected GSM visa for the duration of the suspension. The temporary suspension applies to all primary (main) applicants for the following GSM visas:

• Subclass 175 – Skilled Independent
• Subclass 176 – Skilled Sponsored and
• Subclass 475 – Skilled Regional Sponsored.

Applications for affected visa subclasses submitted on or after 8 May 2010 will be considered invalid and the application will be returned to the client together with the Visa Application Charge (VAC). However, associated fees such as those incurred for medical examinations, English language tests and skills assessments cannot be refunded as these payments were not made to the Government.

Applications for visa subclasses affected by the temporary suspension will be able to be made once the suspension has been lifted."

What does this mean for the future of the Australian Skilled Visa Program?

We had hoped that the time of knee-jerk Australian immigration decisions had come to an end. With the announcement of the new visa changes made on 8 February, 2010, it appeared that DIAC and the Australian government were taking a more transparent approach to the implementation of new legislation, with changes announced in advance of their introduction to seemingly allow visa applicants at least some time to finalise and lodge their application.

With this announcement though, any fleeting confidence we had in the Australian government's willingness to 'play fair' has been completely undermined. By abandoning their stated plans and making such a shocking announcement, they have completely undermined the efforts of all Australian skilled visa applicants, with this latest move essentially damning the hopes of many potential migrants.

I expect that this announcement also took the Australian States and Territories by surprise, and it will be interesting to see how they react to it given that they are in the midst of preparing the new State Migration Plans. Unfortunately, regardless of how much time, money and effort is spent by visa applicants or any other immigration stakeholders, the message being sent here is that it simply doesn't matter to the Australian government.

Additionally, when you take into account DIAC's failure to meet the 30 April deadline they set for the introduction of the new Australian SOL, it makes it almost impossible to put any faith in the timelines that they set. While they might indicate now that the GSM program will be opened again on 1 July, 2010, there still isn't any solid commitment to this deadline, making it very difficult for visa applicants and migration agents to prepare for the future. 

- Lauren Mennie is Casework Department Manager for the Australian Visa Bureau.

©Visa Bureau 2003-2010

Visa Bureau takes no responsibility and cannot be held accountable for action taken as a result of any information or comment provided on this blog, and we recommend that you always seek a number of opinions before making a decision regarding your migration or visa application. Please refer to the Visa Bureau terms of use for more information.

I recently learned that the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (ICAA), Certified Public Accountants (CPA) Australia and the Australian National Institute of Accountants (NIA), are all changing their assessing policies on 1 July, 2010. These are the three bodies that are responsible for assessing the skills of accountants, finance managers, corporate treasurers and external auditors applying to emigrate to Australia.

Each body is implementing an almost identical set of changes, which you can read for yourself by clicking here for the ICAA, here for the CPA or here for the NIA. Alternatively, read on for my interpretation of some of the key changes.

Changes to assessment pathways

One of the main changes is that there will no longer be two distinct pathways (i.e. either through membership of a recognised body or holding a qualifying degree). Instead, should an applicant hold membership of a recognised body, it will now need to be considered comparable to an Australian degree. That comparability is set by the Australian Education International National Office for Overseas Skills Recognition (AEI-NOOSR).

Having checked the Country Education Profiles on the AEI-NOOSR website, members of the ACCA, CIMA and ICAEW are all listed as comparable to an Australian degree, which is positive news for UK applicants. However, it also has the following note:

"Qualifications are assessed on a case-by-case basis if the holder earned the qualification by means other than a program of study (e.g. work experience), or was granted several subject exemptions in the program."

Therefore, on the basis of the above, it seems that people who are members of an accounting body but DO NOT have a degree and received exemptions from studying the full course to gain membership may have issues.

For example, we have seen some of our clients have gained membership with CIMA through receiving some exemption on units needed, should they have worked for many years in the industry beforehand. Under these new changes, it's possible that these same applicants may have difficulty qualifying.

Changes to units studied

Previously, applicants would need to study 9 out of the 12 units that the assessing body sets, with the applicant free to evidence which 9 of the 12 units they had studied in.

From 1 July, 2010, applicants will still need to study 9 out of the 12 units, but the assessing bodies will set 4 mandatory units, and then the applicant must choose 5 from the remaining 8 optional units. The assessing bodies break down (by occupation) which units are mandatory and which are optional in order to make the 9 out of 12 units.

Changes to IELTS requirements

It also appears that a score of at least 7.0 in all four core units of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test will be required for accountant assessing body applicants from 1 July, 2010. Currently, there is no news on whether there will be any exemptions for UK applicants.

Please understand that all these observations are made without a full, detailed explanation of all the changes being provided by the accounting assessing bodies, and also that much of my comments only relate to Australia visa applicants from the UK. Some parts of the changes still remain unclear as it appears there will be a much higher level of subjectivity applied to the accounting bodies' assessment process from 1 July, 2010.

Therefore, I do advise people to complete and lodge their skills assessments as soon as possible, in order to avoid any potential negative changes.

- Lauren Mennie is Casework Department Manager for the Australian Visa Bureau.

©Visa Bureau 2003-2010

Visa Bureau takes no responsibility and cannot be held accountable for action taken as a result of any information or comment provided on this blog, and we recommend that you always seek a number of opinions before making a decision regarding your migration or visa application. Please refer to the Visa Bureau terms of use for more information.

Upon the announcement of the most recent wave of Australian visa changes, it was announced that the Australian government would be replacing the current Skilled Occupation List (SOL) with "a more targeted list of occupations to better meet the medium and long-term future skill needs of the Australian economy."

They also stated that "it is expected that the new SOL will be announced by 30 April 2010 and placed on the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) website and take effect from mid-2010." However, this 30 April deadline has now been missed, with the following updated posted on DIAC's website:

"Update on announcement of New Skilled Occupations List

The Government is considering the report from Skills Australia containing their Skilled Occupation List. An announcement and publication of the new Skilled Occupation List for Migration purposes will be made in May."

While the continued lack of clarification is frustrating, it will be interesting to see if DIAC provide any further comment on the delay of the SOL's announcement and whether this will delay its previously announced mid-2010 introduction (which is widely predicted to take place on the 1 July, 2010).

In the meantime though, I will continue monitoring the situation and provide updates as and when I receive them.

- Lauren Mennie is Casework Department Manager for the Australian Visa Bureau.

©Visa Bureau 2003-2010

Visa Bureau takes no responsibility and cannot be held accountable for action taken as a result of any information or comment provided on this blog, and we recommend that you always seek a number of opinions before making a decision regarding your migration or visa application. Please refer to the Visa Bureau terms of use for more information.

On 19 April 2010, changes to the minimum eligibility requirements for Australian business visa applicants were introduced.

These changes to the Business Skills Migration Program resulted in an increase in the net assets and / or business ownership requirements for a number of business visa subclasses, as well as the removal of the senior migration option for the subclass 163 visa. Read on for a more detailed explanation of each of the changes: 

Increased net assets for Australian business visa applicants

The minimum net business and personal assets required for the following sponsored provisional Business Skills visas have been increased from AU$250,000 to AU$500,000 in response to increases in the cost of living and business establishment costs:

• State / Territory Sponsored Business Owner (Provisional) (subclass 163) visa
• State / Territory Sponsored Senior Executive (Provisional) (subclass 164) visa

The minimum net business and personal assets required for the following provisional Business Skills visas ahve been increased from AU$500,000 to AU$800,000 in response to increases in the cost of living and business establishment costs:

• Business Owner (Provisional) (subclass 160) visa
• Senior Executive (Provisional) (subclass 161) visa

Increased business ownership

Business migrants will now be required to own a substantial or controlling interest in a business to meet visa requirements. The minimum business ownership percentage required has been increased from 10 per cent to:

• 51 per cent where the business turnover is less than AU$400,000;
• 30 per cent where the business turnover is AU$400,000 or more; OR
• 10 per cent where the business is a publicly listed company.

This amendment applies to all business owner visas (subclasses 132, 160, 163, 890, 892, 845, 846).

Senior manager option removed from the Subclass 163 visa

Applicants who are employed as senior managers of a business can no longer apply for a State / Territory Sponsored Business Owner (Provisional) (subclass 163) visa. Only business owners are now eligible for this visa.

- Lauren Mennie is Casework Department Manager for the Australian Visa Bureau

©Visa Bureau 2003-2010

Visa Bureau takes no responsibility and cannot be held accountable for action taken as a result of any information or comment provided on this blog, and we recommend that you always seek a number of opinions before making a decision regarding your migration or visa application. Please refer to the Visa Bureau terms of use for more information.

Even though the Skilled Occupation List (SOL) is potentially just days away from being officially released, that hasn't stopped rumours flying within the Australian immigration community about exactly which occupations will appear on the final list.

To give a little background regarding the new Australian SOL (although I imagine the majority of Australian visa applicants will be all too familiar with it!), it is set to act as a tool to determine both the occupations that Australia is in demand of and the order in which Australia visa applicants will be processed.

As a result, it will become a fairly critical part of the Australian visa application process, essentially determining which workers will and won't be eligible to be granted a skilled visa.

It's sparked a number of news reports, one of which was published recently in 'The Weekend Australian'.

The article focusses on the future of skilled migration to Australia as part of the re-vamped migration process and includes a number of quotes from Philip Bullock, the head of Skills Australia (which is the organisation that has been given the responsibility of forming the new SOL and presenting it to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) for approval.)

As part of the printed version of this article, a table titled 'SKILLS WE NEED' was included, which we presume includes a number of the occupations set to be on the new SOL.

See below for this list, but once again, please understand that this is NOT the final SOL, and THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT ANY OF THESE OCCUPATIONS WILL APPEAR ON THE NEW SKILLED OCCUPATION LIST WHEN IT IS FORMALLY ANNOUNCED LATER IN APRIL 2010.

- Lauren Mennie is Casework Department Manager for the Australian Visa Bureau

©Visa Bureau 2003-2010

Visa Bureau takes no responsibility and cannot be held accountable for action taken as a result of any information or comment provided on this blog, and we recommend that you always seek a number of opinions before making a decision regarding your migration or visa application. Please refer to the Visa Bureau terms of use for more information.

There's been some good news for Australian Partner visa applicants who do not have children with their Australian partner sponsor, as the amount of cohabitation evidence required for them to receive a Permanent (subclass 100) visa has been reduced from 5 years to 3 years as of 27 March, 2010.

You can read the official legislation change update notification here. To provide some explanation though, applicants for an Australian Partner visa don't get to choose whether they are applying for a Permanent (subclass 100) or a Temporary (subclass 309) visa. Instead, this decision is made by the Australian High Commission once the application enters processing, with whether the applicant has had any children with the Australian partner sponsor and the amount of cohabitation evidence supplied all key factors in determining the High Commission's decision.

Cohabitation evidence is anything that demonstrates the length of time that the applicant and their Australian partner sponsor have lived together and shared financial committments, with the best regarded evidence typically being evidence of joint ownership of real estate, evidence of shared finances and evidence of shared bills / expenses etc.

While an Australian Partner visa applicant who is married to an Australian but doesn't have any children with them can be put forward for the Temporary (subclass 309) visa without providing any substantial cohabitation evidence, to be considered eligible for the Permanent (subclass 100) visa, they would be required to submit at least 5 years cohabitation evidence under the previous rules. 

However, these evidentiary requirements have now been reduced, making it possible now for Australian Partner visa applicants to be considered eligible for the Permanent (subclass 100) visa by demonstrating only 3 years cohabitation evidence.

The rules remain the same for Australian Partner visa applicants who DO have children (i.e. they will still need to provide 2 years cohabitation evidence to receive the Permanent (subclass 100) visa) and unmarried / de facto Australian Partner visa applicants without children (i.e. they will still need to provide 12 months cohabitation evidence and will only be eligible for the Temporary (subclass 309) visa).

- Lauren Mennie is Casework Department Manage for the Australian Visa Bureau.

©Visa Bureau 2003-2010

Visa Bureau takes no responsibility and cannot be held accountable for action taken as a result of any information or comment provided on this blog, and we recommend that you always seek a number of opinions before making a decision regarding your migration or visa application. Please refer to the Visa Bureau terms of use for more information.