Good news for nurses looking to have their skills assessed as part of the Australian visa application process! The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council (ANMC) has today provided clarification to Visa Bureau on their assessment criteria when nominating a nursing specialisation for a pre-migration skills assessment under the ANZSCO coding system.

Although not yet updated on ANMC’s website, in responding to a query regarding the amount of work experience required for applicants nominating a specialised area of nursing, and whether qualifications in that specialisation are required, the ANMC confirmed the following:

"The ANMC will require evidence of at least three months (full time equivalent) paid work experience in a specialty, within the last five years. They do not necessarily need post graduate qualifications in the chosen specialty, but if they do, documentation should be included. If this standard cannot be met, the applicant [can be] assessed as a general nurse."

This is good news for nursing professionals looking to nominate a specialised occupation, as the requirements for doing so at a skills assessment level are relatively easy to meet. It also confirms the route for nurses who cannot meet this requirement, or who are not nominating a specialised area. 

We are continuing to liaise with skills assessment bodies where appropriate to clarify and confirm assessment requirements, and will update this blog as and when information becomes available.

- Matt Parker is a Caseworker 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.

After last week's announcement from DIAC that they would be suspending the General Skilled Migration (GSM) program, we knew that the changes would impact every level of the Australian immigration process; the only question was how quickly other immigration stakeholders would react and whether they'd follow DIAC's lead in suspending their activities for the timebeing.

We began by looking at the immediate reactions of the Australian States and Territories, who play such an instrumental role in the Australian sponsored visa application process.

See below for how each Australian State and Territory has reacted to DIAC's suspension of the GSM program:

WESTERN AUSTRALIA Western Australia hasn't made any official statement regarding the suspension of the GSM program, but they appear to have blocked all online applications through the display of the following message on their website: "Online visa applications are suspended until further notice."

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VICTORIA 13 MAY UPDATE: Victoria have responded to DIAC's announcement by suspending their own offshore application process until 1 July. "If your sponsorship application is in process, and you have not lodged a visa application, the application will remain in process however a decision will not be made at this time. You will be advised of any change to this situation and it is requested that you do not  enquire on the progress of your application.  If you lodged your visa application with DIAC prior to 8 May 2010, however did not include this information in your sponsorship application, you should advise the Skilled and Business Migration Program by 21 May 2010. No further information will be accepted after this date." The Victoria state government have also made clear that they will be unable to answer any queries concerning visa suspensions, and that applicants with any concerns should direct their concerns to DIAC directly.

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SOUTH AUSTRALIA While South Australia first announced that they would only suspend the processing of sponsorship applications received after 14 May, this appears to have been superseded by the following announcement: "Applicants under the General Skilled Migration Program should be aware that DIAC has made an announcement today suspending all Offshore GSM application. Please direct any enquiries on this matter to DIAC via your nearest Australian High Commission and not to Immigration SA.   As a result, Immigration SA will also be suspending processing all Offshore Sponsorship applications, until further notice. However, Onshore sponsorship applications will proceed at this stage."

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QUEENSLAND Queensland have updated their website with the following statement, although it still remains unclear as to what they're going to do: "On Monday 8 February 2010, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, announced changes to the Australian Government Migration Program. Australian Government Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) eligibility is a condition of Queensland nomination to a Skilled Sponsored or Skilled Regional Sponsored visa and other sponsored visas. Please check the DIAC website to see if these changes apply to you." One interpretation is that once the new Australian Skilled Occupation List (SOL) comes out, they will deny sponsorship to anyone not on it, even if they have lodged with DIAC beforehand. 12 MAY UPDATE: I recently heard from a representative of Queensland that they have ceased processing 176 and 475 nomination applications unless applicants can demonstrate that they had lodged a 175 or a 176 visa application lodged with DIAC on or before 7 May 2010. They also say they are in the process of sending an email to all nomination applicants they have on hand that have not been finalised.

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NEW SOUTH WALES New South Wales has updated their website with the following statement, announcing that they will be immediately suspending applications for sponsorship for the duration of the GSM program being suspended: "On 7 May 2010, the Australian Government announced that it would temporarily suspend the acceptance of applications in some offshore visa classes until 30 June 2010. These visa classes include: Skilled Sponsored 176 visa Skilled Regional Sponsored 475 visa As a result of this decision, Industry & Investment NSW will not accept applications for NSW sponsorship in these visa classes until after 1 July 2010."

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NORTHERN TERRITORY There has been no response to the suspension of the GSM program from the Northern Territory as of today, 10 May, 2010. However, any announcement made will most likely be made available on the Northern Territory skilled migration website here.

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TASMANIA Tasmania have made the following announcement that they will be suspending all sponsorship applications from today, 10 May, 2010 to 3 July, 2010. "The Tasmanian Government will be suspending the assessment of applications for offshore Skilled Sponsored (SS) subclass 176 visas and Skilled Regional Sponsored (SRS) subclass 475 visas between Monday 10 May 2010 and Friday 3 July 2010.  The suspension will take place whilst the Tasmanian Government reviews current sponsorship policies.  During this period the assessment of all other sponsorship applications will remain unchanged."

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AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY (ACT) Everything on the ACT skilled migration website appears normal, and the online form was accessible.

When can further information be expected?

Assuming that the news of the GSM program's suspension was as much of a surprise to the States and Territories as it was to us, then it's unsurprising that many of them have yet to provide any official statement on how they will respond. However, judging by the reactions we have seen, it seems that most of them will suspend the processing of sponsorship applications ASAP.

It will also be interesting to see if this affects the formation and introduction of the State Migration Plans. For now, we will keep monitoring the situation and provide more information as and when it becomes available.

- Matt Parker is a Caseworker 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 last twelve months have been a turbulent time for Australian immigration policy. We've seen change upon change announced by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), as the Australian government continues to restructure its Australian visa legislation and processing structure to best reflect its economic needs and skill shortages.

While some policies, schemes and lists are phased out, and other new policies are considered and introduced, the effect on individual applicants can often be confusing and frustrating.

That's why I'd like to clarify the upcoming changes that are most pressing for anyone preparing to lodge an Australian skilled visa application. It's vital that any Australian visa applicant be aware of what they need to do right well and the timeframe within which they have to do it, in order to avoid being caught out by policy changes that might affect their skilled visa eligibility.

While you may already be aware of much of this, I would still encourage that you read through and remind yourself of what you need to be getting on with right now.

What is happening with Australian immigration?

2010 is shaping up to be another year of substantial visa changes. DIAC have already removed the Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL) from the skilled migration process, resulting in the elimination of any additional points granted to applicants in MODL occupations.

DIAC has also announced that they are preparing to introduce a new Skilled Occupation List (SOL) in 'mid 2010'. Currently, we are anticipating full details of the SOL to be released very soon, with a predicted date of 1 July, 2010 for its introduction (as this has typically been the case in previous years).

We are also awaiting the introduction of State Migration Plans, which are currently being drawn up between each individual Australian state and territory, DIAC, and the immigration minister. Beyond these specific changes, consultations continue to take place concerning a review of the points-based system.

In the midst of all this, states, territories and skills assessment bodies continue to adjust and tweak their policies and procedures. In a nutshell, as regular readers of the Visa Bureau blog will be all too aware, this is be a disconcerting time for those invested in the process.

Will I be affected by the changes?

Any change to legislation that affects your eligibility could have a direct and unavoidable impact on your ability to apply for an Australian skilled visa until your central visa application is submitted to DIAC.

There is a silver lining, however; in the recent past, DIAC have implemented changes with immediate effect and without any warning. On this occasion though, they have announced their intentions before introducing them.

As a result, applicants now have a window of opportunity in which to finalise any remaining elements of the application that need to be completed before lodging the main visa application itself.  Provided the application is then lodged before the changes are implemented, you should stand a better chance of avoiding any negative impact from legislation changes.

What should I do now?

Even though 1 July, 2010 is the time when we expect more changes to be implemented, it should not be treated as a definitive deadline by which to lodge your application. However, I would still advise all visa applicants to keep this date in mind and work quickly towards lodging their visa application.

Once you have received a positive skills assessment result and state sponsorship (if applicable), your focus should then be on completing and lodging your application as soon as possible.

- Matt Parker is a Caseworker 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.