We have been waiting for 1 July, 2010 to bring us changes to the General Skilled Migration (GSM) Australian visa process for some time. The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) have previously implied that the changes we have been waiting for, primarily concerning the new form of state sponsorship called State Migration Plans, would be revealed today.

As reported earlier, the State Migration Plans have yet to be released. Despite this, some changes have taken place today that I think are worth bringing to the attention of the many visa applicants in need of information. While I'll almost certainly write in more detail on this soon, for now, I’d just like to summarise some of the major changes that have taken place:

State Migration Plans delayed

As previously stated, details of the State Migration Plans are not yet available, and have been delayed until at least August. Current details of the expected release dates for each State and Territory can be found on our State Migration Plans page. 

Suspension on skilled visa applications lifted

The suspension that has precluded applicants from applying for a skilled visa has been lifted. However, even though it is now possible to lodge an application for an offshore skilled visa once more, I wouldn't recommend doing so at this time, for reasons that I'll explain further down.

Change of occupation classification from ASCO to ANZSCO

From today, all occupations are classified under a new coding scheme called 'ANZSCO'. DIAC have already released information about the transition from ASCO to ANZSCO.

The majority of applicants will not need to obtain a new skills assessment (if one is already held), and the effect on their application will be minimal. However, I would advise researching what your new occupation code is and whether this will affect your application in any way.

Introduction of a new Skilled Occupation List (SOL)

As previously advised, DIAC have today implemented a new Skilled Occupation List which has been previously published. All applicants need to have an occupation which is on the new SOL, unless they are sponsored by a state under a State Migration Plan.

Change in requirements at lodgement for State Sponsored visa applicants

All state sponsored clients will now be required to demonstrate their sponsorship at the time of lodgement. In other words, if state sponsorship is required then it is no longer possible to apply for a visa without first attaining that sponsorship.

As a result of the current priority processing directive, it is favourable for applicants to lodge as a subclass 176 state sponsored visa, even if they qualify for other visa subclasses, as the timeframe for obtaining a visa will be shortened considerably. It is for this reason that we advise most applicants to hold off on applying for a visa until after they have seen whether they qualify for a State Migration Plan.

Increase in fees for visa applications

The cost of an application for a skilled visa has today increased to AU$2,575. 

If you are interested in reading further information about these changes, I'll be posting a series of blogs on the key points over the next few days.

- 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.

When the Australian immigration changes were announced on 8 February, 2010, it was said that 'State Migration Plans are being developed by State/Territory governments and include occupations that are in demand in each individual state and territory. Each state migration plan is approved by the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship.'

No firm indication as to their date of introduction was given, with only the vague assertation that the State Migration Plans would be launched in 'mid-2010'. Many migration agents and visa applicants were hopeful that their introduction would accompany the re-opening of the Australian General Skilled Migration (GSM) program and the implementation of the new Australian SOL (Skilled Occupation List) on 1 July, 2010.

However, it's now 1 July, 2010 and none of the Australian States and Territories have released full details of their State Migration Plans. See below for the latest updates from each State / Territory:

WESTERN AUSTRALIA The release date of Western Australia's State Migration Plan will definitely not fall on 1 July, 2010, as the State Migration Plan still has to be approved by the Minister.

---

VICTORIA The release date of Victoria's State Migration Plan will be in place no earlier than August, 2010.

---

SOUTH AUSTRALIA The release date of South Australia's State Migration Plan will definitely not fall on 1 July, 2010, as the State Migration Plan still has to be approved by the Minister.

---

QUEENSLAND The release date of Queensland's State Migration Plan will definitely not fall on 1 July, 2010, as the State Migration Plan still has to be approved by the Minister.

---

NEW SOUTH WALES A Skills in Demand List of occupations that NSW will sponsor from 1 July 2010 for the Skilled Sponsored (176) and Skilled Regional Sponsored (475) visas has been released. NSW have advised that there may be a small number of additional occupations added to these lists later in the year from occupations not on the new Skilled Occupation List if agreement can be reached with the Commonwealth Government on the terms of a NSW State Migration Plan. To view this Skills in Demand List of occupations, please click the link below: New South Wales State Migration Plan

---

NORTHERN TERRITORY The release date of the Northern Territory's State Migration Plan has tentatively been set for 1 September, 2010.

---

TASMANIA Tasmania's website states that the program will remain suspended until 3 July, 2010, although it's possible that this suspension may be extended as we have also been advised that the program is closed until further notice.

---

AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY (ACT) The release date of the ACT's State Migration Plan has tentatively been set for 1 August, 2010.

- Tom Blackett is Online Editor 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.

A hot topic of discussion amongst Australian visa applicants and migration agents alike has been the Migration Amendment (Visa Capping) Bill 2010. This controversial bill has flown under the radar of most media outlets, but has the potential to be the most unfair and destructive item of legislation ever introduced to the Australian migration system.

You can see more details for yourself by clicking here, but to give a brief explanation, the bill proposes to provide the government with a tool for the post-lodgement management of the current backlog of migration applications. As a result, DIAC will be allowed to cap and terminate an application at any time, regardless of when an applicant has lodged their application.

To elaborate, DIAC could choose to cap the number of visas issued in a given year to applicants with 'specified characteristics'. To explain this term, I'll refer you to the following passage from the bill's proposal:

"Characteristics that may be specified include the occupation nominated by the applicant, or the time at which the applicant made their application. The characteristics will be objective, and relate to information that is provided to the department when an application for a visa is made."

Therefore, DIAC could choose to cap the visas for applicants with the 'specified characteristic' of any given nominated occupation on the Australian SOL (Skilled Occupation List). As a result, all outstanding visa applications with the same characteristics (i.e. the same nominated occupation) would then be terminated. This also makes it very easy for DIAC to close off skilled migration to any occupation of their choosing, as a termination will result in an automatic termination of all further visa applications by migrants who share the same 'specified characteristics', at least until the start of the next financial year.

While any applicants who have had their applications terminated will be refunded the pre-paid visa application charge, this won't cover the costs of skills assessments, medical examinations, language tests and any other associated costs, not to mention the emotional damage of forcing an applicant out of the migration process with no prior warning.

Additionally, unlike a visa refusal, it is not possible to challenge a visa termination before the Migration Review Tribunal or any court. This is because DIAC will have technically not made a decision, and without a decision there is nothing to review or contest.

The most frustrating part of the proposed bill is how it has the potential to punish the people who have followed the rules and jumped through all the hoops that DIAC have set up in the last couple of years, only for the potential to be removed from the process entirely with no prior warning. 

It's always been understood that there are no 'sure things' when it comes to the Australian migration process, but it was at least possible for visa applicants to understand what the eligibility requirements were and have a good idea of their chances of success. However, should the Visa Capping Bill be passed, the opposite will be the case, with it practically impossible for any applicant to know whether they'll be able to have their visa application finalised or if they'll simply be cast aside by the Australian government.

- Tom Blackett 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.

For South Australia's manager of General Skilled Migration (GSM), Ann Johnson, to open a seminar by requesting that everyone  "leave your guns at the door" is a fairly strong indication of the current mindset held by the many frustrated migration agents in attendance. It's also a reminder that it's not the Australian States and Territories who are responsible for the many changes made by the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC).

The seminar on 3 June, 2010 was the first we've attended since the suspension of the General Skilled Migration (GSM) program, so we were hoping that Ann Johnson might be able to provide some further information regarding the Australian immigration; specifically the State Migration Plans. As a reminder, the GSM program has been closed for the time being, with a scheduled reopening date of 1 July, 2010. Upon its reopening, Australian skilled visa applicants will be subject to a number of changes to visa legislation, including a much tighter Australian Skilled Occupation List (SOL).

As only applicants with a nominated occupation on the SOL will be able to proceed with an independent visa application, we've been trying to find more information on how the State Migration Plans will work, as these will be the new mechanisms to allow visa applicants to be sponsored by an Australian State or Territory under the GSM program and will be crucial to a large proportion of applicants in the future.

While the State Migration Plans are still only expected to be detailed and introduced on 1 July, 2010 at the earliest, we hoped that we might be privy to some more details as to how they will be structured and just how many additional occupations we can expect to feature on these replacements for the old sponsorship lists.

Unfortunately, there's little 'insider information' that I can report on, but it was still useful to have certain items confirmed or clarified. The main points that we received were:

• The State Migration Plan's list of occupations can include additional occupations to what appears on the SOL;
• As the list of occupations that will feature on the State Migration Plan needs to be approved by the Minister, the Cabinet and then DIAC, it's unlikely that it will be ready "until at least July";
• Each occupation will have an attached 'planning level', but this number will not be disclosed and no indication will be given as to when the planning level is close to being reached for each occupation.
• Ann Johnson said that the process for changing the State Migration Plan list of occupations is that while they will revise it every month, they will only change it every quarter, for the benefit of applicants.
• Applicants who had previously been approved under South Australia's former state sponsorship method may need to reapply before they are approved under the new State Migration Plan (assuming their occupation is transferrable from the previous sponsorship list to an occupation on the new one);
• No more than 100 'off-list' applicants can apply for sponsorship where they do NOT have an occupation on the State Migration Plan's list of occupations, with this being a reduction from 500 'off-list' applicants from the previous financial year (though Ann Johnson did say that South Australia "didn't get anywhere near to 100" in this last year). 

- Lauren Mennie is Casework Department Manager of 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 Department of Immigration and Citizenship have announced the annual review of Australian Visa application charges, with the cost of most visas to be increased by less than 10 per cent after 1 July. The largest increase, at 10.5 per cent, will be added to the fee for a second contributory parent visa.

The annual review of Australian visa application fees, made as part of the release of the Federal Budget, typically see fees increase in accordance with changes in the Australian Consumer Price Index. You can read the full Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) ammendments to migration fees and regulations here.

The new visa application fees for some common skilled and family visas will be as follows:

VISA TYPE	NEW FEE (AUD)
Skilled - Independent (subclass 175)	$2,575
Skilled - Sponsored (subclass 176)	$2,575
Skilled - Regional Sponsored (subclass 475)	$2,575
Spouse (including de facto couples) (subclass 309/100)	$1,735
Prospective Marriage (subclass 300)	$1,735
Contributory Parent – Migrant (subclass 143)	1st VAC $1,735 2nd VAC $37,965

 

 - 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 announcement made last week that Australian immigration will be switching to the ANZSCO skills classification on 1 July, 2010 is an issue set to have a huge impact on the General Skilled Migration (GSM) program, as it essentially redefines the occupations and skills that are in demand by Australia.

We've been investigating the impact of the changes through speaking to the skills assessing bodies who will also be affected by this change. The latest comments we've seen have come from the Australian Computer Society (ACS), who provided the following information:

"Applicants who hold, or are about to hold, an assessment outcome letter with an ASCO code issued by the ACS prior to 1 July 2010, are advised to apply for a review of assessment outcome and follow application for review process that will be publicised on the ACS website once the framework, in which new SOL would be applied, is introduced by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC).

• Up to and including 30 June 2010, assessment outcome letters will be issued in ASCO codes only.
• From and including 1 July 2010, assessment outcome letters will be issued in ANZSCO codes only."

In many ways, ACS is the assessing body that we most wanted to hear comment on the changes as many of the ASCO computing professional occupations they currently assess do not have a direct match on ANZSCO.

As a result, if an applicant has previously completed an assessment with ACS but was unable to lodge their Australian visa application before the GSM program was temporarily suspended, it will be advisable for these applicants to apply for a "review of assessment outcome and follow application for review process".

Further details aren't yet available as to how this review process will work or how long it will take, but more information is expected to be made available on the ACS website soon.

- 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.

With the skilled Australian visa program switching to using the ANZSCO occupation classification on 1 July, 2010, responses from Australian skills assessing bodies are still coming in.

A representative for the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council (ANMC) was kind enough to answer a few of our questions over email.  See their responses to our Q&A below:

Q&A with ANMC on the switch to ANZSCO

• Q: Should applicants be applying under the ANZSCO occupation now, or should applicants still be nominating an ASCO?
  
  ANMC RESPONSE: The ANMC will continue assessments under the current ASCO Codes. If/when this changes to ANZSCO codes, our online application system will be updated to include the new ANZSCO Codes and information will be made available on our website.
  
• Q: Has any information been given in regards to transitional provisions that may be put in place for applicants that have obtained a skills assessment already under an ASCO code, and whether this will enable them to lodge to DIAC, or if they will require a reissue of skills assessment as an ANZSCO occupation?
  
  ANMC RESPONSE: This will need to be followed up with DIAC as we have not received any information from them ourselves.
  
• Q: Additionally, for the occupations where there is only a partial match between the ASCO and ANSZCO, what is your policy? Will a partial match between occupations be sufficient, so as to allow a reissue in an ANZSCO occupation?
  
  ANMC RESPONSE: Unable to comment on this at the moment.
  
• Q: Also, can we expect any changes to your forms or assessing policies based on the changes?
  
  ANMC RESPONSE: Yes, online forms will be updated. Assessment process will not change.

- 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.

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: 

133111 - Construction project manager 133112 - Project builder 133211 - Engineering manager 134111 - Child Care centre manager 134211 - Medical administrator 134212 - Nursing clinical director 134213 - Primary health organisation manager 134214 - Welfare centre manager 221111 - Accountant (general) 221112 - Management accountant 221113 - Taxation accountant 221213 - External auditor 221214 - Internal auditor 224111 - Actuary 224511 - Land economist 224512 - Valuer 231212 - Ship's engineer 231213 - Ship's master 231214 - Ship's officer 232111 - Architect 232112 - Landscape architect 232211 - Cartographer 232212 - Surveyor 232611 - Urban and regional planner 233111 - Chemical engineer 233112 - Materials engineer 233211 - Civil engineer 233212 - Geotechnical engineer 233213 - Quantity surveyor 233214 - Structural engineer 233215 - Transport engineer 233311 - Electrical engineer 233411 - Electronics engineer 233511 - Industrial engineer 233512 - Mechanical engineer 233513 - Production or plant engineer 233611 - Mining engineer (excluding petroleum) 233612 - Petroleum engineer 233911 - Aeronautical engineer 233912 - Agricultural engineer 233913 - Biomedical engineer 233914 - Engineering technologist 233915 - Environmental engineer 233916 - Naval architect 234111 - Agricultural consultant 234112 - Agricultural scientist 234113 - Forester 234211 - Chemist 234611 - Medical laboratory scientist 234711 - Veterinarian 241111 - Early childhood (pre-primary school) teacher 241411 - Secondary school teacher 241511 - Special needs teacher 241512 - Teacher of the hearing impaired 241513 - Teacher of the sight impaired 241599 - Special education teachers nec 251211 - Medical diagnostic radiographer 251212 - Medical radiation therapist 251213 - Nuclear medicine technologist 251214 - Sonographer 251411 - Optometrist 251412 - Orthoptist 252111 - Chiropractor 252112 - Osteopath 252311 - Dental specialist 252312 - Dentist 252411 - Occupational therapist 252511 - Physiotherapist 252611 - Podiatrist 252711 - Audiologist 252712 - Speech pathologist 253111 - General medical practitioner 253211 - Anaesthetist 253311 - Specialist physician 253312 - Cardiologist 253313 - Clinical haematologist 253314 - Clinical oncologist 253315 - Endocrinologist 253316 - Gastroenterologist 253317 - Intensive care specialist 253318 - Neurologist 253321 - Paediatrician 253322 - Renal medicine specialist 253323 - Rheumatologist 253324 - Thoracic medicine specialist 253399 - Internal medicine specialist nec 253411 - Psychiatrist 253511 - Surgeon (general) 253512 - Cardiothoracic surgeon 253513 - Neurosurgeon 253514 - Orthopaedic surgeon

253515 - Otorhinolaryngologist 253516 - Paediatric surgeon 253517 - Plastic and reconstructive surgeon 253518 - Urologist 253521 - Vascular surgeon 253911 - Dermatologist 253912 - Emergency medicine specialist 253913 - Obstetrician and Gynaecologist 253914 - Ophthalmologist 253915 - Pathologist 253916 - Radiologist 253999 - Medical practitioners nec 254111 - Midwife 254411 - Nurse Practitioner 254412 - Registered nurse (aged care) 254413 - Registered nurse (Child and Family Health) 254414 - Registered nurse (community health) 254415 - Registered nurse (critical care and emergency) 254416 - Registered nurse (development disability) 254417 - Registered nurse (disability and rehabilitation) 254418 - Registered nurse (medical) 254421 - Registered nurse (medical practice) 254422 - Registered nurse (mental health) 254423 - Registered nurse (perioperative) 254424 - Registered nurse (surgical) 254499 - Registered nurse 261111 - ICT business analyst 261112 - Systems analyst 261311 - Analyst programmer 261312 - Developer programmer 261313 - Software engineer 263311 - Telecommunications engineer 263312 - Telecommunications network engineer 272311 - Clinical psychologist 272312 - Educational psychologist 272313 - Organisational psychologist 272314 - Psychotherapist 272399 - Psychologists nec 272511 - Social worker 312211 - Civil engineer draftsperson 312212 - Civil engineer technician 312311 - Electrical engineer draftperson 312312 - Electrical engineer technician 313211 - Radiocommunications technician 313212 - Telecommunications field engineer 313213 - Telecommunications network planner 313214 - Telecommunications technical officer or technologist 321111 - Automotive electrician 321211 - Motor mechanic (general) 321212 - Diesel motor mechanic 321213 - Motorcycle mechanic 321214 - Small engine mechanic 322211 - Sheetmetal trades worker 322311 - Metal Fabricator 322312 - Pressure Welder 322313 - Welder (first class) 323111 - Aircraft maintenance engineer (avionics) 323112 - Aircraft maintenance engineer (mechanical) 323113 - Aircraft maintenance engineer (structures) 323313 - Locksmith 324111 - Panelbeater 324311 - Vehicle painter 331111 - Bricklayer 331112 - Stonemason 331211 - Carpenter and Joiner 331212 - Carpenter 331213 - Joiner 332211 - Painting trades workers 333111 - Glazier 333211 - Fibrous plasterer 333212 - Solid plasterer 333411 - Wall and floor tiler 334111 - Plumber (general) 334112 - Airconditioning and mechanical services plumber 334113 - Drainer 334114 - Gasfitter 334115 - Roof plumber 341111 - Electrician (general) 341112 - Electrician (special class) 341113 - Lift mechanic 342111 - Airconditioning and refrigeration mechanic 342211 - Electrical linesworker 342212 - Technical cable jointer 342313 - Electronic equipment trades worker 342314 - Electronic instrument trades worker (general) 342315 - Electronic instrument trades worker (special class) 411211 - Dental Hygienist 411212 - Dental Prosthetist 411213 - Dental technician 411214 - Dental therapist

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.