The South Australian State Migration Plan has
been announced.
The South Australian Government has released their State Migration Plan this week. There are 258 occupations on the state migration plan, some of which will be unique to South Australia.
There are 4,890 places available for the 2010/11 program year, but the South Australian government have yet to give us an exact indication how many of these have already been filled by pre-existing applications for sponsorship.
The full list of occupations that the South Australian Government is willing to sponsor can be viewed here. The new state migration plan is designed to help meet South Australia’s skilled workforce needs by targeting needed occupations that are eligible for state sponsorship.
How does the South Australia State Migration Plan differ to other State Migration Plans?
One of the key ways that South Australia's SMP differs from the majority of the other states is in the work experience requirements it places on applicants, as the majority of listed occupations only require 12 months work experience in the previous 24 months (as opposed to others who ask for up to 7 years previous work experience).
Additionally, the South Australia State Migration Plan will come as especially good news to primary school teachers, metal tradespeople, hairdressers and farriers, as individuals in these occupations had very limited state sponsorship options previously.
Unfortunately, many individuals in IT and engineering occupations will be unable to apply under the South Australia SMP at this time, as they are currently classified as 'not available' due to South Australia having already met their quota for a number of these occupations. Applicants within these occupations may be able to apply from 1 July, 2011 though, when the next program year begins.
However, if you have previously secured state sponsorship in an occupation that is now listed as 'not available' and you have already lodged your visa application, you will still be assigned a visa processing priority level of Priority Group 2, which means your application should be processed within 12 months.
In terms of IELTS requirements, United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Canada, New Zealand and United States of America passport holders only need to provide an IELTS test result if the listed requirement is for IELTS 7.0 or higher. Where the requirement is less than 7.0, no IELTS test result is necessary.
- Leonie Cotton is Assistant Casework Department Manager for the Australian Visa Bureau.
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