As reported earlier this week, the new Skills in Demand visa will replace the Temporary Skill Shortage (subclass 482) visa on December 7, 2024.
The new Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL) will apply to the new visa and the Direct Entry Stream of the subclass 186 visa.
Visas affected:
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Temporary Skills Shortage (subclass 482)
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Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186)
Temporary Skills Shortage
On Saturday, December 7, the Temporary Skills Shortage (subclass 482) visa will be replaced by the Skills In Demand (subclass 482 visa).
As expected, the Skills In Demand (SID) visa has three streams:
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Specialist Skills stream for applicants in any ANZSCO occupation earning $135,000 per annum or more. Note that trade worker, machinery operator and driver, and labourer occupations are excluded from this stream.
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Core Skills stream for applicants earning at least $73,150 per annum in an occupation on the new Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL).
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Labour Agreement stream, which carries over existing provisions from the TSS visa while the government finalizes the proposed Essential Skills stream.
All SID visas can be granted for up to 4 years.
Core Skills List: While some occupations have been removed from the list of eligible occupations, many more which were previously only available in regional areas have been added. Outdated occupations have been removed, and new occupations that more accurately reflect the workforce have been added.
Work Experience: The minimum relevant work experience requirement of 2 years has been reduced to one year under the SID. This must be full-time employment (or equivalent part-time) within the last 5 years.
Applicants must still meet the skill requirement listed in ANZSCO (Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations) for their nominated occupation.
English: The English requirement is the same as the current Medium Term Stream of the TSS visa.
Cost: Visa application charges remain the same as the current Medium Term Stream of the TSS visa. The Nomination fee and Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) Levy are also unchanged.
What happens to pending applications?: Pending TSS Nomination and Visa applications will be processed under the requirements in place at the time their application was lodged. If you have an approved TSS Nomination, it can be linked to a new SID visa.
Employer Nomination Scheme
From Saturday, December 7, the following changes will apply to applications lodged on or after that date:
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Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream: Visa applicants must have completed 2 years (out of the last 3 years) of full-time employment in the same occupation holding a subclass 457, 482 (TSS) and/or 482 (SID) visa.
The employment doesn’t need to be with the same sponsor throughout the 2 years as long as the applicant has worked continuously for the 2 years (excluding unpaid leave).
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Direct Entry (DE) stream: Applications are limited to those on the CSOL. The CSOL provides significantly more eligible occupations than the previous Medium and Long Term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL).
This alert is prepared by the Erickson Immigration Group Australia/New Zealand Immigration Team.