Skills in Demand Visa Information

Posted by Rebecca Berkovic on November 19, 2024

With the Skills in Demand visa on the verge of replacing the Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS)(subclass 482) visa program potentially before the end of 2024, more details have become available regarding the new Australian work visa program.

The main change to the Australian work visa program will be the introduction of the new three-tiered visa system which will divide applicants based on their annual earnings and occupations. The new Skills in Demand visa is intended to address labour skills shortages in Australia whilst also introducing greater flexibility for temporary overseas workers to find another sponsor if their employment ceases or change sponsors and provides a clear pathway to Australian permanent residency for visa holders.

The three visa streams of the Skill in Demand visa program are intended to contain the following requirements:

Stream 1: Specialist Skills Pathway

Stream 2: Core Skills Pathway

Stream 3: Essential Skills Pathway

No skilled occupation list will be provided however it seems that trade workers, machine operators, drivers and labourers will be excluded.
Guaranteed annual earnings of over AU$135,000 will be required which is intended to be indexed on an annual basis.
Priority processing will be given to this stream with the Australian Government stating that a 7-day median processing time is intended.

Jobs and Skills Australia is intended to provide a regularly updated ‘Core Skills Occupation List’ (CSOL). Visa applicants will be required to meet the definition of an occupation on the CSOL.
Guaranteed annual earnings of over AU$73,150 will be required which is to be indexed on an annual basis.

This stream will apply to occupations where annual earnings are under AU$73,150 but working in ‘essential skill occupations.’
This pathway is still under assessment and likely to be sector-specific and include a stronger regulatory framework as well as potentially being capped and with minimum standards introduced.

The Skills in Demand visa set to replace the TSS subclass 482 visa, is intended to be granted for a four year period. The exact requirements will be announced by the Australian Government once the new visa comes into effect. It is intended that all three tiers- the Specialist Skills, Core Skills and Essential Skills streams will act as a pathway to Australian permanent residency.

We will keep you updated with new developments regarding the introduction of the Skills in Demand visa and will advise when it replaces the TSS subclass 482 visa program.

Disclaimer:

The information on this website is intended only to provide a summary and general overview on relevant matters. It is not intended to be comprehensive nor does it constitute legal advice. You are advised to seek legal or other professional advice before acting or relying on any of the content contained in this website.

What’s Next for Australian Work and Business Innovation Visas?

Posted by Rebecca Berkovic on November 11, 2024

The Australian Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has stated that significant changes will occur to the Australian work visa and business innovation visa programs. The major changes will be as follows:

The Skills in Demand visa will replace the current Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS)(subclass 482) visa.
The National Innovation visa will replace the current Global Talent and Business Innovation visas.

The DHA has advised that the new visa programs will include the following features:

Skills in Demand Visa:

Four year duration;
Pathway to Australian permanent residency;
One year relevant work experience.; and
Three separate visa streams with their own discrete requirements, including:
1. Specialist visa stream
2. Core visa stream
3. Essential visa stream.

National Innovation Visa:

Will require an invitation to be issued by the DHA prior to lodging a visa application;
Intended to attract ‘exceptionally talented’ migrants who will drive growth in sectors of national importance to Australia; and
Intended to target entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, creatives and athletes.

The new Skills in Demand visa and National Innovation visa programs are expected to be introduced by the end of 2024.

Specific details and requirements of the new visa programs are still yet to be revealed by the Australian Government. We will keep you updated as the new visa programs are introduced.

Disclaimer:

3 Tips for Newly Established Australian Businesses Sponsoring Overseas Employees

Posted by Rebecca Berkovic on November 11, 2024

Your company began the recruitment process for an important role in the business. The best candidate with the skills and experience you need to fill the role turns out to not be an Australian permanent resident or citizen. However, you need this role filled by the best candidate.

Sponsorship enables an Australian company (or overseas company in certain situations) greater flexibility to hire the best and most skilled and experienced candidate for the role.

However, what happens if your company is a start-up?

What happens if you have been operating for less than 12 months?

If your company has been operating in Australia for less than 12 months, it is considered to be a ‘newly established’ business under the Migration Regulations. Newly established businesses are still able to sponsor skilled overseas employees for Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS)(subclass 482) and Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) (subclass 494) visas as a ‘standard business sponsor.’

Here are three tips in being able to sponsor:

Tip 1:

Bank Statement

If you are running a newly established business it is important to show that you will be able to afford to pay the salaries of your employees and show that you have sufficient cashflow to continue to operate your business.

Since you will not have built up significant financial records, providing a bank statement for the company will assist you in showing that you meet the requirements to register as a standard business sponsor.

Tip 2:

Business Plan

Having a detailed business plan for a newly established business is an important part of showing the Australian Department of Home Affairs that the business.

Tip 3:

Support from your Accountant

It can be helpful to enlist the support of your accountant and provide a letter of support for the business when applying to become a standard business sponsor. Your accountant can provide information about the business and cash projections

Do you need assistance registering your business as a sponsor to give you more flexibility in your hiring solutions?

Please feel free to contact Hartman Immigration.

Disclaimer:

INCREASED FLEXIBILITY FOR THE TSS SUBCLASS 482 WORK EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT

Posted by Rebecca Berkovic on October 10, 2024

In order to be eligible for a Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS)(subclass 482) Australian work visa, it is necessary to meet the work experience criteria which requires the visa applicant to work in their nominated (or closely related) occupation for a minimum of two years prior to lodging their visa application.

Policy regarding this criteria previously stated that the work experience was required to have taken place in the last five years before lodging the visa application. However, the Australian Government recently broadened the work experience criteria and removed the requirement that work experience occurred in the previous five years.

This provides greater flexibility to visa applicants for the TSS subclass 482 visa applicants, enabling applicants to provide evidence of work experience in an extended timeframe.

In addition, the Australian Government also made the work experience criteria more flexible as policy for the TSS subclass 482 visa work experience criteria previously stated that casual employment would not count towards meeting the work experience criteria. However, the newly amended policy removes this stipulation and enables visa applicants to count work in their nominated (or closely related) occupation on a casual basis without the requirement for work to be continuous and full-time.

Need Assistance?

Please do not hesitate to contact us at info@hartmanimmigration.com.au for Australian visa assistance and sponsoring skilled overseas workers.

Disclaimer:

Changes to the TSS Subclass 482 Genuine Temporary Entrant Policy

Posted by Rebecca Berkovic on August 12, 2024

The Australian Government announced that from 2 August 2024, policy regarding the Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) requirement for Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS)(subclass 482) visa applicants with occupations on the Short Term Occupation List have been amended to simplify the requirement.

The updated policy states that the default position of the GTE policy is that the requirement will be met unless there are specific concerns, which have been reduced to now only include the following factors:

The visa applicant has made two or more unsuccessful TSS applications that were refused or withdrawn, particularly, where:
- the nominated occupation has changed with each application; and/or
- the nominated occupation is not consistent with their previous employment or studies in Australia.
The visa applicant failed to comply with the conditions of a previous visa and/or had a previous visa cancelled or is being considered for cancellation except where a subclass 457 or 482 visa was cancelled following cessation of employment and the applicant was offshore.
There are substantive inconsistencies in the information provided by the applicant in their TSS subclass 482 visa application that cannot be reconciled (for example: occupation/s declared in previous applications, incoming passenger cards, Form 80 etc.).
The visa applicant or their family member has an immigration history of concern, that is, an applicant who has a history of visa refusal, or non-compliance with immigration requirements in another country.
The visa applicant has been identified as part of a cohort in statistical, intelligence and analysis reports on migration fraud and immigration compliance compiled by the Department.

Notably, the factors mentioned in policy previously that may give weight to GTE not being met have been reduced significantly. Within the current policy, having held previous temporary visas (including other 482 Short Term stream visas) or not having left Australia for prolonged periods is NOT listed as a factor for meeting the requirements of GTE.

However, the factors listed in the new policy are non-exhaustive and the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) is not limited solely to these factors in deciding whether visa applicants meet the requirements for GTE.

Need Assistance?

Please do not hesitate to contact us at info@hartmanimmigration.com.au for Australian visa assistance and sponsoring skilled overseas workers.

Disclaimer:

INCREASE IN AUSTRALIAN VISA APPLICATION CHARGES FROM 1 JULY 2024

Posted by Rebecca Berkovic on July 15, 2024

The Australian Government has increased visa application charges applicable from 1 July 2024.

The visa application charge increases are outlined in the table below:

Visa Type	Previous Visa Application Charge	1 July 2024 Visa Application Charge
Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) – STSOL (Subclass 482)	AU$1,455	AU$1,495
Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) – STSOL (Subclass 482)- Secondary Applicants Over 18	AU$1,455	AU$1,495
Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) – STSOL (Subclass 482)- Secondary Applicants Under 18	AU$365	AU$375
Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) – MLTSSL (Subclass 482)	AU$3,035	AU$3,115
Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) – MLTSSL (Subclass 482)- Secondary Applicants Over 18	AU$3,035	AU$3,115
Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) – MLTSSL (Subclass 482)- Secondary Applicants Under 18	AU$760	AU$780
Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 186)	AU$4,640	AU$4,770
Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 186)- Secondary Applicants Over 18	AU$2,120	AU$2,385
Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 186)- Secondary Applicants Under 18	AU$4,710	AU$1,190
Temporary Work (Short Stay Specialist) (subclass 400)	AU$405	AU$415
Visitor Visa– business stream (Subclass 600)	AU$150	AU$195
Global Talent (subclass 858)	AU$	AU$4,840
Student and Guardian (Subclass 500 & 590)	AU$710	AU$1,600
General Skilled Migration (Subclass 189, 190, 491, 494)	AU$4,640	AU$4,765
Graduate Temporary Subclass 485	AU$1,895	AU$1,920
Partner (Subclass 300, 820/801, 309/100)	AU$8,850	AU$9,095
Parent (Contributory) first instalment The Second Visa Application charge for the Contributory Parent visa (143 visa) will remain the same	AU$420 – $4,765	AU$430 to $4,895
Business Migration (Subclass 188A, 188B)	AU$9,450	AU$9,710

Need Assistance?

Please do not hesitate to contact us at info@hartmanimmigration.com.au for Australian visa assistance and sponsoring skilled overseas workers.

Disclaimer:

ADDITIONAL CHANGES TO AUSTRALIAN VISAS FROM 1 JULY 2024

Posted by Rebecca Berkovic on July 3, 2024

The Australian Federal Government is continuing with its host of reforms to Australian visas and additional changes have been introduced which came into effect on 1 July 2024.

The changes include the following:

Salary Threshold changes for subclass 482 and 494 visa applicants: The Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) will increase from $70,000 to $73,150.
Increased flexibility for subclass 457, 482 and 494 visa holders: From 1 July 2024, t visa conditions for subclass 457, 482, and 494 visa holders has been amended to allow visa holders extended flexibility and additional time to transfer their sponsorship to a new employer. The new visa conditions allow temporary work visa holders to case working for their sponsoring employer for up to 180 days at a time and a maximum time of 365 days in total over their entire visa grant period.
Working Holiday Visa requirements for UK citizens: From 1 July 2024, UK citizens on Australian Working Holiday Visa will no longer need to fulfill regional work requirements to apply for their second and third Working Holiday Visas.
No onshore Student visa option for Visitor and Temporary Graduate visa holders: Visitor and Temporary Graduate visa holders from 1 July 2024 will no longer be able to apply directly for a Student visa whilst onshore in Australia.
New Workplace Justice visa pilot: A new workplace justice visa pilot program is being implemented that will enable temporary migrants to remain in Australia for a period of time to undertake a ‘workplace justice activity.’ This visa will utilise the Subclass 408 Temporary Activity visa stream. The Workforce Justice Visa (WJV) will be implemented as a pilot program and the visa will in general be granted for a period of six and up to 12 months.

Need Assistance?

Please do not hesitate to contact us at info@hartmanimmigration.com.au for Australian visa assistance and sponsoring skilled overseas workers.

Disclaimer:

Increase in the Australian Fair Work High Income Threshold from 1 July 2024

Posted by Rebecca Berkovic on June 26, 2024

Effective from 1 July 2024, the Fair Work High Income Threshold (FWHIT) will increase from $167,500 to $175,000 base salary, excluding superannuation.

Relevance to Australian Immigration and Visas

This will affect current Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS)(subclass 482) visa holders who are over the age limit of 45 interested in applying for Australian permanent residency through the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS)(subclass 186) visa Temporary Residence Transition stream. They may still be eligible to apply by utilising the exemption if they have been earning over the FWHIT and working for their sponsor in Australia for a minimum of two years.

Need Assistance?

At Hartman Immigration we regularly assist companies who employ TSS subclass 482 visa holders transitioning to Australian permanent residency through the ENS subclass 186 visa program.

Please do not hesitate to contact us at info@hartmanimmigration.com.au for Australian visa assistance and sponsoring skilled overseas workers.

Disclaimer:

TRANSFER OF SPONSORSHIP FOR AUSTRALIAN TEMPORARY WORK VISA HOLDERS

Posted by Rebecca Berkovic on June 24, 2024

The Australian Government announced that from 1 July 2024 changes would be made to transfer of sponsorship arrangements for overseas employees holding certain temporary work visas to enable greater labour market mobility.

The new transfer of sponsorship provisions will affect the following visa subclasses:

Temporary Skill Shortage visa (subclass 482)
Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (provisional) visa (subclass 494)
Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457)

From 1 July 2024, visa conditions 8107, 8607 and 8608 are changing in a manner which will allow for extended time to find a new sponsor and freedom to find other employment.

Key Changes to Transfer of Sponsorship Conditions and Cessation of Sponsorship of Temporary Visa Holders

From 1 July 2024, holders of the above visas will have greater flexibility in transferring employers in the following way:

Where their employment ceases with their sponsor, they will be provided with:
- 180 days to find a new sponsoring employer, which has increased from the current 60 days.
- A maximum of 365 days in total across the entire visa grant period to hold their temporary work visa after ceasing work for their sponsor.
During the 180 day period, visa holders can work for other employers, which the Australian Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has stated includes work in occupations not listed in their most recently approved sponsorship nomination. This is intended to ensure that visa holders can support themselves while they look for a new sponsor.
Unless exempt, a visa holder cannot work for another employer unless they have ceased work with their sponsoring employer.

Sponsorship Conditions Remaining Unchanged

Visa holders must remain in their nominated occupation while working for their existing sponsor.
Sponsors must still inform the DHA within 28 days if the organisation ceases sponsoring a visa holder or the visa holder resigns.
Visa holders must not do any work that is inconsistent with any licence or registration needed for their nominated occupation.

For advice regarding Australian visas and sponsoring skilled overseas workers, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@hartmanimmigration.com.au for Australian immigration assistance.

Disclaimer:

Innovation and Early Careers Skills Exchange Pilot

Posted by Rebecca Berkovic on June 19, 2024

The Australian Government has announced that as part of the Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement (A-UKFTA) the Innovation and Early Careers Skills Exchange Pilot (IECSEP) will be introduced to provide new opportunities for UK citizens to take their next career step in Australia through the introduction of a new Australian visa stream aimed at facilitating work in Australia for UK citizens.

The purpose of IECSEP is to build on the existing connections between Australia and the UK by establishing a new and streamlined mobility pathway for early career professionals and demonstrated innovators from the UK.

Program Streams:

There are two streams under the IECSEP:

the Early Careers Skills stream, which will allow participants to undertake a short-term placement, secondement, or intra-corporate transfer for up to one year in Australia.
the Innovation stream, which will allow highly skilled and experienced participants, with a demonstrated contribution to innovation, to undertake opportunities for up to three years in Australia.

Eligibility Criteria:

All IECSEP applicants must be able to demonstrate UK citizenship, and that they have adequate financial means to support themselves for the duration of their stay in Australia ($5,000 plus the fare to where the applicant is going to after Australia).

All IECSEP applicants must have a confirmed job in Australia to be eligible to participate in the IECSEP. Applicants will need to provide DFAT with either a letter of employment offer, or a copy of an employment contract, to prove their prospective employment in Australia when they submit their application.

To be eligible for the Early Careers stream applicants must:

be aged between 21 and 45 (inclusive) at the time of application;
hold tertiary qualifications;
have worked for at least 3 months in their current role, and the prospective employment in Australia; must be relevant to the applicant’s field of work in their current role; and
have prospective employment in Australia in an occupation defined at the ANZSCO Skill Levels 1, 2 or 3.

To be eligible for the Innovation stream applicants must:

have a demonstrated contribution to innovation;
be highly skilled;
be highly experienced; and
have prospective employment in Australia in an occupation defined at the ANZSCO Skill Level 1.

Application Information:

Total visas available under the IECSEP will be 1,000 in the first year, and 2,000 in the second year of operation, during which the program will be reviewed.

IECSEP is now open for applications.

The current round for the Early Careers stream will close at 11.59pm (GMT) on 31 December 2024.

The current round for the Innovation stream will close at 11.59pm (GMT) on 31 December 2024.

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) may close application rounds with respect of one or both IECSEP streams on a date before the advertised times above.

Benefit for Employers and Businesses:

The Australian Government has highlighted that the purpose of IECSEP is to recognise the importance of innovation and skills mobility to the economies of Australia and the United Kingdom.

The IECSEP will provide Australian employers with an opportunity to access innovative and early-career professionals from the UK, through the pilot of a new and streamlined temporary mobility pathway from the UK to Australia. UK organisations are intended to benefit from employee upskilling, as well as a way of providing key staff with an international career development opportunity.