New Skilled Visa Processing Priorities and Proposed Migration Reforms
The reforms also seek to strengthen visa integrity and better align skilled migration with Australia’s workforce needs.
1. Changes to skilled visa processing priorities
Just as we were adjusting to the new processing priorities announced in July, two new directions came into effect on 19 September. Ministerial Directions 121 and 122 have replaced all processing priorities that were recently announced under Ministerial Direction 119. These new directions apply to applications that have not been finalised. Therefore, applications already on hand are re-ordered under these new priorities.
Ministerial Direction 121
Skills in Demand (Subclass 482) visa applications are processed in the following order of priority:
1. Visa applications relating to Construction, Healthcare, Teaching, Agriculture, Aquaculture, Fishing, and Resources sectors, or Australia's law enforcement and defence interests.
2. Visa applications in the Specialist Skills stream of the Skills in Demand visa.
3. Visa applications where the applicant was in Australia at the time they lodged their application.
4. Visa applications where the primary applicant was outside of Australia at the time they lodged their application and whose application is not combined with another person’s application at any time.
5. All other visa applications.
Ministerial Direction 122
Certain provisional and permanent skilled visa applications, such as the Subclass 186 visa, are processed in the following order of priority:
- Visa applications relating to Construction, Healthcare, Teaching, Agriculture, Aquaculture, Fishing, and Resources sectors, or Australia's law enforcement and defence interests.
- Visa applications where the applicant was in Australia at the time they lodged their application.
- Visa applications where the primary applicant was outside of Australia at the time they lodged their application and whose application is not combined with another person’s application at any time.
- All other visa applications.
How does these directions differ from Direction 119?
It is great to see Specialist Skills stream applicants of the Subclass 482 visa now have a defined priority category as it provides greater certainty when hiring key skilled talent from overseas. Specialist Skills stream applicants will receive second tier priority, regardless of whether the applicant is inside or outside of Australia.
Ministerial Directions 121 and 122 move healthcare, teaching and construction to the top priority and adds agriculture, aquaculture, fishing and resources sector occupations to the top priority sectors. This is to ensure that the skilled migration program is targeted to support key industries and strategically important occupations that are in the national interest.
These directions also include a compelling circumstances exceptions provision which allows delegates to depart from the standard order.
What are the current processing times for employer sponsored Australian visas?
The Department of Home Affairs is currently advertising the following processing times from lodgement:
· Specialist Skills stream of Skills in Demand (Subclass 482) visa – 15-45 days
· Core Skills stream of Skills in Demand (Subclass 482) visa – 4-9 months
· Temporary Residence Transition stream of Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 186) visa – 14-22 months
· Direct Entry stream of Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 186) visa –13-21 months
As with Ministerial Direction 119, accredited sponsors and regional employers are not prioritised in this new framework.
2. Other proposed migration reforms
On 17 September, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Tony Burke outlined other migration reforms that are aimed at reducing Net Overseas Migration (NOM). It is important to note that not all of these changes are in effect yet, but can be brought into effect with Ministerial Directions rather than legislative change.
The NOM is calculated by taking the number of migrants arriving in Australia who are staying for more than a year and subtracting the number of people leaving. It's the most common way of measuring how much the Australian population has grown due to immigration.
The Government is targeting a NOM of 245,000 in 2026-27 and 225,0000 per year from 2027-28. The Government reports that it is already tracking below its forecasted NOM for this year.
Key changes that were raised include:
· Student and Graduate Visas – Most students and graduates will no longer be able to have secondary visa applicants. Those already in Australia with secondary visa applicants are not affected.
· Working Holiday Maker (Subclass 417/462) visas – A ballot will be introduced for second and third years visas, with the Year Two ballot capped at 45,000 places and the Year Three ballot capped at5,000 places. For UK applicants, because they are not required to undertake regional work under the Free Trade Agreement, the pace will remain slower to address the large growth in this cohort.
· Visitor Visas – A No Further Stay condition will apply to all future visitor visa grants, blocking future onshore applicants for most visas. Visitor Visas already granted and those already in Australia holding a Visitor Visa will not be affected.
· Points Test – A new points test will be introduced with more weight given to housing and construction trade qualifications.
· Visa overstayers – Stronger action will be taken on the estimated 77,000 visa overstayers with a return to the pre-2015process of detention followed by voluntary departure within weeks. The Australian Border Force will expand its team by 100 compliance officers and will introduce 250 additional detention beds to resource this policy.
The past week has demonstrated that there is a lot of change ahead in the Australian migration landscape. For businesses with ongoing or anticipated overseas recruitment or immigration needs, now is a good time to review your workforce plan and prospective visa strategies against the new processing frameworks.
If you would like to learn more about how the above changes impact your business, please contact our team at immigrationaustralia@k2xborder.com
