Australia is now welcoming immigrants and tourists from all over the world who are fully immunized under a variety of visa categories, such as skilled visas, study visas, family-sponsored visas, visitor visas, etc. If you are applying for an Australian visa this year, you need to be aware of the necessary steps and any new regulations. Australia has a very simple point-based immigration system that grants permanent residency to qualified and competent foreigners.
In last few months, the Australian government has employed few vital changes in the visa rules and process requirements, which will crucial for the individuals applying for visa in Australia this year.
Australia Immigration and Visa Rule Changes 2023
Here is a summary of the most recent changes to Australia’s visa regulations, which will have an impact on the country’s immigration policies and procedures in 2023–2024:
New Australia Immigration Rule changes applicable from 1 July 2023
- In the 2023–24 permanent Migration Programme, Australia has allotted roughly 70% of the spaces to skilled migrants.
- To increase the supply of skilled workers in certain industries, the Australian government is granting temporary graduate visa holders with a few specially designated degrees an additional two years of post-study employment rights.
- To ensure that skilled migration parameters are more specifically targeted, raising the temporary skilled migration income threshold to $70,000.
- Exempting overseas students from the fortnightly work hour cap until December 31, 2023, if they are employed in the elderly care industry.
- Added training opportunities for Pacific Workers in crucial industries for the Pacific and Timor-Leste as well as in areas of Australia where there is a shortage of jobs.
- A new program based on an agreement between India and Australia would allow Indian graduates attending higher institutions in Australia on a student visa to seek to work there for up to 8 years without sponsorship as of July 1, 2023.
- Extension of post-study employment rights for overseas graduates by two years, effective July 1, 2023: The Australian government will grant an extension of two years for post-study work rights to eligible graduates of international higher education institutions. Furthermore, the maximum number of hours that overseas students may work while studying in Australia will be increased from the existing 40 to 48 per fortnight, giving them even more freedom to mix work and study.
- swift processing of visas for healthcare and teaching professionals: The Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL), which was used by the Australian Department of Home Affairs (DHA) to rank skilled visa applications, has been withdrawn. According to the DHA, applications for skilled visas are handled in accordance with Ministerial Direction No. 100’s list of government policy priorities. As a result, visa applications from teachers and healthcare professionals will now be handled first.
- NSW-Australia has loosened the requirements for nomination for the subclass 190 visa: New South Wales (NSW) Immigration has eliminated the earlier points requirements and work experience requirements for the subclass 190 skilled nominee visa due to the increased accessibility of subclass 189 skilled independent visa by DHA, Australia.
- South Australia has received Nomination Allocation of over 8,000 Places: Australian government has confirmed the final nomination allocation levels of South Australia (SA) for 2022-23. The SA will issue state nominations to more than 8,000 candidates in the year 2022-23. The SA has received these nominations for key visa categories, i.e. Subclass 190, Subclass 491, and Subclass 188 visa
- Australia has updated requirements for temporary visa applicants in Australia: The Government of Australia has reformed the requirements for temporary visa applicants in Australia. The government has mainly updated the requirement regarding the medical examination requirement for Temporary visa applicants in Australia.
- Trades Recognition Australia (TRA) has announced a few significant adjustments to the rules for its Migration Skills Assessment (MSA) program. For all new MSA applications submitted starting on October 4, 2022, these new guidelines will reflect modifications made to the employment requirements.
- Updates on skilled migration that are important: Australia recently announced updates on skilled migration during the Jobs and Skills Summit, which was held at the beginning of September 2022. These changes include:
- The number of spots available for permanent skilled migration in 2022–2023 has increased from 160,000 to 195,000.
- As a result, 34,000 locations were added to the regions for this year, which is 9,000 more than was previously announced.
- Structuring a big lift under the state and territory-sponsored visas – from 11,000 the previous year to 31,000.
- Removal of Covid-19 restrictions: On 6 July 2022, Australia removed all Covid-19-related restrictions. It implies that travelers to Australia no longer need to complete a Digital Passenger Declaration (DPD) to declare their COVID-19 vaccination status.
- Federal and State governments are accepting applications Federal as well as almost all state governments of Australia are now accepting applications from overseas immigration applicants.
- Australia’s new migration program year Starts on 1st July: Australia’s migration program year starts on 1st July every year. In 2022, Australia has a target to accept 160,000 new immigrants under the Skills, Family, and Special eligibility streams.
- Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) subclass 482 visa holders: Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) subclass 482 visa holders in the short-term stream can now apply for PR Visa via the Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream of the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) subclass 186 visa. These provisions are also applicable to Temporary Work (Skilled) subclass 457 visa holders with an occupation on the Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL).
- Subclass 457 visa holders’ age exemption: Eligible legacy subclass 457 visa holders can access an age exemption when applying through the Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream of the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) subclass 186 visa.
- Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) subclass 482 (Short-term stream) visa holders: Eligible former TSS visa holders, who have experience working in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic, can now apply for a third short-term stream TSS visa while in Australia.
- Visa Fee Revised from 1st July: Australia has revised the visa fee for most skilled, visit, and sponsored visa categories.
Earlier Australia Immigration Rule changes
- A region of Western Australia joins DAMA: The South West region of WA joined the DAMA agreement to address a labour shortage. With the Shire of Dardanup, the federal government is drafting a DAMA (Designated Area Migration Agreement). It will be the eighth Australian area to sign a five-year deal with the Commonwealth.
- In periodic invitation rounds, New South Wales is now taking into consideration offshore individuals who are qualified in a few key occupations within a few ANZSCO unit groups. The NSW Skilled Occupation List has already indicated these unit categories.
- Australia reopened its borders on December 15, 2021, allowing any fully immunized qualifying visa holders—skilled workers and foreign students—to enter the country.
- International student announcements: The Australian government has announced important initiatives for international students. In addition to increasing the temporary graduate visa for master’s by coursework graduates from 2 to 3 years, these new arrangements will boost steps to protect the post-study work rights of international students.
To know more details or clarification about the rule changes above, you can e-mail your queries to our Australia immigration expert at info@flarialinternational.org
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