Hello, everyone. We are your trustable migration partner, OPARTNERS.
Today we would like to share news about a new Migration Minister, David Coleman and his plans to accept more migrants in regional areas. He pointed out that these plans are to ease population pressure on big cities such as Melbourne and Sydney, and at the same time to boost regional economies.
Australia has a new Migration Minister, David Coleman. Before serving as a politician, he worked mainly in the media and technology fields. Also, Coleman worked with the global management consulting firm McKinsey & Co, and ran his own consulting business.
By Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison, Coleman was appointed as a Minister of Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs on the 26th August this year. It is also worthwhile noting that Immigration Ministry has now been separated from Home Affairs Ministry.
In his recent interview with SBS media, Coleman has stated his priority is regional immigration, so he is now making an effort to improve current regional visas to get more migrants to struggling regional communities.
Below are several consequences to be expected from hereon:
▶ Realignment of regional visas (such as subclass 489 regional visa)
This visa allows skilled workers to live and work in regional or low-population growth metropolitan areas for up to 4 years. Visa holders will be offered a pathway to permanent residence after living in regional area at least 2 years.
According to Department of Home Affairs, there has been a sharp drop in the number of invitations compared to last years’ figures. This August, merely 10 invitations were issued for this subclass while around 250 invitations were issued for the same month last year.
▶ More focused on RSMS
RSMS is an abbreviation for Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme. RSMS is specifically designed to assist regional employers nominate skilled migrants to fill a full-time vacancy. RSMS visa is a Permanent Residency visa, allowing a visa holder to work and live in Australia.
Since it is specifically designed to fill genuine vacancies in regional Australia, major cities are excluded such as Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Gold Coast, Newcastle, Wollongong for now.
▶ Expansion of Regional Occupation List(ROL)
ROL is a list of occupations that are in need in regional areas and updated on a regular basis on advice by the Department of Jobs and Small Business.
▶ Greater focus on Labour Agreements
Employers are allowed to sponsor skilled overseas workers through Labour Agreements when there is a need which cannot be met in the domestic labour market and standard visa programs are not available.
Officially developed between the Australian Government and employers, they are generally in effect for 5 years. And the visa holders may be eligible to permanent residency later.
The government has highlighted that Labour Agreements can be a solution to skills shortages in regional business, especially in dairy, fishing, meat, pork and restaurant industries.
Full story can be found here:
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/australia-s-new-immigration-minister-reveals-visa-priority
If you need any professional consultation or assistance regarding any Australian visas, please contact Opartners.
(Disclaimer)
The information provided in this website serves as a general guidance only and does not constitute migration advice. We accept no responsibility for any consequences that arise from any action taken on the basis of the information available in this site. We recommend that people seeking advice on migration law should seek advice from a registered migration agent.
MJ PARK
Australia Registered migration agent
Registration number. 0955026
Email inquiry : admin@opartners.com.au
Telephone inquiry: +61 08 6454 9910