South Australia Announces Interim Occupations List for State Nomination

By Mark Webster
22 September 2010

The South Australia government has today announced an interim list for state sponsorship ahead of approval of a State Migration Plan.

The list can be used by applicants ahead of the approval of the SA State Migration Plan (SMP), and is likely to form the basis of the SMP occupations list once approved. Approval of the State Migration Plans has been delayed due to the Commonwealth government going into caretaker mode over the recent Federal Election.

The online application system for SA nominations will be reinstated shortly, and presumably the list could be used for either the permanent Skilled Sponsored or 3-year Regional Sponsored visas.

SA Interim List - Comparison with Skilled Occupations List

The interim list is drawn from occupations which are on the new Skilled Occupations List (SOL). States can theoretically nominate occupations from the STNSOL which is much wider than the SOL, but ahead of the approval of the State Migration Plan, states can only nominate occupations on the SOL.

The most common occupations on the SA interim list are:

  • Construction Project Managers
  • Tax and Management Accountants
  • Secondary School and Pre-Primary School Teachers
  • IT professionals
  • Nurses
  • Certain medical specialists
  • Engineering Associate Professionals
  • Construction and motor trades
There are a number of SOL occupations not on the SA list, namely:
  • Child Care, welfare and medical administrators
  • Accountants, actuaries and auditors, though management and tax accountants with 3 years experience are on list
  • Architects, urban & regional planners and valuers
  • Engineers apart from civil & geotechnical engineers
  • Agricultural scientists and foresters
  • Special needs teachers
  • Some medical specialist occupations
  • Psychologist specialisations
  • Trades - sheet metal trades and cable jointers

English Language Requirement

The minimum English requirement is "Competent English" - this would require 6.0 minimum in each band of the IELTS test.

However, SA requires a minimum of 6.5 or 7.0 in each band for some occupations.

South Australia will, however, accept holding a passport from the UK, US, Ireland, Canada or NZ as a substitute for a score of 6.5 or lower in IELTS, but where 7.0 is required even these applicants would need to do the IELTS test.

Work Experience

Work experience is required for only two occupations on the SA list - Tax and management accountants who require 3 years of work experience.

Previously, South Australia required a minimum of 12 months of skilled work experience in the last 24 months, or a job offer in South Australia to consider nomination for a skilled sponsored visa. It will be interesting to see whether this requirement continues when the online application system is reinstated.

Feel free to contact us if you wish to discuss applying for skilled migration to Australia.

Reference: SA Interim Occupations List.

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