Impact of Changes to Skilled Occupations Lists April 2017

webster By Mark Webster
Wednesday, 19 April 2017

Significant changes have been made to skilled occupations lists effective 19 April 2017.

These changes affect applicants for:

This article goes through the effect of the changes to the occupations lists.

SOL Changes

The Skilled Occupations List (SOL) has been replaced by the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL).

Applicants must have an occupation on the MLTSSL if applying for:

The occupations on the MLTSSL are exactly the same as on the SOL.

The MLTSSL also forms part of the STSOL which is used for employer sponsored and state nominated visas. There are 16 occupations on the MLTSSL which cannot be used for state nominated and employer sponsored visas ie:

Occupations being on the MLTSSL but not on the STSOL is certainly unexpected, and we expect there will be some changes to the MLTSSL from 1 July with these occupations quite possibly being removed from the MLTSSL also.

The 16 occupations on the MLTSSL but not on the STSOL are as follows:

  • Project Builder ANZSCO 133112
  • Production Manager (Mining) ANZSCO 133513
  • Medical Administrator ANZSCO 134211
  • Ship's Engineer ANZSCO 231212
  • Ship's Master ANZSCO 231213
  • Ship's Officer ANZSCO 231214
  • Chemical Engineer ANZSCO 233111
  • Materials Engineer ANZSCO 233112
  • Electronics Engineer ANZSCO 233411
  • Industrial Engineer ANZSCO 233511
  • Production or Plant Engineer ANZSCO 233513
  • Civil Engineering Technician ANZSCO 312212
  • Telecommunications Network Planner ANZSCO 313213
  • Pressure Welder ANZSCO 322312
  • Stonemason ANZSCO 331112
  • Electrical Linesworker ANZSCO 342211

CSOL Changes

The Consolidated Sponsored Occupations List (CSOL) has been replaced by the Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL).

Applicants must have an occupation on the STSOL if applying for:

  • Skilled Nominated Subclass 190 visas
  • Skilled Regional Provisional Subclass 489 visas (State Nominated)
  • Employer Nomination Scheme Subclass 186 visas (Direct Entry)
  • Temporary Worker (Skilled) Subclass 457 visas
  • Training Subclass 407 visas
200 occupations have been removed from the CSOL to create the STSOL.

In addition, there are 24 "regional" occupations on the STSOL which are only open for:

  • Skilled Regional Provisional Subclass 489 visas (State Nominated)
  • Employer Nomination Scheme Subclass 186 visas
  • Temporary Worker (Skilled) Subclass 457 visas where the employment is in a regional area as specified for RSMS visas
The regional occupations are ones which would typically only be appropriate to rural areas and are as follows:
  • Aquaculture Farmer ANZSCO 121111
  • Cotton Grower ANZSCO 121211
  • Flower Grower ANZSCO 121212
  • Fruit or Nut Grower ANZSCO 121213
  • Grain, Oilseed or Pasture Grower (Aus) / Field Crop Grower (NZ) ANZSCO 121214
  • Grape Grower ANZSCO 121215
  • Mixed Crop Farmer ANZSCO 121216
  • Sugar Cane Grower ANZSCO 121217
  • Vegetable Grower (Aus) / Market Gardener (NZ) ANZSCO 121221
  • Crop Farmers (nec) ANZSCO 121299
  • Apiarist ANZSCO 121311
  • Beef Cattle Farmer ANZSCO 121312
  • Dairy Cattle Farmer ANZSCO 121313
  • Horse Breeder ANZSCO 121316
  • Mixed Livestock Farmer ANZSCO 121317
  • Pig Farmer ANZSCO 121318
  • Poultry Farmer ANZSCO 121321
  • Sheep Farmer ANZSCO 121322
  • Livestock Farmers (nec) ANZSCO 121399
  • Mixed Crop & Livestock Farmer ANZSCO 121411
  • Production Manager (Forestry) ANZSCO 133511
  • Wine Maker ANZSCO 234213
  • Agricultural Technician ANZSCO 311111
  • Primary Products Inspectors (nec) ANZSCO 311399

Impact on General Skilled Migration

There will be no impact on applications for:
  • Skilled Independent Subclass 189 visas
  • Graduate Temporary Subclass 485 visas (Graduate Work Stream)
  • Skilled Regional Provisional Subclass 489 visas (Family Sponsored)
However, we expect the MLTSSL to be revised on 1 July 2017, with some occupations quite possibly being removed.

There will be an impact on state nominated subclass 190 and 489 visas. The list of available occupations is reduced by:

  • 16 occupations which are restricted on the MLTSSL as noted above
  • 200 occupations dropped from the STSOL
  • 24 rural occupations which are no longer available for the subclass 190 visa, but remain available for the 489 provisional visa
Some states have already announced that they will be revising their occupations lists for state nomination to reflect these changes.

If you have received a SkillSelect invitation prior to 19 April, you should not be affected by the change.

Impact on 457 Visas

The list of occupations available for 457 sponsorship has been reduced as follows:
  • 16 occupations which are restricted on the MLTSSL
  • 200 occupations dropped from the STSOL
  • 24 rural occupations which are no longer available unless the employment is in an RSMS postcode
In addition to this, there are now restrictions on certain occupations - referred to as caveats in the legislative instruments.

These restrictions could be as follows:

  • Minimum salary for the position
  • Size of the business - minimum $1 million turnover and 5 employees
  • Restrictions on the type of activities involved in the position
  • Restrictions on the activities undertaken by the business
These changes affect any applications which have been lodged but not finalized prior to 19 April, and any applications lodged after this date.

There will also be changes to the visa period of 457 visas granted after 19 April. If the occupation is on the shorter MLTSSL, the visa will be valid for 4 years. Otherwise, the visa will be granted for 2 years.

Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS)

There are 2 main streams for the ENS visa:
  1. Temporary Residence Transition Stream: where the applicant has worked in Australia for the nominating employer on a 457 visa for the last 2 years; and
  2. Direct Entry Stream: this option requires one of the following:
    • A skills assessment and 3 years of work experience in the occupation or
    • A base salary of at least $180,000
    • NZ citizen or family member working for the employer in Australia for the last 2 years
The changes to the occupations list only affect the Direct Entry Stream - not the Temporary Residence Transition Stream.

The occupations list for the Direct Entry Stream has been reduced as follows:

  • 16 occupations which are restricted on the MLTSSL
  • 200 occupations dropped from the STSOL
The changes affect applications lodged on or after 19 April 2017, but not pending applications as far as can be determined.

Future changes could restrict the Temporary Residence Transition Stream to only occupations on the MLTSSL but the relevant legislation has not yet been released.

Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme

The changes to the list do not affect the RSMS visa as far as can be determined.

Future changes may require a minimum work experience of at least 3 year and a reduction of the upper age limit from 49 to 44, as well as possible changes to the RSMS occupations list.

Conclusion

There will be a major impact on employer sponsored and state nominated visas immediately.

We also expect that there will be future changes which will affect the skilled independent and permanent employer sponsored changes. If you are considering applying for one of these options, we would recommend proceeding without delay to avoid future changes.

The changes to the occupations list will be extensive and we are still working through the consequences of the changes.

If you would like advice on your eligibility for a General Skilled or Employer Sponsored visa, please book a consultation with one of our advisors.

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