Skills In Demand Visa announced

Skills In Demand Visa – launching December 7th

When you work in Migration (or have any dealings with the Government!) you do get used to a bit of ‘hurry up and wait’.  The new Skills In Demand (SID) visa was a little like that – announced, then silence for months.  Then a lot of rumour.  Now we have been given a few days notice that it is coming into effect as of December 7th 2024. 

But what does it mean?

Key takeaways

  • The current Temporary Skilled visas, the Sub Class (SC) 482 will be retired from December the 7th 2024.  Anyone with an application in before this date can expect to be processed under the ‘old’ rules. 

  • There will be no change to people currently on a SC482

  • Anyone who has not applied before the change over must apply under the new rules.  These new rules will change eligibility and have a new skills list

  • The new visa is expected to have a clearer path to PR, reduce the experience needed to apply and have faster processing times

  • There are three pathways planned, with two expected to be ready for the launch

  • There is a “Specialist Skills Pathway” that recognises these roles are filling a national need rather than a narrow gap in the market.  Aimed at higher earners ($155,000 / year) and those that are ‘highly skilled' the commitment will be for a standard 7 days processing time

  • The “Core Skills Pathway” has more in common with the temporary visas we have seen before.  It is expected to be for 4 years, operate off a new Core Skills List but have simplified application processes

  • There is an ‘Area for Future Reform’ that will consider how to facilitate lower paid migration.  With a Federal Election due in 2025 the future of this pathway is less certain

Next steps

If you are currently on a SC482 visa then you can relax, nothing changes.  The revisions to how the new SID visa translates to PR might have some benefit for you but that will become clearer over the next few weeks.

If you are midway through an application for a SC482 then you should contact your Agent before the rules change on December 7th and talk through what this means for you.  If your application has not yet been submitted you may want to discuss if the SID visa is a better fit, or how the changes will impact your eligibility.

If you aren’t in a position to apply yet – or don’t qualify for the SC482 as is – then the best course of action is to wait a week or two for the dust to settle and then reach out for a chat about your eligibility.

The team here will have a busy week leading up to December 7th submitting applications for SC482 visas and will spend the weekend getting up to speed with the material that gets released by the Department.  From Monday 9th December onwards we will be ready to advise on the new visa and look forward to helping you start your new life in Australia under the new rules.

Links:

Migration Strategy, page 47 on for the SID visa

Press release on the new visa

Core Skills List

All information is accurate at time of release but should be considered general information rather than migration advice.  We recommend you always consult a Registered Migration Agent for personal advice before committing to a course of action.

 

 

 

If you would like help or advice on a Migration issue please feel free to get in touch on hello@mcdonaghmigrations.com.au and we can set some time up to talk through your options

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