OZ Express Migration welcomes you to multicultural Australia.
OZ Express Migration specialises in assisting applicants to secure the desired Australian skilled employment and work migration visas, and ultimately fulfilling the dream for a new life in Australia. OZ Express Migration assist applicants by providing the services and support on what is required when applying for visas to multicultural Australia.
Navigating the Australian immigration system can be complex. Changes to the Australian Immigration requirements are also updated regularly. It is crucial that all applications are compliant with any new visa requirements and changes. No matter which visa category you select, we will work with you to devise the best strategy and pathway to achieve your skilled employment and work migration visa outcomes. We offer a highly personalised service with a complimentary initial consultation and forward planning for your skilled employment and work migration visa options.
Australia is facing staggering skills shortages, according to a recent Australian National Skills Commission report, which shows occupation shortages doubled in 2022 as the labour market tightened. Shortage in skilled labour across Australia is negatively impacting production, services, and supply chains with nearly a third of all Australian sectors facing worker shortfalls. While the latest wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the problem, it has been an issue since the beginning of the pandemic and will continue to be one when the effects of the virus wane. Even without the impact of Covid-19, businesses have been experiencing enduring and worsening skill shortages. Australia’s available supply of skilled labour has shrunk since the commencement of the pandemic, the result of a lack of skilled migration, international students, backpackers, and other workers in Australia returning to their country of origin. Australia has not adequately developed its own skill base over the past decade, as a result, the Australian economy has relied on skilled migrant work force. When border restrictions closed off that pipeline, the supply of skilled labour shrunk. Combine that with the unpredictable and escalating impact of health issues and isolation requirements on the homegrown workforce, the pandemic has had an acute impact on businesses trying to operate in a relatively normal state. Employers across a broad range of industries are experiencing skill shortages, but the health sector has been hit particularly hard. It is problematic given the time it takes to develop such skilled work force. The pipeline for these critical employment skills for the next decade needs to be filled now.
Under the Australian Ministerial Direction 100, priority has been given to Certain Skilled Visas. The new Australian Ministerial Direction has been designed to allow the Australian Department of Home Affairs to process more skilled applications efficiently, faster and to respond quickly to labour market needs, speeding up processing for all occupations and making the process less complicated. Giving priority processing to certain offshore permanent and provisional skilled visa applicants will enable a bigger work force to enter Australia to assist with the national and local economy, and easing labour shortages. Regional applications will continue to be processed as a high priority, helping to support the health sector, education, agriculture and other crucial regional industries.
Top 05 Australian Visa Opportunities for 2023
The Australian government has announced an increase to the permanent migration program in 2022/23 from 160,000 to 195,000 places for skilled and family visas. The October 2022 budget revealed the number of skilled visas available as part of the program would increase significantly from 79,600 to 142,400. The government also announced changes to the Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) subclass 482 visas that would allow people to apply for permanent residency, the removal of age restrictions on 457 visa holders, and expanding the eligibility for subclass 462 working holiday maker visas.
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The new Ministerial Direction 100 removes the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL) implemented in September 2020, which involved time-consuming and complex assessments. As a result of this decision, Skilled visa applications for teachers and healthcare workers are now being assessed in just three (3) days.
The following skilled visas are subject to the new Ministerial Direction 100:
- Subclass 124 (Distinguished Talent)
- Subclass 186 (Employer Nomination Scheme)
- Subclass 187 (Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme)
- Subclass 188 (Business Innovation and Investment – Provisional)
- Subclass 189 (Skilled – Independent)
- Subclass 190 (Skilled – Nominated)
- Subclass 191 (Permanent Residence Skilled – Regional)
- Subclass 457 (Temporary Work – Skilled)
- Subclass 482 (Temporary Skill Shortage)
- Subclass 489 (Skilled – Regional – Provisional)
- Subclass 491 (Skilled Work Regional – Provisional)
- Subclass 494 (Employer Sponsored Regional – Provisional)
- Subclass 858 (Global Talent)
- Subclass 887 (Skilled – Regional)
- Subclass 888 (Business Innovation and Investment – Permanent)
The Ministerial Direction No 100 has set new rules for applications to be prioritised. Applications are now being decided in the following order of priority:
- Visa applications in relation to a healthcare or teaching occupation (see list below).
- For employer sponsored visas, visa applications where the applicant is nominated by an Approved sponsor with Accredited Status.
- Visa applications in relation to an occupation to be carried out in a designated regional area.
- For permanent and provisional visa subclasses, visa applications that count towards the migration program, excluding the Subclass 188 Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa.
- All other visa applications.
For all categories above, priority will be given to holders of eligible passports. Within each category above, for provisional and permanent skilled visa applications, priority is given to visa applications where the primary applicant is located outside Australia at the time the visa application is made. Any eligible passport holders, which are Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China passports or a British National (Overseas) passports, will receive priority as well.
Skilled teachers and healthcare visa applications are now being fast tracked and assessed in just three (3) days. The Healthcare and Teaching occupations are defined by either the ANZSCO grouping or individual occupations.
- ANZSCO Sub-major Group 25 – Health Professionals
- ANZSCO Minor Group 241 – School Teachers
- ANZSCO Minor Group 411 – Health and Welfare Support Workers
- ANZSCO Unit Group 1341 – Child Care Centre Managers
- ANZSCO Unit Group 2346 – Medical Scientists
- ANZSCO Unit Group 2721 – Counsellors
- ANZSCO Unit Group 2723 – Psychologists
- ANZSCO Unit Group 2725 – Social Workers
- ANZSCO Unit Group 3112 – Medical Technicians
- ANZSCO occupations:
- 134311 – School Principal
- 421111 – Child Care Worker
- 423111 – Aged or Disabled Carer
- 423312 – Nursing Support Worker
- 423313 – Personal Care Assistant.
Further information is available at Skilled Visa Processing Priorities (Homeaffairs.gov.au)
The above list is temporary and priority occupations may change. The Government and the National Skills Commission will continue to monitor the Australian labour market and assess Australia’s skills needs as they evolve, and new sources of data emerge.
A new visa will be introduced in July 2023 providing 3,000 places for eligible migrants from Pacific countries and Timor Leste. Spots for the Pacific Engagement visa (PEV) will be allocated by a ballot process each year. These visas will be offered on top of the places available on Australia’s permanent migration program.
New Zealanders living in Australia will benefit from priority processing of Skilled Independent (Subclass 189) visa applications in the New Zealand stream. The department has dropped certain visa requirements including that applicants must have lived in Australia for at least five years and that they meet certain taxable income thresholds as well as health criteria. The department has stopped taking new visa applications from 10 December 2022 until 1 July 2023, in order to process the backlog already in the system.
The following streamlining measures introduced acknowledge that New Zealand citizens are long-term residents of Australia, have been working here and contributing to Australia’s economic recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those who are granted visas will be able to access the benefits of permanent residence more quickly, including being allowed immediate access to the National Disability Insurance Scheme and automatic Australian citizenship for their children born in Australia. Those granted a New Zealand stream visa will also have their citizenship pathway fast-tracked from 1 January 2023.
The number of visas available through the state and territories is set to dramatically increase thanks to the larger regional allocation.
The Department of Home Affairs has set a planning level of 31,000 places for state and territory nominated visas (subclass 190) in 2022/23, as well as a further 34,000 places in the regional category (subclass 491), the majority of which are nominated by state and territory governments. There will be another 5,000 visas for the business innovation and investment program (subclass 188). Back in 2018/19 before the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically impacted Australia’s migration numbers, about 25,346 state and territory nominated visas were granted and just 647 skilled regional visas.
The government has made it easier for families to reunite, introducing demand-driven partner visas in 2022/23.
This means there is no limit to the number of these visas issued. The department is estimating it will issue around 40,500 partner visas this financial year. Child visas are also demand driven and an estimated 3,000 visas are expected to be issued.
Changes to the Australian Immigration requirements are updated regularly. Please consult our friendly professionals for the most updated skilled employment and work migration visa requirements.