On 18 April 2017, the Government announced a number of reforms to Australia’s temporary and permanent skilled visa programmes. Implementation of the reforms commenced on 19 April 2017 and will be completed by March 2018.  For information about these reforms – see:

• Joint media release with the Hon. Malcom Turnbull MP, Prime Minister – Putting Australian workers first – available at Minister for Immigration and Border Protection website
• Abolition and replacement of the 457 visa – Government reforms to employer sponsored skilled migration visas – including Fact Sheets one and two which discuss some of these changes in greater detail.

In addition to the reforms which have already been implemented on 19 April 2017, there are a number of further changes which will take effect on 1 July 2017. These changes will specifically impact on the following temporary and permanent skilled migration programmes:

• Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457)
• Employer Nomination Scheme visa (subclass 186)
• Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme visa (subclass 187)
• Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) – including NZ pathway
• Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)
• Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 489).

There reforms are explained in further detail below.
As foreshadowed, additional changes have been made to the list of eligible skilled occupations.

For further information about the impacted subclasses, occupations, related caveats and arrangements according to the date of lodgement see list of eligible skilled occupations.
A number of reforms for July 2017 were previously announced in Fact sheet one: Reforms to Australia’s temporary employer sponsored skilled migration programme – abolition and replacement of the 457 visa (520KB PDF).

The information below elaborates further on these reforms, as well as additional reforms implemented on 1 July 2017 for Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457) programme.

English language requirements

The English Language Salary Exemption Threshold (ELSET) which exempted applicants (whose salary was over AUD$96,400) from the English language requirement has been removed for applications lodged on or after 1 July 2017.

As a result, English language test results must be provided for applications lodged on or after 1 July 2017 unless:

• the person is an employee of an overseas business who is coming to Australia to work for that company or their associated entity and they have a nominated base rate of pay of at least AUD$96,400; or
• any of the other current English language exemptions apply (for example, certain passport country holders who do not require English language testing)

For further information about the English language requirements and exemptions see Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457).

Training benchmarks

As per the Government’s announcement, from March 2018 sponsors will no longer be required to meet the current training benchmarks requirements with these arrangements to be replaced by a requirement to pay a contribution to the new Skilling Australians Fund (SAF).

To improve the integrity of the current arrangements in the interim, a new instrument outlining the training benchmarks has been published on 1 July 2017 which will impact applications lodged on or after this date. For more information see Subclass 457 Visa Legislative Instruments.

Character

The provision of penal clearance certificates will become mandatory for all visa applications lodged on or after 1 July 2017. This reform will bring the subclass 457 visa programme in line with most other visa programmes, which are not exempted from providing penal clearance certificates see Character and police certificate requirements.

Mandatory skills assessments

The Department of Education and Training’s Trades Recognition Australia (TRA) 457 skills assessment programme will be expanded to include some additional nationalities for a small number of existing occupations. TRA’s website is being updated to reflect this reform which will only impact on applications lodged on or after 1 July 2017. Where required, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection retains its discretion to request skills assessments for any pending or new applications.

Visa validity

Visa validity policy may be clarified further for certain visas granted on or after 1 July 2017. These changes are expected to have a positive impact on a small cohort of applicants only, with the maximum four year visa period generally still only available where the primary applicant’s occupation is on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL). For further information see: Combined list of eligible skilled occupations.

New sponsorship accreditation arrangements

The characteristics for sponsorship accreditation approval will be expanded to accommodate certain low risk sponsors who only use the subclass 457 programme occasionally. This will ensure that gaining access to regular priority processing will no longer only favour large volume users of the programme see Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457).
A number of reforms for July 2017 were previously announced in Fact sheet two: Reforms to Australia’s permanent employer sponsored skilled migration programme (615KB PDF).

The information below elaborates further on these reforms as well as additional changes which come into effect on 1 July 2017 for the permanent Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) visa (subclass 186) and Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) visa (subclass 187).

English language requirements

Applications for ENS and RSMS made under the Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream lodged on or after 1 July 2017 will require, at a minimum, an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) (or equivalent test) score of 6 in each component (Competent English). For more information see English language requirements.

The English language skills exemption for both ENS and RSMS has been removed for those who have nominated earnings at least equivalent to the current Australian Taxation Office top individual income tax rate (AUD 180,001). This will also apply to all applications including those lodged before 1 July 2017 that have not been finally determined.

Skill exemption

The exemption from a skills assessment for applications made under the Direct Entry (DE) stream of both ENS and RSMS has been removed for those who have nominated earnings at least equivalent to the current Australian Taxation Office top individual income tax rate (AUD$180,001). This will also apply to all applications including those lodged before 1 July 2017 that have not been finally determined.

Age

From 1 July 2017, applicants for the ENS and RSMS DE stream must be younger than 45 years of age. This applies to visa applications lodged on or after 1 July 2017. Current age exemptions will still be available.

The age requirement for the TRT stream will remain at less than 50 years of age until 1 March 2018 when the less than 45 year age limit will become effective.

Genuine need

From 1 July 2017, all ENS and RSMS TRT stream and DE stream nominations must provide evidence of ‘Genuine need’ for the person to work in the nominated position.

Nominee to be identified

From 1 July 2017, ENS and RSMS DE nominations must include information about the identity of the nominee.
An additional pathway to permanent residence for New Zealand Special Category visa (SCV) holders has been introduced. This pathway is included in the Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) as a new stream, and applications can only be made online. For more information – see An additional pathway to permanent residence for New Zealand citizens.
From 1 July 2017, visa applicants must be under 45 years of age at the time of invitation for the following points-tested skilled visas:

• Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189)
• Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)
• Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 489).

Further information regarding these changes is available on the individual visa programme web pages above, as well as within SkillSelect.