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Key Takeaways of the Migration Amendment (Enhancing Sponsorship and Nomination Processes) Bill 2024

Date: 5 July 2024

The Migration Amendment (Enhancing Sponsorship and Nomination Procedures) Bill 2024 has been introduced presenting a range of major changes to the employer sponsored visa programs.

In particular, the bill seeks to amend the Migration Act 1958 to establish the legislative framework for the introduction of the Skills in Demand visa which is set to replace the Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) (subclass 482) visa.

Ethos Migration Lawyers have undertaken an analysis of the bill and have summarised the key points below:

Skills in Demand Visa Framework

  • The Temporary Skill Shortage visa will be replaced with a new Skills in Demand visa, focusing on attracting exceptional talent and address Australia’s critical skill shortages.

Labour Market Testing:

  • The duration for labour market testing validity to be extended from 4 months to 6 months before submitting a nomination.

Income Benchmarks

  • The introduction of the Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT) and Specialist Skills Income Threshold (SSIT) aims to guarantee equitable pay for employer sponsored visa holders.
  • The CSIT has been set at $73,150, while the SSIT is set at $135,000.

Note: The current Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) is currently set at $73,150 which increased from $70,000 on the 1 July 2024.

Yearly Indexation:

  • Yearly indexation of income thresholds will be implemented to mirror changes in Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings (AWOTE), ensuring equitable wages over time.

Registry of Sanctioned Business Sponsors:

  • A transparent public registry of sanctioned sponsors to be established, disclosing business names, postcodes, and the occupations of nominated employees in the goal of establishing further transparency, monitoring and oversight of business sponsors.

The aim of these amendments is to enhance productivity, promote sustainable migration, guarantee fair employment conditions, and improve the transparency of Australia’s skilled migration program.

Ethos Migration Lawyers will continue to provide updates as further information becomes available, particularly in relation to the introduction of the Skills in Demand Visa in late 2024.

Queensland

Queensland has been allocated 1,200 skilled visa nomination places, divided into:

  • 600 places for the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)
  • 600 places for the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491)

New South Wales

New South Wales has been allocated 5,000 skilled visa nomination places, divided into:

  • 3,000 places for the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)
  • 2,000 places for the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491)

Invitation rounds occur throughout the financial year. There are no predetermined or publicly announced dates for invitation rounds for the NSW Skilled Migration program.

Tasmania

Tasmania has been allocated 2,860 skilled visa nomination places, divided into:

  • 2,100 places for the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)
  • 760 places for the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491)

Tasmania’s Skilled Migration State Nomination Program will reopen to new Registrations of Interest in the coming weeks, with details to be announced in the near future.

These allocations are part of the Australian Government’s effort to attract skilled migrants to contribute to the economic growth and development of the different states and territories of Australia. In addition to the Skilled Independent (subclass 189) visa, the subclass 190 and subclass 491 visas are key pathways for skilled migrants to obtain permanent residency in Australia outside of employer sponsored visas.