ACT has published a list of occupations on the Critical Skills List that are eligible for nomination in skilled visa programs, Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (Subclass 491) and Skilled Nominated (Permanent) visa (Subclass 190), updated as on 11 January 2021. Currently, the List specifies 111 occupations, which will be reviewed and updated quarterly to respond to the needs of the Territory’s economy. The occupations are as follows: ACT CRITICAL OCCUPATIONS LIST Policy and Planning Manager (491 only) Production Manager (Manufacturing) ICT Project Manager ICT Managers (nec) Arts Administrator or Manager Environmental Manager Call or Contact Centre Manager (491 only) Customer Service Manager Copywriter Newspaper or Periodical Editor Print Journalist Technical Writer Television Journalist Journalist & other writers (nec) Accountant (General) Management Accountant Taxation Accountant Policy Analyst (491 only) Liaison Officer (491 only) Patents Examiner (491 only) Information and Organisation Prof. nec (491 only) Architect Landscape Architect Graphic Designer Illustrator Web Designer Civil Engineer Geotechnical Engineer Quantity Surveyor Structural Engineer Transport Engineer Aeronautical Engineer Agricultural Engineer Biomedical Engineer Early Childhood (Pre-Primary School) Teacher Environmental Health Officer (491 only) Occupational Health and Safety Adviser Dental Specialist Dentist (491 only) Occupational Therapist Physiotherapist Audiologist Speech Pathologist General Practitioner Resident Medical Officer Nurse Practitioner Registered Nurse (Aged Care) Registered Nurse (Child & Family Health) Registered Nurse (Community Health) Registered Nurse (Critical Care & Emergency) Registered Nurse (Developmental Disability) Registered Nurse (Disability & Rehabilitation) Registered Nurse (Medical) Registered Nurse (Medical Practice) Registered Nurse (Mental Health) Registered Nurse (Perioperative) Registered Nurse (Surgical) Registered Nurse (Paediatrics) Registered Nurses (nec) ICT Business Analyst Systems Analyst Analyst Programmer Developer Programmer Software Engineer Software Tester Software and Applications Programmers nec Database Administrator ICT Security Specialist Systems Administrator Computer Network & Systems Engineer Network Administrator Network Analyst ICT Quality Assurance Engineer ICT Support Engineer ICT Systems Test Engineer ICT Support and Test Engineers (nec) Careers Counsellor Drug and Alcohol Counsellor Family and Marriage Counsellor Rehabilitation Counsellor Student Counsellor Counsellors nec Clinical Psychologist Educational Psychologist Organisational Psychologist Psychotherapist Psychologist (nec) Interpreter Translator (491 only) Social Professionals (nec) Social Worker Community Arts Worker (491 only) Recreation Officer Welfare Worker Carpenter and Joiner Carpenters Joiner Airconditioning and Refrigeration Mechanics Chef Gardener (General Aborist Landscape Gardener Hairdressers Community Worker Disabilities Services Officer Family Support Worker Residential Care Officer Youth Worker Sports Development Officer Contract Administrator Program or Project Administrator
Migration (Arrangements for Certain Skilled and Temporary Graduate Visa Applications) Amendment Instrument (LIN 20/297) 2020 dated 18 December 2020 [“the Instrument”] amends a drafting error and citation in the Migration (Arrangements for Certain Skilled Visa Applications) Instrument (LIN 20/162) 2020. The Instrument specifies the arrangement for making an application for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) (Subclass 485) visa and provides that visa application must be made using Form 1276 (internet) as an internet application. The Instrument is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation on 23 December 2020 and according to Section 2 of the Instrument, it commenced on 24 December 2020. Accordingly, the Instrument is now in force. To access the full Instrument, click here.
Migration (Regional Areas) Instrument (LIN 20/292) 2020 dated 15 December 2020 [“the Instrument”] specifies parts of Australia to be regional areas for the purposes of subregulation 1.15M(1) and (2) of the Migration Regulations 1994 in table 1 and table 2 of Schedule 1 to the Instrument, respectively. The Instrument applies to specified nominations, approval of nominations, visa applications & grants, and assessments under section 93 of the Migration Act 1958. The following visa subclasses are covered within the scope of the Instrument: Skilled Independent visa (Subclass 189) Skilled Nominated visa (Subclass 190) Temporary Graduate visa (Subclass 485) Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (Subclass 491) Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa (Subclass 888) State/Territory Sponsored Business Owner visa (Subclass 892) The Instrument applies to applications made and visas granted on or after 20 January 2021. To access the full Instrument, click here.
According to the Department of Home Affairs, more than 12,000 people are invited to attend citizenship ceremonies to be held all across Australia on 26 January 2021 and become Australian citizens. The Department is conducting over 430 citizenship ceremonies in a single day and conferring citizenship to nationals of more than 130 countries, following the tradition to more people becoming citizens on Australia Day than the rest of the year.
The Department of Home Affairs have released information on 07 January 2021 under Freedom of Information request (FOI) providing information on partner visas, Subclass 309 Partner (Provisional) visa and Subclass 820 Partner Visa applications’ average processing times between July 2019 and June 2020. According to the information, the following was processing time in calendar days for the above period: Month Subclass 309 Subclass 820 July 2019 360 535 August 2019 390 515 September 2019 395 523 October 2019 422 532 November 2019 403 566 December 2019 404 574 January 2020 380 623 February 2020 380 638 March 2020 386 603 April 2020 305 563 May 2020 337 493 June 2020 452 489 Average 384.5 554.5
The Department of Home Affairs have released information on 07 January 2021 under Freedom of Information request (FOI) providing information on Subclass 489 – Skilled Regional (Provisional) Visa applications granted for the period between October 2020 and November 2020. According to the information, the following number of 489 visa applications were granted during the above period: Status October 2020 November 2020 Visa Applications (Client Within Australia) 70 17 Visa Applications (Client Within Australia) – specified occupations 31 5 Visa Applications (Client Within NSW) – 5 The specified occupations include Finance Manager, Cafe or Restaurant Manager, Electrical Engineer Dentist, Registered Nurse (Aged Care), Registered Nurse (Community Health), Registered Nurse (Critical Care and Emergency), Registered Nurse (Medical), Registered Nurse (Surgical), Registered Nurses nec, ICT Business Analyst, Analyst Programmer, Developer Programmer, Software Engineer, ICT Security Specialist, Computer Network and Systems Engineer, Primary Products Inspectors nec, Dental Technician, and Enrolled Nurse. Further, the Department had 746 applications on hand for visa applicants located in Australia of which 277 applicants are located within NSW, as on 30 November 2020.
Migration (LIN 19/219: Occupations for Subclass 494 Visas) Instrument 2019, as amended by Migration Legislation Amendment (Health Workforce Certificates Measures No. 2) Instrument (LIN 20/274) 2020 dated 19 November 2020 to modify the definition of Health Workforce Certificate, was compiled and registered on the Federal Register of Legislation on 24 December 2020. The amendment specified that Health Workforce Certificate is a document that is described as a health workforce certificate and is issued by a health workforce certifier. For this purpose, health workforce certifier are as follows: Specified persons in the Department General Practice Workforce Inc Health Network Northern Territory Ltd Health Workforce Queensland Ltd NSW Rural Doctors Network Ltd Rural Doctors Workforce Agency Incorporated Rural Health West Ltd Rural Workforce Agency, Victoria Limited The amendment also lists occupations that are exempt from this requirement and they are General Practitioner, Resident Medical Officer and Medical Practitioners (nec). The compilation is in effect from 16 December 2020 and thus, is currently in force. To access the full compilation, click here.
Migration (LIN 20/229: COVID-19 Pandemic event for Subclass 408 (Temporary Activity) visa and visa application charge for Temporary Activity (Class GG) visa) Instrument 2020, as amended by Migration (COVID‑19 Pandemic event for Subclass 408 (Temporary Activity) visa and visa application charge for Temporary Activity (Class GG) visa) Amendment Instrument (LIN 20/283) 2020 dated 01 December 2020 to include applicants whose substantive temporary visas are 90 days or less from ceasing to be in effect, was compiled and registered on the Federal Register of Legislation on 12 Jan 2021. he amendment also specified that for visa holders of Subclass 403 (Temporary Work (International Relations)) visa in the Seasonal Worker Program stream, working in agriculture sector, whose visas are ceasing to be in effect in 90 days or less, must be employed by an approved employer under the Seasonal Worker Program. The compilation is in effect from 06 January 2021 and thus, is currently in force. To access the full compilation, click here.
The Department of Home Affairs have released information on 21 October 2020 under Freedom of Information request (FOI) providing information on Student visa (subclass 500) applications lodged between 01/01/2019 and 30/09/2019 and 01/01/2020 and 30/09/2020, where applicant location in Australia and outside Australia. According to the information, the following number of 500 visa applications were lodged during the above periods: Status Jan 2020 Feb 2020 Mar 2020 Apr 2020 May 2020 Jun 2020 Jul 2020 Aug 2020 Sep 2020 Visa Applications (Client Within Australia) 13,670 19,471 32,164 11,493 11,674 12,020 15,169 23,756 16,628 Visa Applications (Client Outside Australia) 30,412 18,264 9,307 2,552 3,354 4,062 4,446 5,873 6,596 Total 44,082 37,735 41,471 14,045 15,028 16,082 19,615 29,629 23,224 Status Jan 2019 Feb 2019 Mar 2019 Apr 2019 May 2019 Jun 2019 Jul 2019 Aug 2019 Sep 2019 Visa Applications (Client Within Australia) 12,373 19,562 30,061 12,008 13,110 12,399 16,114 26,227 19,298 Visa Applications (Client Outside Australia) 34,450 22,809 16,077 17,311 28,460 34,015 25,152 16,456 15,961 Total 46,823 42,371 46,138 29,319 41,570 46,414 41,266 42,683 35,259 The statistics include figures for both primary applicants and secondary applicants.
Information on Global Talent Independent visa applications The Department of Home Affairs have released information on 28 October 2020 under Freedom of Information request (FOI) providing statistics on Global Talent Independent (GTI) visa applications granted for Distinguished Talent (subclass 124) visa, Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) visa, Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (subclass 187) visa, Skilled – Independent (subclass 189) visa, Skilled – Nominated (subclass 190) visa, and Distinguished Talent (subclass 858) visa, by top 10 nationalities in the financial year 2019 – 2020. Visa Subclass Nationalities Subclass 124 Iran, China, UK, India, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, USA, Pakistan, Canada, Vietnam Subclass 186 UK, India, USA, South Africa, France, New Zealand, Brazil, Germany, Egypt, Sri Lanka Subclass 187 UK, Brazil, Spain, Poland Subclass 189 China, Iran, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Vietnam, Germany, Sri Lanka, Indonesia Subclass 190 China, Iran, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Ghana, Ethiopia, Russia Subclass 858 Bangladesh, Iran, India, China, UK, Pakistan, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, USA The GTI program allocation quota for financial year 2019 – 2020 was capped at 5,000, which has been increased to 15,000 for the current financial year. For more information on month wise statistics, click here.