Invitation Date: 21 May 2020 ACT 190 Nomination – Invitations Issued: 485 All Matrix submitted: 150 to 70 points 65 point Matrix submitted on or before 31 December 2019 ACT 491 Nomination – No invitations issued as there are sufficient 491 applications in the queue to meet the May 2020 monthly allocation of 491 nomination places. All matrix expire 6 months after submission date if an invitation is not issued.
Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) 491 visa is a temporary visa to live and work in regional Australia and requires sponsorship by either an eligible relative living in a designated area of Australia or by a State / Territory Government. For sponsorship by an eligible relative, it is required that the sponsor is 18 years old or above, usually resident in a designated area and is an Australian citizen or permanent resident, or an eligible New Zealand citizen. In this regard, it is clarified that there is no requirement in the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) or the Department’s policy that the family sponsor must live in the same designated regional area as the applicant he wishes to nominate. Thus, the sponsor and the applicant may be living in a different States or Territories and yet satisfying the sponsorship requirement for Subclass 491, along with other requirements.
According to the Department of Home Affairs (DoHA), the Commissioner of ABF (Australian Border Force) has granted travel exemption to 2937 of the total 4002 requests for outbound travel from Australia for the period 25 March 2020 to 06 May 2020. For overseas travel by Australian citizens and permanent residents, travel exemption from the Commissioner of ABF is required: To respond to the COVID-19 outbreak; To conduct critical industries and business; To receive urgent medical treatment (not available in Australia); To attend urgent and unavoidable personal business; To serve the national interest; For compassionate or humanitarian grounds. For inward travel exemption, the Commissioner of ABF has granted travel exemption to 6872 of the total 7134 requests for the period 02 February 2020 to 06 May 2020 for various categories such as business leaders, compassionate grounds, critical skill requirement, diplomatic travel, medevac patients, students, Protection Visa holders and transit through Australia.
The Regional Trade Agreements Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has announced the commencement of the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (“the IA-CEPA”) from 05 July 2020. According to the Preamble of the IA-CEPA, the countries recognise that “open, transparent and competitive markets are key drivers of economic growth, poverty reduction, job creation, innovation, expansion of productive capacity and human development”. International Trade obligations are relevant in migration context as labour market testing is not required. In this regard, the Migration (LIN 20/029: Determination of International Trade Obligations Relating to Labour Market Testing) Instrument 2020 dated 28 January 2020 provides a list of 14 agreements, including the IA-CEPA, that determines international trade obligations of Australia regarding labour market testing. To see list of all international trade obligations, click here. To read full text of the IA-CEPA, click here.
The Migration Amendment (Regulation of Migration Agents) Bill 2019 [“the Regulation Bill”] was first introduced in the House of Representatives along with Migration Agents Registration Application Charge Amendment (Rates of Charge) Bill 2019 [“the Registration Bill”] on 27 Nov 2019. The Regulation Bill, popularly known as the ‘Deregulation Bill’, proposes amendment to the Migration Act 1958 (Cth), interalia, to remove unrestricted legal practitioners from the regulatory scheme that governs migration agents. Further, the Registration Bill proposes amendment to the Migration Agents Registration Application Charge Act 1997 (Cth) for payment of adjusted charge for providing non-commercial immigration assistance. Both the Bills were first introduced in the Senate on 13 Feb 2020 and were to be laid on the table of the Senate for discussion in May 2020 but that hasn’t happened yet. Track the progress of the Regulation Bill, click here.
Invitation Date: 12 May 2020 ACT 190 Nomination – Invitations Issued: 210 All Matrix submitted: 110 to 70 points 65 point Matrix submitted between 12 November 2019 and 08 December 2019 (both dates inclusive) ACT 491 Nomination – No invitations issued as there are sufficient 491 applications in the queue to meet the May 2020 monthly allocation of 491 nomination places. All matrix expire 6 months after submission date if an invitation is not issued. The next invitation round is scheduled to be held by 27 May 2020.
State Nominated Migration Program (SNMP) Invitation Date: 30 April 2020 Visa Subclass General Stream Graduate Stream Higher Education Graduates Vocational Education And Training Graduates Skilled Nominated visa (Subclass 190) 6 162 31 Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa (Subclass 491) 10 39 42 In 2019-2020, a total of 2969 invitations have been issued as on 05 May 2020: Visa Subclass General Stream Graduate Stream Higher Education Graduates Vocational Education And Training Graduates Skilled Nominated visa (Subclass 190) 47 1738 262 Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa (Subclass 491) / Subclass 489 75 530 317 Total 2969
Invitation Date: 12 May 2020 ACT 190 Nomination – Invitations Issued: 210 All Matrix submitted: 110 to 70 points 65 point Matrix submitted between 12 November 2019 and 08 December 2019 (both dates inclusive) ACT 491 Nomination – No invitations issued as there are sufficient 491 applications in the queue to meet the May 2020 monthly allocation of 491 nomination places. All matrix expire 6 months after submission date if an invitation is not issued. The next invitation round is scheduled to be held by 27 May 2020.
TRA (Trades Recognition Australia) is a skills assessment authority for assessing trade skills of individuals in eligible occupations as on the current skilled occupation list for the purpose of skills recognition and skilled migration to Australia. During the ongoing Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, TRA continues to accept online applications for skills assessment and other email enquiries. Further, TRA enquiry line has been reopened from 05 May 2020, operating from Monday to Friday between 10.00am to 12.00pm and 1.00pm to 4.00pm, excluding public holidays (Australian Eastern Standard Time). TRA assesses skills for many occupations including Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Mechanic (ANZSCO 342111), Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (Avionics) (ANZSCO 323111), Apparel Cutter (ANZSCO 393211), Carpenter and Joiner (ANZSCO 331211), Chef (ANZSCO 351311), Dental Prosthetist (ANZSCO 411212), Electrical Engineering Technician (ANZSCO 312312), Furniture Finisher (ANZSCO394211), Gas or Petroleum Operator (ANZSCO 399212), ICT Customer Support Officer (ANZSCO 313112), Make Up Artist (ANZSCO 399514), Painting Trades Worker (ANZSCO 332211), and Shipwright (ANZSCO 399112). Contact Within Australia: 1 300 360 992 Outside Australia: +61 2 6240 8778 Email enquiries: traenquiries@dese.gov.au
According to the ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics), Australia has witnessed a massive decline of 99% in overseas arrival rate in April 2020 due to travel restrictions in response to Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. Jenny Dobak, the Director of Migration Statistics division of the ABS, said that, “In April there were just under 7,000 arrivals from non-Australian citizens. This was a 99% decrease from the same time last year”. The pandemic has been huge blow to the migration industry and has brought the temporary visa holders, international students and tourists to a standstill. It is still unclear when the international border will be open for temporary residents. However, as per the announcement by the Hon’ Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, on 08 May 2020 the Australian government may consider lifting border restriction for international students as part of the “Step Three” of the “Roadmap to a COVIDSafe Australia” process.