Summary of 1 of July 2017 Changes

Zhanna Heenan

Visa News
On the 1st of July 2017 a number of changes occurred to General Skilled Migration, to Temporary Work (Skilled) Subclass 457 visas and to Employer Sponsored Visas. These measures are an attempt to ensure that Australia’s skilled migration programmes meet Australia’s skills need and to increase the quality and economic contribution of skilled migrants to Australian society. Here we provide a summary of the key changes that were introduced.

General Skilled Migration

  • Age: All applicants under General Skilled Migration must be below the age of 45 at time of invitation.

  • Occupation Lists: The occupation lists have been updated for people invited on or after 1st July 2017.

Temporary Work (Skilled) Subclass 457 Visas

  • Occupation Lists: The occupations lists have been updated with some occupations added back to the approved lists and some have been removed completely from the approved lists.

  • Skills Assessment: The list of occupations for whom mandatory skills assessments are required has been expanded.

  • English Language Exemption: The English Language 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 1st July 2017.

  • Mandatory Police Checks: All applicants will need to obtain penal clearance certificates.

  • Training Benchmarks: there are more restrictions on the types of training that are accepted for 457 sponsorships. Legislation has set out the kinds of training funds and types of expenditure that can be claimed as part of the training benchmark.

Permanent Employer Sponsorship

  • Age: Applicants for the ENS and the RSMS Direct Entry Stream must be younger than 45 years of age for applications lodged on or after 1st July 2017.

  • Removal of English Language and Skills Exemption: The English Language Exemption and Skills Exemption for both ENS and RSMS visa applicants who have a base salary of at least AUD$180,000 has been removed.

  • Genuine Need: Under the Temporary Residence Transition Stream employers must now show that there is a genuine need for a paid employee in the position.

  • English Language Requirement: Applicants will need to have a score of 6 or higher in each component of the IELTS (or equivalent test).

Visa Application Charges

Some Visa Application charges will increase by around 2 per cent. See the price increase here.

Working Holiday Visa Age Limit

The government has raised the upper age of eligibility for the Working Holiday visa from 30 to 35 years.

If you would like further information on how these changes impact your circumstances, please book a consultation with one of our Registered Migration Agents.

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