Introduction of Skillselect for GSM and Business visas. 

 

The Skillselect is actually a process introduced in-between the visa application. This will facilitate Australia to choose only those skills which are of high demand in Australia. It also makes Australia to choose the best of the applicants to get selected to migrate to Australia. Sillselect is one of the tool to select only those migrants who can easily get absorbed into the local industry and take the jobs which the local industry is looking for.

 

Through the process of EOI , local business have the opportunity to chose employees without much hassles of sponsorship restrictions and obligations. This process will facilitate the employees to easily get settled in Australia with ready jobs.

 

The process is good and rugged. As it is rugged it is also complicated. Some of the prime factors in this process are explained bellow.

The Expression of Interest (EOI)

Expression of interest system is point and click system where applicants can suspend, save the EOI etc.  EOI applications cannot be submitted until it is complete. A CV must be complete to be uploaded to the EOI database.  The online CV will be used for comparison against other applicants by DIAC.

Information submitted will be made available to the subsets that the applicant elected.

The Independent pass mark is simply a minimum standard. State and territory governments will be able to see applicant’s details.

EOI is valid for two years.  Applicants can update additional work experience to obtain extra points during the time that their application exists on the EOI database. Everything is online.

With the new point and click system, biographical details, skills, experience, visa choices, geographic location, which state the applicant is considering (or all states) etc, will need to be selected by the applicant during the EOI.

State and territory governments

State migration plans control the spread of occupations. State governments will go in and search the database and sort through and decide who to nominate. SkillSelect will generate an invite to the applicant.   The applicant will have 60 days to respond and lodge a visa application.  The DIAC online system will pre-populate the visa application form for the applicant. This makes the system fast and electronic. State and Territory governments can search by occupation and break their searches down to criteria of their interest.

SkillSelect

In skillselect sponsorship is one of the process where in the application will be picked up.
If it is a sponsored application, the sponsorship actually kicks the process of getting selected.

SkillSelect is designed to be the first point of contact for people looking for employees outside company transfers.

DIAC- program managers will be able to look at the EOI database.

At the time the invitation is issued, the clients information in the EOI database is frozen. This is the basis on which DIAC issue the invitation to the client.

DIAC can monitor and cleanse the EOI database which then maximizes the potential for getting people Australia needs.

All the visa subclasses in the current system are designed to come to a point in SkillSelect, which will deliver skill when and how Australia needs it and when it desires.

The SkillSelect pass mark is just a minimum standard. Visa places go to those who score the highest. An occupation ceiling has been established.  This is to ensure that the emphasis is not made on certain occupational groups. Independent program needs to be delivering a broad base. At one point of time there was 40% of skilled independent applicants selected were accountants.   This will not happen any more.
Processing times will be minimized. No more queues and pipelines.

Two systems (old and new) will be running soon and priority processing direction will be announced shortly.

DIAC expects the first round of invitations to be issued around the end of July 2012. From there, the clients / applicants will have 60 days to respond and lodge their visa application, which will take them through until about the end of September 2012.  The Independent group will hopefully take 3-4 months processing turnaround. DIAC still want to get the skills into Australia ASAP.

There will be bridging status for applications being lodged.

Main criteria

Applicants need to score the highest score. State and territory governments, if behaving rationally, will choose people with the highest scores in the occupations needed, then work down from there. For people sponsored by an employer, they will need to have skills and attributes employer requires.

Threshold requirements are still there. Recent work experience and recent study are being removed. It doesnt matter. Skills Australia needs is what counts.

If you have an invitation from DIAC, and then the occupations list changes, it doesnt matter. If you haven’t got an invitation then you need to check if your occupation is still on the occupations list.   All validity is set at the day of invitation.

 

Sponsorship requirements are going to be the same till July 2013. Employer invitation and nomination process is about bringing migrant and sponsor together.

Permanent employer sponsored

• Collapsing subclasses, 6 to 2 subclases.
• Streamlining pathway from 457 to ENS or RSMS.
• Raising upper age limit from 45 to 50.
• Changes to key visa criteria including English language and skills.
• Refocusing RCB network on untested direct entry stream – RSMS

Introducing new consolidated occupations list (CSOL) which is made up of 457, ENSOL and States SOL. It will be a bigger occupations list than the previous one.

New skills are going to be added along with adding new group 6 on this new list. Lot more trade skills are going to be added to the ENS .

Business don’t need exceptional circumstances as part of the new program when the business need to hire trades persons.

Permanent sponsorships

1. Direct entry stream – cold from offshore. Once you have become a PR, potentially they can walk on day one. They have to compete in labor market have to support themselves. They need to look a bit more like independent migrants.

2. Temporary residents transition stream – 457 to PR. They will not need to do IELTS again, or another skills assessment, as long as everything is normal it’s a walk through.

Consolidated sponsored occupations list (CSOL) is the new list
The Minister has agreed in principal on occupations on CSOL.  CSOL will be published soon.

Exemption categories such as Age, Skill, English. This will be driven off a new legislative instrument. This will include religious workers, scientists and academics.
RSMS

Regional Certifying Bodies (RCBs) from 1 July only need to give advice only. DIAC are looking to give them legislative footing. RCBs will give case officers an opinion. This means employer has a review right.

No training requirement will be retained. RSMS is a top priority

Points based skilled migration

• 6 visas consolidated to three.
• 189 skilled independent replaces 885 and 175
• 190 skilled nominated replaces 886 and 176
• 489 replaces 487 and 475
• Simplified visa requirements
• Apply through skillselect.

From 1 July 2012, 175, 176 and 475 closed to new applications. 885, 886 and 487 closed from 1 Jan 2013.

Simplified requirements:

BVA, BVB or BVC can apply only after applying to the visa application, Applying an EOI will not give you a bridging visa. You can lodge an EOI from inside or outside Australia. Work experience and Australian study no longer a threshold eligibility requirement. Points test factors set to time of invitation.

If an applicant goes in and updates information then this becomes the date of lodgement.

DIAC will publish where they set the bar for each occupation.

Business skills

• Research shows current program  settings are focused towards innovation and risk taking.
• Focus on visa simplification and de-regulation. Focus will be on innovation, history of innovation and risk taking.
• business skills program will be abolised from 1 July.

The new program is called Business Innovation and Investment Program.

It is for entrepreneurs who are likely to have sourced venture capital funding in Australia.

It will have a points test for provisional visa applicants giving weight to innovation.

It will introduce a significant stream for investors.

It will be incorporated into Skillselect and be entirely state sponsored.

New visas from 1 July 2012 under Business Innovation and Investment Program:

1. 132 Business talent
2. 188 business innovation and investment (provisional)
3. 888 Business innovation and investment (permanent)

Apply through SkillSelect

Current onshore permanent business applications are still being kept open.

Lot many changes have come up with the skill select. A more details understanding on this program can be achieved by discussing the same with the Registered agents. Even though the department has brought down the number of subclass of visas, it has made the system more complicated. They have merged all those subclasses into a single class which is making it complicated.

 

Proper understanding of the new system will only give you way through the visa system. Future in Australia as registered agents will be able to advise you better.