The Australian Government has changed processing priorities for skilled visa applications, under Ministerial Direction no.100. Now, applications for visas relating to healthcare and teaching occupations, as well as offshore permanent and provisional applications will be prioritised.

Further, the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation list (PMSOL) and other previous prioritisation measures will no longer apply. Skilled visa applications will now be processed in the following order of priority:​

• Visa applications in relation to a healthcare or teaching occupation (specific occupations are specified here)
• For employer sponsored visas, visa applications where the applicant is nominated by an approved sponsor with accredited status
• Visa applications in relation to an occupation to be carried out in a designated regional area
• For permanent and provisional visa subclasses, visa applications that count towards the migration program, excluding the Subclass 188 (Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional)) visa
• All other visa applications. These are assessed in order of date of lodgement.

Within each category above, for provisional and permanent skilled visa applications, priority is given to visa applications where the primary applicant is located outside Australia at the time the visa application is made.​

Also highlighted among these changes is helping small businesses seeking to recruit overseas workers: “It speeds up processing for all occupations and makes the process less complicated. This change will allow more applications to be processed faster, particularly for the critical Temporary Skill Shortage visa, which is designed to respond quickly to labour market needs.”

The Department of Home Affairs has compiled a fact sheet, which is available here. Further information is also available on the Department of Home Affairs website.

How the Victorian Chamber can help

The Victorian Chamber provides tailored migration services. We can help members:

• Determine your organisation’s eligibility to sponsor overseas skilled workers
• Ensure both you and your potential employees understand the legal obligations
• Prepare documents and lodge sponsorship, nomination and visa applications
• Monitor the entire application process
• Liaise with, and respond to immigration authorities
• Keep up to date with immigration changes
• Understand legislation, policies, and procedures and how to deal with other relevant migration and visa issues.

For more information on sponsoring skilled overseas workers, please contact our registered migration agent on 03 8662 5234 or email ezhao@victorianchamber.com.au