Australia is assessing skilled visa applications for teachers and healthcare workers in just three days after changing skilled visa priorities.
The ‘three-day visa for teachers and nurses’ approach comes after the Department of Home Affairs stopped using the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL) to rank skilled visa applications.
The occupations now being prioritised for skilled migration to Australia include school teachers, childcare centre managers, health and welfare support workers, medical scientists, psychologists, counsellors, medical technicians and social workers.
The Australian government decided to stop using the PMSOL as it was seen as outdated and no longer useful for reflecting Australia’s critical skills shortages.
Moreover, it was a slow and complex assessment process that did not include teachers as a priority occupation in Australia.
According to the Department of Home Affairs, the new Ministerial Direction No. 100 now recognises the health and education sectors as critical and prioritises visa applications in these sectors.
As a result, skilled visa applications in the healthcare and education sectors are being assessed within three days.
This three-day assessment applies to all skilled visa applications yet to be decided as well as newly lodged applications for temporary, regional and employer-sponsored visas.
Priority is also given to applicants located outside Australia for both provisional and permanent skilled visa applications.
The new criteria apply to the following skilled visas:
- Subclass 124 (Distinguished Talent) visa;
- Subclass 186 (Employer Nomination Scheme) visa;
- Subclass 187 (Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme) visa;
- Subclass 188 (Business Innovation and Investment) (Provisional) visa;
- Subclass 189 (Skilled - Independent) visa;
- Subclass 190 (Skilled - Nominated) visa;
- Subclass 191 (Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional)) visa;
- Subclass 457 (Temporary Work (Skilled)) visa;
- Subclass 482 (Temporary Skill Shortage) visa;
- Subclass 489 (Skilled - Regional (Provisional)) visa;
- Subclass 491 (Skilled Work Regional (Provisional)) visa;
- Subclass 494 (Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional)) visa;
- Subclass 858 (Global Talent) visa;
- Subclass 887 (Skilled - Regional) visa;
- Subclass 888 (Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent)) visa.
