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New Visa Frameworks Introduced:

Skills in Demand Visa and National Innovation Visa

Correct as at 11 December 2024

 

Overview

The Government has introduced changes and updates to employer-linked and independent skilled visas. These include:

  • A new temporary Skills in Demand (subclass 482) visa – the SID visa
  • Changes to sponsor obligations
  • Changes to certain requirements under the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) visa

Changes have also been made to the subclass 858 visa, whereby the National Innovation Visa (NIV) replaces the Global Talent Independent visa. A new Ministerial Direction 112 (which repeals Direction 89) introduces a new order of priority processing within the subclass 858 visa scheme.

The changes are examined below.

Skills In Demand (SID) visa – subclass 482

The new temporary Skills in Demand (subclass 482) visa (SID visa) has replaced the existing Temporary Skill Shortage (subclass 482) visa (TSS visa). The change commenced on 7 December 2024, and applies in relation to a nomination of a proposed occupation where the nomination is made on or after 7 December 2024.

Transitional Arrangements: The TSS visa requirements will still apply to nominations and visas of proposed occupations made before 7 December 2024. If an employer has lodged a nomination for a TSS visa that was not accompanied by a corresponding application for the TSS visa before 7 December 2024, the applicant will be able to “link” this nomination to the new SID visa until the original nomination period of 12 months ceases. If an approved nomination for the TSS visa is not “linked” to a SID visa application, then the nomination ceases 12 months after the day the nomination was approved.

The SID visa has three streams:

  • Specialist Skills stream is intended for applicants in most ANZSCO occupations with a Specialist Skills Income Threshold (SSIT) of AUD135,000 or more – this refers to base annual salary excluding superannuation. SSIT will be indexed annually on 1 July. Excluded ANZSCO occupations are Major Groups 3, 7, and 8 which encompass trade workers, machinery operators and drives, and labourers. Importantly, prescribed Labour Market Testing (LMT) of at least 28 continuous days remains a requirement for applicants nominated under this stream and is valid for 4 months from date of first advertisement to date of nomination lodgement. The Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) Levy continues to apply. The English requirement is equivalent to the requirement that previously applied to applicants under the Medium-term stream of the TSS visa. The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) will be aiming for rapid processing of this SID stream.
  • Core Skills stream caters for applicants with a base annual salary (excluding superannuation) of at least AUD73,150 – the Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT) to be indexed annually on 1 July, and replaces the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT). Applicants under this stream must be nominated for an occupation on the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL). For the Legislative Instrument plus amendments (which include caveats), please see: https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2024L01620/latest/textLMT remains a requirement for applicants nominated under this stream and is valid for 4 months from date of first advertisement to date of nomination lodgement.  The Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) Levy applies. The English requirement is equivalent to the requirement that previously applied to applicants under the Medium-term stream of the TSS visa.
  • Labour Agreement stream carries over existing settings from the TSS visa while further development of the proposed Essential Skills stream takes place. LMT is still a requirement for applicants nominated under this stream and is usually valid for 12 months. The Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) Levy applies. The applicant has English language skills that are suitable to perform the nominated occupation.

Table 1. Comparison of requirements for the SID visa’s three streams

Requirement Specialist Skills Core Skills Labour Agreement
Base Annual Salary – indexed annually AUD135,000 and over AUD73,150 As determined by the Labour Agreement
Labour Market Testing Yes – valid for 4 months Yes – valid for 4 months Yes – usually valid for 12 months
SAF Levy Payable Yes
Work experience requirement One-year full time (or equivalent) in the nominated occupation or a related field in the last 5 years
English Language IELTS score (or equivalent recognised English language test) of 5 overall with 5 on each component. Alternatively, eligible passport holders or those who completed all studies in English at secondary and/or tertiary level after 5 years of study, meet the English language requirement. English language skills suitable to perform the nominated occupation, as determined by the Labour Agreement

With respect to the LMT validity period, it is noted that the Migration Amendment (Strengthening Sponsorship and Nomination Processes) Bill 2024 and amendments, remains before the Senate and has not passed this year. As such, the proposed change to increase the LMT validity period from 4 months to 6 months has not passed. It is unclear whether the 6-month validity period will be introduced and if so, when.

SID visa application charges

The visa application charge (VAC) for all SID visa streams have been aligned to the amounts that applicants were previously charged for Medium-term stream applications under subclass 482. They are:

  • Primary applicant $3,115
  • Secondary applicant who is at least 18 years $3,115
  • Secondary applicant who is less than 18 years $   780

Amendments to align sponsorship obligations

The regulations have been amended such that an employer’s obligation to ensure the primary sponsored person works or participates in the nominated occupation, program or activity will end when the primary sponsored person ceases employment for them, rather than when they obtain a new sponsor. This aligns with provisions implemented on 1 July 2024 to enable visa holders who cease work with their sponsoring employer to have up to 180 days at a time (increased from 60 days) and a maximum of 365 days in total across their entire visa grant period to find a new sponsor, apply for a different visa, or depart Australia.

Recapping changes to conditions 8107, 8607, and 8608 for subclasses 457, 482, and 494 introduced 1 Jul 2024

These conditions require the primary visa holder to only work for the employer who nominated them and only in the position (or occupation) for which they were nominated.

If ceasing employment with their nominating employer the primary visa holder:

  • Cannot work for the employer that nominated them for their visa in a different occupation
  • According to the Department, must be renominated by their original nominating employer, if they seek to be re-employed by the original nominating employer
  • Can cease employment for a period of up to 180 days at a time, and for a maximum of 365 days over their entire visa grant period
    • If employment with the sponsor ends, the visa holder can stop work or work for other non-sponsoring employer(s) and in different occupations for the above-specified limited time periods.
    • According to the Department, the visa holder cannot work again for a previous sponsor unless they are nominated again by that sponsor and their new nomination is approved.

Changes to Permanent Residence requirements under subclass 186

Changes to the Direct Entry (DE) stream

The eligible occupations for nomination under the DE stream of subclass 186 applicants must have a nominated occupation which appears on the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL). The CSOL replaces the Medium- and Long-Term Strategic Skills List, and includes over 450 occupations (an increase of over 200). The CSOL is based on labour market analysis and Jobs and Skills Australia stakeholder consultation and includes occupations in sectors such as:

  • Agriculture
  • Construction
  • Cyber security
  • Education
  • Health

Changes to the Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream

Applicants can now potentially count all periods of sponsored employment towards their 2-year work experience requirement. Per the regulations: for those nominated under the TRT stream of subclass 186, during the 3 years immediately before the 186 application is made, the nominee must have held a primary subclass 457, 482 (TSS) and/or subclass 482 (SID) visa and have worked in the occupation for at least two years on a full-time basis (not including any periods of unpaid leave) before being nominated under the TRT stream of subclass 186. It is noted that:

  • The 2-year work experience can be accumulated working for more than one sponsor;
  • It is necessary for the nominating employer for 186 TRT stream purposes to be the existing sponsor of the primary subclass 457, 482 (TSS) and/or subclass 482 (SID) visa holder.

National Innovation Visa (NIV)

The National Innovation Visa (NIV) replaced the Global Talent Independent (GTI) visa on 6 December 2024. Like the GTI, the NIV will be granted under subclass 858. The NIV is an exclusive program for migrants with world-leading skills, in areas including advanced robotics, quantum computing, and clean energy.

The NIV seeks established and emerging leaders with high-calibre talent and skills who can make significant contributions that will benefit Australia’s future prosperity.

This includes:

  • Global researchers
  • Entrepreneurs
  • Innovative Investors
  • Athletes and Creatives

Under the requirements of the NIV, the applicant must be invited in writing by the Minister to apply for the NIV and the applicant must apply within the time-period stated on the invitation. To be invited to apply, the applicant must be earning at or above the Fair Work High Income Threshold (FWHIT), currently $175,000 – this should be supported by an employment offer or evidence of current salary. The applicant’s internationally recognised record of exceptional and outstanding achievement must be in one of the Government’s stated Priority Sectors, which include:

  • Tier 1 priority sectors:
    • Critical technologies
    • Renewables and low emission technologies
    • Health industries
  • Tier 2 priority sectors:
    • Agri-food and Ag-tech
    • Defence capabilities and Space
    • Education
    • Financial services and FinTech
    • Infrastructure and transport
    • Resources

Potential applicants will need to first submit an Expression of Interest (EoI) to the Department of Home Affairs (DHA). DHA will then invite a select number of applicants who have made an Eoi to apply for a NIV. The applicant’s internationally recognised record of exceptional and outstanding achievement must be the same as stated in the invitation at the time of application.

DHA will process invitation to apply and NIV applications according to the following priority order:

  1. Recipients of internationally prestigious awards. This includes but is not limited to: Nobel Prize laureates, Fields Medallists, Chern Medallists, L’Oreal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science recipients, Turing Award recipients, Booker Prize winners, or Olympic gold medallists.
  2. Exceptionally talented people in their field who are endorsed by a relevant Australian state, territory or federal government agency.
  3. People with exceptional skills in critical technologies, renewables and low emission technologies and health industries.
  4. Exceptionally talented people in agri-food and ag-tech, resources, defence capabilities and space, education, financial services and fin-tech, and infrastructure and transport.

There is no age limit for the NIV and English language requirements are flexible. DHA will accept EoIs made from overseas or from people already in Australia on a temporary visa.

EoIs for the NIV are valid for 2 years and those who have submitted an EoI may be invited to apply for a visa during this time.

  • It is important to note that the Department is not obligated to respond to an EoI – if a person does not receive an invitation, the EoI will lapse 2 years after its submission.
  • There is no guarantee that a person who submits an EoI will receive an invitation to apply for a subclass 858 visa – among other things, the visa scheme is competitive and places are limited.
  • Lodging an EoI is not the same as submitting a visa application –a person who submits an EoI while in Australia, will not be granted a bridging visa and they will not have an automatic entitlement to remain in Australia to receive an invitation.

Global Researchers and Guidance to Assessing Officers

The Minister’s stated aim for subclass 858 is that this small visa program focuses on high-calibre talented migrants who can drive productivity growth in areas of national importance. Further, the exceptional and outstanding achievement criterion for the subclass 858 visa requires the Minister to be satisfied that the applicant is significantly high-calibre within their field of engagement and has the ability to make outsized contributions to Australia.

Specific directions to decision makers, when assessing an academic applicant’s internationally recognised exceptional and outstanding achievements, it is expected that these may include but are not limited to:

  1. Receipt of a national research grant in Australia or overseas indicating that the individual is ‘top of their field’ level talent, including from:
    1. The Australian Research Council; Department of Education Accelerator grants; or other similar level grants;
    2. Equivalent level grants from other countries, such as the United Kingdom research and Innovation Grants program; funding from the EU Commission; funding from the US National Science Foundation.
  1. Holding a PhD with high-levels of academic influence or thought leadership in their field, including:
    1. Recent publications in top ranked journals, such as Nature, Lancet, or Acta Numerica;
    2. A high h-index for their stage of career, for example an early career researcher with an h-index of 14;
    3. Research-based degree from a top global university, for example ranked in top 100 World University Rankings by Times Higher Education.
  1. Recent keynote appearance at a high-profile international conference, for example Web Summit, International Congress of Mathematicians, American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting or International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium.
  2. Having recognised intellectual property attributed to them, such as holding relevant international patents.
  3. Earning at or above the high income threshold (employment offer or current salary) where
    1. There is written communication from an Australian employer offering employment in Australia with an annual salary equivalent to or higher than the high income threshold;
      or
    2. The primary applicant’s current earnings is an amount equal or greater than the high income threshold

Concluding Comments on the NIV

Our view is that, given the very competitive nature of the program, as well as the uncertainties relating to the NIV, if a candidate is otherwise eligible for a subclass 186 visa, then, as a rule of thumb, that should be the preferred visa pathway. This is reinforced by the 2024-25 Migration Program Planning Levels, where in the May 2024 Budget, the cap for visa grants allocated was 44,000 to applications granted under subclass 186 while only 4,000 places were allocated to GTI visa, now rebranded as the NIV.

Applicants who applied for a GTI visa prior to 6 December 2024 will continue to have their application assessed under the requirements of the legislation in place at the time of application.