2023’s most important immigration changes in Australia

The Australian Government has made a new plan to fix some problems with their immigration system. Here are some important things to know:

Migration Plan:

• They will plan immigration for more than just one year.
• Fewer people will be allowed to move to Australia in the coming year, and this will continue for some time.
• They are replacing a visa called Temporary Skilled Shortage with a new one called Skills in Demand. This new visa has different rules depending on how much money you earn and what kind of job you have.

Skills in Demand Visa:

• The Skills in Demand visa will be replacing the Temporary Skilled Shortage (subclass 482).
• The Skills in Demand Visa lets people stay in Australia for 4 years.
• People with this visa can change their job sponsor within 180 days.
• If you have this visa, you can apply for permanent residency.
• They are making it easier for employers to hire people from overseas.

Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) Levy:

• Discussions about a new payment model for the SAF Levy allowing smaller increments over time.

Labour Market Testing (LMT):

• The requirement to advertise on Workforce Australia has been scrapped.
• The LMT advertising period will increase from 4 to 6 months.
• Government indicates a gradual phasing out of the LMT requirement

Points Test – General Skilled Migration:

• A new points test will be developed to streamline skilled migration.

Student Visas:

• Replacing the ‘Genuine Temporary Entrant’ requirement with the ‘Genuine Student Test.’
• Efforts to control the number of student visa applications being processed.
• Increased English language test score requirements.
• Reduction in the list of eligible courses and restrictions on course swapping.

Temporary Graduate Visas:

• Prohibition on applying for another student visa.
• Reduced eligibility age from 50 to 35 years.
• Increased English language test score requirements.
• Extended eligibility for students in regional areas.

Regional Migration:

• Increased support for regional areas with fast-tracking of regional visa applications.
• Collaboration with regional areas to identify population needs and skill shortages.

Working Holiday Makers:

• No dramatic changes announced yet, but potential changes to length of stay and the 88-day work requirement are being discussed.

Global Talent and Business Innovation and Investment:

• Focus on applicants who can make a substantial contribution to Australia.
• Consideration of a new ‘Talent and Innovation’ visa.
• Expected continuation of the Significant Investor stream for the Business Innovation and Investment visa.

These changes are part of the Australian Government’s effort to reform its migration system, and the strategy is expected to be introduced in late 2024, subject to legislation being introduced. Further details are yet to be released, and updates will be provided as the changes roll out.

Book a consultation today to find out your migration options in Australia, all in one consultation.

Bill Mitroulas

Head of Migration at Questra Immigration. Managing and overseeing the growth and performance of Questra’s team of migration agents, while maintaining a client-centric and quality-driven approach. A registered migration agent since 2015 and a member of the Migration Institute of Australia, with over 15 years’ experience in international education and 11 years in Australian Migration law.