The new government under Labor’s Anthony Albanese has as of now made a few critical changes to Australia’s movement approaches and started handling the visa accumulation since coming into office in May. And there can indeed be more changes in 2023, with the government promising to see at the viability of skilled migration occupation lists, which a few believe are outdated.

The final update to the current Skilled Migration Occupation List was made on 11 March 2019 when the COVID-19 widespread had a fair hit. Shortly after coming to control, the government reported an increment to the permanent migration program in 2022/23 from 160,000 to 195,000 places for talented and family visas. The October budget uncovered the number of skilled visas accessible as part of the program would increment altogether from 79,600 to 142,400.

The government moreover announced changes to Temporary skill shortage (TSS) subclass 482 visas that would permit individuals to apply for permanent residency, the evacuation of age limitations on 457 visa holders, and growing the qualification for subclass 462 working occasion producer visas. Backpacker visas are presently being finalized in less than a day as the government handles processing times. More recently, there have been reports more than 19,000 refugees on temporary protection visas will at long last be permitted to apply for permanent residency in Australia, with a declaration to be made within the New Year. But a representative for the Home Affairs Department said this had not been affirmed by the government.

1. State-sponsored visas 

Former Department of Immigration Secretary, Abul Rizvi, has said the number of visas accessible through the state and territories is set to significantly increase thanks to the larger territorial allocation.

One of the biggest preferences of subclass 190 and subclass 491 visas – which you’ll hear referred to as Australian state-sponsored visas – isn’t being tied to a specific employer. In any case, applicants must be younger than 45 years old and will have to find their own jobs. Moreover, states and territories have been relaxing their application criteria, counting expanding their skilled occupation lists, to make it easier for individuals to apply for state-nominated visas. Further information on state and territory nomination requirements can be found on the Department of Home Affairs website.

2. Review of migration system to be delivered 

According to SBS News, in 2023, three specialists are anticipated to convey a comprehensive review of Australia’s movement system with an interval report expected by the conclusion of February, and a last technique by April.

The government has moreover hired additional staff to assist with visa handling, bringing Australia’s visa accumulation, which already had an excess of nearly one million applications, down to 600,000.

“By ramping up processing in the Department of Home Affairs and hiring over 400 extra staff, I’m proud to say that we have now processed over four million visas since coming to government,” Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Andrew Giles said on Monday. 

“This has made a huge difference to the lives of Australians re-connected with loved ones before Christmas, and to addressing the skills shortages that have affected all of us.”

The Guardian added that many of the visas that are now being handled extremely quickly are Working Holiday Maker (WHM) visas (subclasses 417 and 462). Currently, these visas are typically processed and approved within one day.

3.  New rules for skilled visa applications to be prioritized

The Australian Government is regulating how it priorities skilled visa applications, with healthcare and education workers now at the top of the list. According to SBS News, the Department of Home Affairs has now stopped using its Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL) to rank skilled visa applications.

Applications are now being decided in the following order of priority:

1. Healthcare or teaching occupation applications;
2. For employer-sponsored visas, applicants nominated by an Approved sponsor with Accredited Status;
3. Those for a designated regional area;
4. For permanent and provisional visa subclasses, visa applications that count towards the migration program, excluding the subclass 188 Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa;
5. All other visa applications.

For all categories, priority will be given to those with qualified passports. Within each separate category, priority is given to candidates found outside Australia for temporary and permanent skilled visa applications