Changes to Australia Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL) - 27 Tech Occupations removed

As per a report by Australian Financial Review (AFR):

Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil last week issued Ministerial Direction No. 100 which removes 27 occupations from the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL) and provides a new set of processing priorities for visa applications.

The previous Ministerial Directions No. 96 and 97 which related to order of consideration in assessing Skilled visas have been revoked.

Visa applicants who are sponsored by an Australian employer, and whose occupations match those on the PMSOL, can expect priority visa processing.

Some key occupations removed from the PMSOL include:

• ICT Security Specialists,
• Analyst Programmers,
• Developer Programmers,
• Software Engineers and
• Applications Programmers.

Australian Computer Society (ACS): Prior to their removal, the ACS was listed as the authority assessing applicants’ skills in above roles. As per the AFR report, ACS Chief Executive Chris Vein said:

“Over the short term, we’re not exactly sure why the decision was made to de-prioritise technology at a time when, as the Minister has said repeatedly, that there's a crisis in Australia [in terms of] global competition and need for technology workers - cybersecurity specifically, and given all of those needs, again, is a surprise,”

Vein added that while the ACS doesn’t understand the change, he was looking forward to seeing processing times improves, if that is the result.

Incomplete applications made under the PMSOL system will continue to be processed efficiently given the improvements in visa processing since the government committed additional funding and staff to reduce processing times.

Reason for Changes

The AFR Reported the minister as saying that her direction aimed to streamline the system so all applicants would be better off as waiting times would improve.

She said that previous ministerial direction prioritised so many occupations and sectors that it was adding up to 45 minutes of extra processing time for each application.

The minister explained that the decision to cut 27 jobs from the PMSOL is an extension of this plan: by prioritising education and healthcare occupations, all other visa applicants would benefit too, she said.

Updated PMSOL

The new updated PMSOL webpage is currently unavailable (as of 06 November 2022, 1630 hrs AEST).

New Processing Priorities for Skilled Visa Applications

As per Ministerial Direction No. 100, Skilled Visa Applications will now be processed in the following order of priority:​

1. Visa applications in relation to a healthcare or teaching occupation.
2. For employer sponsored visas, visa applications where the applicant is nominated by an Approved sponsor with Accredited Status.
3. Visa applications in relation to an occupation to be carried out in 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.​

👉 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.​

The following skilled visas are subject to Ministerial Direction No. 100:​

• Subclass 124 (Distinguished Talent)
• Subclass 186 (Employer Nomination Scheme)
• Subclass 187 (Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme)
• Subclass 188 (Business Innovation and Investment) (Provisional)
• Subclass 189 (Skilled - Independent)
• Subclass 190 (Skilled - Nominated)
• Subclass 191 (Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional))
• Subclass 457 (Temporary Work (Skilled))
• Subclass 482 (Temporary Skill Shortage)
• Subclass 489 (Skilled - Regional (Provisional))
• Subclass 491 (Skilled Work Regional (Provisional))
• Subclass 494 (Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional))
• Subclass 858 (Global Talent)
• Subclass 887 (Skilled - Regional)
• Subclass 888 (Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent).

New Processing Priorities for Employer Sponsored Nomination Applications

As per Ministerial Direction No. 100, Employer Sponsored Nomination Applications (subclass 186, 187, 482 and 494) will now be processed in the following order of priority:​

1. Nomination applications lodged in relation to a healthcare or teaching occupations (please see below list of healthcare and teaching occupations).
2. Nomination applications lodged by an Approved sponsor with Accredited Status.
3. Nomination applications in relation to an occupation to be carried out in. a designated regional area.
4. All other nomination applications.

List of Healthcare or Teaching Occupations

• ANZSCO Sub-major Group 25 - Health Professionals
• ANZSCO Minor Group 241 - School Teachers
• ANZSCO Minor Group 411 - Health and Welfare Support Workers
• ANZSCO Unit Group 1341 - Child Care Centre Managers
• ANZSCO Unit Group 2346 - Medical Scientists
• ANZSCO Unit Group 2721 - Counsellors
• ANZSCO Unit Group 2723 - Psychologists
• ANZSCO Unit Group 2725 - Social Workers
• ANZSCO Unit Group 3112 - Medical Technicians
• ANZSCO occupations:
  • 134311 - School Principal
  • 421111 - Child Care Worker
  • 423111 - Aged or Disabled Carer
  • 423312 - Nursing Support Worker
  • 423313 - Personal Care Assistant.​

Change in Processing Times

Processing times for nomination and visa applications may increase for certain occupations that are not covered under the new Ministerial Direction No.100.

ℹ️ Visa processing priority and times as per Ministerial Direction No. 100 are available here.

Are you looking for help with your Australian visa application?

🙋🏻 Contact SSA Migration Consultancy on 📞 +61-414-027-102 (AU) for a free consultation.