Post-Election Immigration Update

The Australian bureaucratic race is finished, and we expect that the Liberal National Party alliance will hold government for the following three years. There has been no declaration on changes to the Minister for Immigration so far, so we should keep a watch out. Regional Visas A held LNP government implies some affirmation that the declared subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa and the subclass 494 Skilled Employer Sponsored visa will start in November 2019 as prompted. The push to organize the development of vagrants into provincial Australia will stay solid on this present government's plan. Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMA) Further DAMAs are in progress, supporting the regional push and helping businesses in these areas to get skilled and semi-skilled overseas workers to meet their operational needs. There is more flexibility in DAMA arrangements than in the Standard Business Sponsorship pathway, including access to a broad range of occupations, threshold salary concessions, and age concessions for permanent residency. The Cairns Chamber of Commerce in North Queensland is currently in negotiations and is likely to announce a new DAMA in the coming months. The South Australian Government has entered into two DAMAs with the Department of Home Affairs which are expected to come into effect on 1 July 2019:

1. Adelaide Technology and Innovative Advancement Agreement - supports Adelaide Metropolitan region employers in the defence, space, and advanced manufacturing and technology industries with the ability to access and retain a highly skilled workforce.
2. South Australian Regional Workforce Agreement - covering the entire State of South Australia, this DAMA provides employers in the regional growth areas of agribusiness, health and aged care, hospitality and tourism, mining, and construction, with the ability to access and retain a skilled workforce.

Nomination Refusals - 457 and 482 (TSS)

Some interesting data has been released under the Freedom of Information Act, showing the subclass 457 or 482 nomination outcomes for applications lodged between 1 November 2016 to 31 January 2019. According to the report, almost 10% of all nominations were refused, and a further 7% were 'otherwise finalised' or withdrawn. Occupations with a high chance of refusal include Customer Service Manager (47%), Massage Therapist (40%), and Web Administrator (32%). The greatest number of failed applications were in the hospitality occupations of Cafe or Restaurant Manager (1385 refusals, 698 withdrawn), Cook (1296 refusals, 788 withdrawn), and Chef (802 refusals, 496 withdrawn). If you need help with your visa application or you need a person to talk to about your visa options, please feel free to send us an email to info@straitslawyers.com or give us a call on (08) 84109069.