Canberra Matrix open to Canberra residents only. 457 visa / 482 visa holders: 12 invitations ACT 190 nomination: 6 invitations ACT 491 nomination: 6 invitations Matrix nominating Critical occupations: 140 invitations ACT 190 nomination: 76 invitations ACT 491 nomination: 64 invitations Invitations were not issued for an occupation if the monthly cap was met. The next Canberra Matrix invitation round will be held on or before 25 September 2020.
Canberra Matrix open to Canberra residents only. 10 invitations issued to 457 visa / 482 visa holders. 147 invitations issued to Matrix nominating Critical occupations. List of occupations for the Invitation Round is as below: Advertising, Public Relations & Sales Finance Managers Construction Managers ICT Managers Other Hospitality, Retail and Service Managers Journalists and other writers Accountants Financial Investment Adv. Human Resource Prof. Advertising & Marketing Prof. Public Relations Professionals Architects & Landscape Arch. Graphic, Web Designers & Illustrators Civil Engineering Professionals Early Childhood (Pre-prim.) Teachers Occupational Therapists G P and Resident Medical Officers Registered Nurses ICT Business & Syst. Analysts Software and Applications Prog. Database and Systems Administrator Computer Network Professionals ICT Support & Test Engineers Solicitors Psychologists Social Professionals Social Workers Welfare, Recreation and Comm. Arts
The Department of Home Affairs’ website provides that at home English language test results, including TOEFL iBT – Special Home Edition, OET@Home and IELTS Indicator, are not acceptable for migration purposes for student visas, skilled visas, and some permanent visas. Different visas require different level of competencies in English to be eligible to apply. The accepted tests are: International English Language Testing System (IELTS) – IELTS Academic or IELTS General Training Test of English as a Foreign Language internet-based Test (TOEFL iBT) Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic) Occupational English Test (OET) Cambridge C1 Advanced test
Australian Government is offering financial assistance to citizens and eligible permanent residents who are stranded overseas due to Covid-19 travel restrictions and are experiencing financial distress. The assistance is in the following forms: One-off loan to help cover emergency living costs until a commercial flight becomes available, where the loan amount is fixed based on the family size. Australian pension holder may be eligible to receive a grant instead of a loan. One-off loan to help cover part of the cost of a flight back to Australia, where the loan amount is equivalent to a standard one-way economy class airfare from that region. The Government has advised that loans are available as an option of last resort only and strict eligibility criteria applies. To know more about the financial assistance and application process, click here.
The Department of Home Affairs’ interim allocation of Subclasses 491, 190, 188 and 132 visa nomination under General Skilled Migration and Business Migration program for the financial year 2020-2021 has given limited number of visa nominations to the States until the delivery of the Federal Budget in October. For Subclass 491 and Subclass 190 applications lodged before 1pm (AEST), Tuesday 25th August 2020, Migration Tasmania will continue to assess the existing applications according to the priorities established by the Department of Home Affairs. For all new applications lodged after this time period, the applicant must also demonstrate that the applicant is critical to supporting Tasmania’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery. Further, for Subclass 491, 3A Overseas Applicant (TSOL) nomination category restrictions remain in place in Tasmania and only the 17 occupations listed in the ‘High Demand’ section of the Tasmanian Skilled Occupation List (TSOL) are eligible for nomination. The applications lodged for occupations that are not listed as ‘High Demand’ remain closed. To see the list of ‘High Demand’ occupations, click here. The State will review the requirements after the Federal Budget, after the announcement of full details of the 2020-21 nomination allocations and requirements. For Subclass 188 and 132 visa nomination applications, the State is waiting for reopening of Business Migration program and indicates that the new business nominations must be of high quality to support Australia’s COVID-19 recovery.
On 17 September, which is also Australian Citizenship Day, The Hon Alan Tudge MP, the Acting Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs Australian Government has announced that the Australian citizenship test will be updated to emphasize more on Australian values in addition to core facts and figures. The Hon Alan Tudge MP said that, “Our Australian values are important. They have helped shape our country and they are the reason why so many people want to become Australian citizens… We are asking those who apply for citizenship to understand our values more deeply before they make the ultimate commitment to our nation” The updated test will include 5 questions on Australian values amongst the 20 multiple-choice questions. In order to pass the test, the applicant will have to correctly answer all 5 of the questions on Australian values, along with scoring a mark of at least 75 per cent overall in the test. The new test is expected to be in effect from 15 November 2020. The Minister has also announced that new applicants for most visas, along with the citizenship applicants will be required to affirm the updated Australian Values Statement (AVS) from 30 October 2020 onwards. However, no changes have been announced to the English language requirements or residency requirements for citizenship.
On 09 September 2020, the Department of Home Affairs has updated the travel exemption categories and holders of a Business Innovation and Investment (Subclass 188) visa are now exempt from the travel restrictions to enter Australia during Covid-19 pandemic. Subclass 188 visa holders do not need to obtain an individual exemption from the Australia Border Force (ABF) to enter Australia. Other exempt categories include: Australian citizens Permanent residents of Australia Immediate family member of an Australian citizen or permanent resident, upon advise from the Department New Zealand citizens usually resident in Australia and their immediate family members Diplomats accredited to Australia (Subclass 995 visa holders) Travellers transiting Australia for 72 hours or less Airline crew members Maritime crew members including marine pilots Persons recruited under the Seasonal Worker Program or Pacific Labour Scheme
The Department of Home Affairs runs invitation rounds every month for Skilled Independent Visa (Subclass 189) and Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa (subclass 491) – Family Sponsored Stream. The number of invitation issued in each round may vary depending on the number of applications that are being processed by the Department. It is important to know that the Departmental invitation rounds do not impact the State or Territory Government nominations for Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa (Subclass 491). The dates for the invitation rounds are subject to change and as such, are not fixed monthly. During the Covid-19 pandemic, like everything else, the Department invitation rounds are also running, rather, unusually. The Department has adopted the approach of conducting targeted invitation rounds as have occurred since May 2020 until August 2020, with a view to monitoring migration and visa pathways closely and ensuring that the approach is consistent with public health measures adopted in Australia. The focus is to ensure that migration is undertaken to respond to the immediate and subsequent impacts of pandemic effectively, but not at the cost of job opportunities for Australians. In this financial year’s program, the Department has issued the following number of invitations so far: Month Skilled Independent Visa (Subclass 189) Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491) – Family Sponsored Stream July 2020 500 100 August 2020 110 90 Total 610 190 Due to high levels of demand, certain occupation groups are subject to pro rata arrangements to maintain availability of invitations across those occupations the program year. Some of these occupations are Accountants, Auditors, Company Secretaries and Corporate Treasurers, Electronics Engineer, Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers, and Engineering Professionals. In terms of process, the places are first allocated to Subclass 189 visa and the remaining places to Subclass 491. This means that if all places are allocated under Subclass 189 visas, no invitations are issued for Subclass 491 visas in the particular occupations. If you have any questions or need more information on Invitation Rounds/SkillSelect, Contact Us or call us on (02) 4626 100 to speak to one of our Registered Migration Agents in Sydney to discuss your visa pathway.
Migration Agents Regulations 1998 have been compiled to incorporate the text of the law as amended and in force on 11 August 2020, taking into account amendments up to Migration Amendment (Regulation of Migration Agents) Regulations 2020. Migration Amendment (Regulation of Migration Agents) Regulations 2020 amended the Migration Agents Regulations 1998 to amend provisions relating to Australian legal practitioners providing immigration assistance and registration requirements, the redundant provisions, and other transitional provisions regarding operation of amendments relating to registration of migration agents. To access the amended and complied Regulations, click here.
In response to various enquiries regarding ‘the first date of entry’ for state nominated visas granted offshore, the Business and Skilled Migration Queensland (BMSQ) has clarified that the Department of Home Affairs, generally, will not seek to cancel a state nominated visa where the only reason for doing so would be breach of Condition 8504, which requires the visa holder to enter Australia applies before a date specified, due to travel restrictions imposed in response to Covid-19 Pandemic. The State has advised that if the ‘first date of entry’ has passed, the visa holder must continue to hold a valid visa to travel to Australia, along with the relevant notice of the Department applicable to your situation, and individual exemption to travel from the Australian Border Force (ABF) if granted a provisional visa. Read more about notice regarding Business Innovation and Investment Program here. Read more about notice regarding Skilled Program here