Changes to the 2008-09 Skilled Migration Program

Submitted 18/12/2008

Ministerial Statement by Senator Chris Evans - Minister for Immigration and Citizenship

The Government is implementing a number of measures which will ensure the 2008-09 Skilled Migration Program is driven by the needs of industry and target skills in critical need across a number of sectors.

The new measures will apply from 1 January 2009 and include:

  1. prrioritising and improving the processing of sponsored permanent migration visas, where skilled migrants are nominated by employers for jobs that cannot be filled locally;
  2. providing State and Territory Governments greater scope to address the critical skill needs in their jurisdiction. This reflects the different economies and skills requirements across State and Territories;
  3. giving priority to people who apply without a sponsor where they have an occupation on a list of skills in critical shortage; and
  4. retaining the existing 133,500 planning target as a cap, with the actual number of visas granted to be kept under review by the Government for the remainder of the 2008-09 year.

As a result of these measures the 2008-09 Skilled Migration Program will be more targeted in delivering the skills needed in the economy, while increasing the number of visas granted to those already onshore and in jobs. Although the existing planning target reamins in place as a cap, the Government retains the ability to cap the program below that figure if necessary.

A complete copy of this Ministerial Statement by Senator Chris Evans - Minister for Immigration and Citizenship can be accessed from http://www.minister.immi.gov.au/media/media-releases/2008/changes-to-2008-09-skilled-migration-program.pdf .