The Australian Chamber of Commerce has made seven recommendations to the Department of Home Affairs, among which applicants must pay attention to the following points:
1. Quota Distribution
In order to provide a more stable number of immigrants for businesses, government, and communities, and to help various regions better formulate long-term development plans, the Australian Chamber of Commerce is considering setting an annual cap of 190,000 permanent residency visas for the next three years (2019-2020, 2020-2021, 2021-2022). Among these, 128,550 (67.6%) visas are planned for skilled migration categories, which also include some employer-sponsored categories and business investment migration categories, while the remainder will be allocated to family reunion migration, including child, spouse, and parent categories.
2. Applicants with Employer Offers Will Be Given Priority
The plan also proposes that after 2019-2020, priority will be given to applicants with job offers from Australian employers. This means that if an Australian company is willing to employ you, your immigration application will be prioritized for approval. This is to closely align with the changes in the Australian labor market, immediately bringing in talent for positions that are in short supply locally.
3. Retain Employer-Sponsored Visa Quotas
In the 2017-18 fiscal year, 35,528 individuals obtained Australian employer-sponsored immigration visas, accounting for 74% of the available quota. The Chamber of Commerce recommends continuing to retain the current allocation of 48,250 visas for Australian employer-sponsored visas, removing unnecessary policy barriers in 2019-2020 to distribute these quotas.
4. Increase More Occupation Positions
In the 2019-2020 fiscal year, the Chamber of Commerce recommends adding more occupations to the occupation list. Currently, holders of the TSS temporary work visa can only apply for the 186 or 187 permanent employer-sponsored immigration visas after working for two years if their occupation is on the "Medium and Long-term List." Increasing the number of occupations will allow more applicants to immigrate to Australia after two years.
The year 2019 has already passed in a whirlwind for two months, and various new immigration policies for Australia will follow. It is evident that in the new year, immigration policies will continue to show a tightening trend, and different new policies will have significant impacts on different categories of applicants. Therefore, applicants planning to immigrate to Australia should prepare as early as possible to secure a quota in the fierce competition.