Reasons behind the February 8 Australian DIAC Changes

More changes announced by the Department ofemployer and the position has not been filled locally.
Immigration & Citizenship…Why? 
 A variety of applications are still been processed but
As one of Australia's leading immigration firms AMVLapplications such as Employer Sponsored and CSL
has made informing clients of DIAC announcements aapplications are moving through the system faster
priority. However, as further changes are introducedthan others.
we have had more clients asking why these changes 
are happening, what has prompted continual review ofFurther changes that will be implemented (it is nice to
the nature of the General Skilled Migration scheme?have been warned) include the following:
  
Background- A change to the Skilled Occupation List (SOL):
 - The Skilled Occupation List determines what
The Minister for Immigration, Senator Chris Evans,occupations will be allowed into the General Skilled
recently described the Skilled Migration Program as theMigration scheme. An applicant must still meet the
‘unsung achiever' of Australia's prosperity during thedesignated points for a visa, but the first step is to
Global Financial Crisis. The Skilled program has beenhave an occupation on the SOL.
implemented for many years now and it is not only- The new SOL will be announced on30 April 2010and
during the difficult times that it has enriched Australia'swill take effect we believe at this stage 1 July 2010.
economy. New migrants have brought new ideas,The Minister has stated prospective migrants will have
entrepreneurial spirit and trade channels which allow a‘a couple of months' before it takes effect.
young country such as Australia to develop and reach- Once the new SOL takes effect all future applicants
new levels.for GSM will need to be on this list.
 - Any application lodged with DIAC prior to it taking
The recent string of changes which began in Januaryeffect (ie.1 July 2010) will not be impacted by the new
2009 were introduced as a result of the GovernmentSOL.
identifying aspects of the General Skilled Migration- State Migration Plan:
scheme that need to be updated to maintain the focus- It was announced on 8 February 2010 that an
of the system of targeting applicants whose skills areapplicant under a State Migration Plan will be
in need.processed in priority processing Group 2.
 - This is a DIAC ‘moment' as there are currently no
The major changes have resulted in priority beingState Migration Plans and therefore no applications can
given to applicants with an occupation on the Criticalbe made.
Skills List. Prior to the CSL visa applications were- As some background the Minister has asked each of
processed in the order in which they were receivedthe State and Territory Governments to submit a
regardless of the occupation with Migration OccupationState Migration Plan to the Department.
in Demand List (MODL) receiving slightly quicker time- The States and Territory's will be able to nominate
frames. When one takes into consideration migrantsapplicants for a visa even if they are not on the new
account for around half of Australia's doctors andSOL if there is labour market evidence to support the
dentists and more than a third of all pharmacists, itdemand for the skills.
becomes clear that the immigration system may be- We do not expect this to be implemented until at
improved to assist applicants who contribute vitalleast the second half of 2010 considering the infancy
services to Australians. The CSL was implemented toof the concept.
rectify this situation in recognition that some 
professional are in fact in ‘critical shortage' and the- A review of the GSM points system:
consequences of not having access to these- Under General Skilled Migration an applicant must
resources could be drastic.meet a points mark in order to be eligible for a visa.
 - Points are awarded based on English language ability,
To give an indication of how the system has shifted toage, skill level and work experience.
better service the Australian economy, the number of- The theory behind the review is that the current
visas granted to Registered Nurses and Generalpoints test could allocate points on a basis that would
Practitioners (both occupations on the CSL) hasbetter to target migrants who are of working age, are
increased by 50% compared to the previous yearlikely to find employment in their skill area, can increase
when the Critical Skills List was not in place.work output due to high level qualifications and
 experience.
The abolishment of the Migration Occupation in 
Demand List (MODL) was the result of the- The basis on which points are awarded is currently
Government decision that it had stopped meeting itsunder review and the focus of the review is that:
purpose. Additional points were awarded to applicants- Points should be awarded on the basis of human
who had an occupation on the MODL and thecapital points namely, English language ability, age and
Government concern was that overseas studentsskill and include bonus factors for higher levels of
were training in these MODL occupations for thesettlement value (i.e. Greater English language ability).
purpose of acquiring permanent residency only. The- Allow migration of people with high human capital
end result of the MODL was identified in a 2006 DIACvalue, which includes well qualified and experienced
survey which found that one third of the applicantstradespersons with good English.
were unemployed or working in unskilled positions. The 
MODL was encouraging overseas students into areas- The submissions are currently been taken for the
of study for the purpose of obtaining residency only asreview and we expect that this will be implemented in
opposed to studying to pursue a career pathway.the second half of 2010.
  
In response to criticism about how the changes haveA major concern that has been raised by current
been implemented, Senator Evans has defended theclients and prospective applicants is that their files will
changes which caught applicants who were already inend in the same result as the 20,000 that were
the processing system by explaining that it is in therecently cancelled by DIAC. Little information was
nation's interest for priority to be given to the most inprovided as to why this happened. On 1 September
demand skills. In a time when poor economic2007 quite drastic changes to the visa criteria were
management within Governments has resulted inmade. Please note that these were not sudden
desperate times in a lot of countries, the responsiblechanges and warning was given by DIAC. One of the
steps taken by the Australian economy have somechanges was that the English language ability criteria
merit.was raised and the capital bond that people submitted
 to claim 5 bonus points was withdrawn (this was a
Our experience at Australian Migration & Visabond whereby if you invested AU$100,000 you were
Lawyers is that people from a variety of countries areawarded 5 bonus points).
still pursuing their goal of obtaining residency in Australia. 
We hear the different reasons for our clients wantingUpon changing these criteria certain applicants were
to migrate to Australia and these range from a betterno longer able to meet the pass mark for the grant of
lifestyle, greater opportunities for children, a diversethe visa and were in migration limbo. They did not have
range of employment opportunities and goodenough points and could not claim any additional points
governance. AMVL also recognizes that some clientsso they were put on hold to be processed in the
must migrate in order to support their families in theevent that DIAC lowered the points mark (was unlikely
midst of a recession in their home country.to happen and turns out it didn't). DIAC have now said
 enough is enough and the applicants will not ever meet
The General Skilled Migration scheme will continue tothe criteria for the visa and have had long enough to
develop to meet Australia's needs and the mosttry to pass the English language test and have failed.
recent changes have been major in the face of theWe cannot guarantee that this situation will not happen
Global Financial Crisis. The General Skilled Migrationin the future but it was not as clear cut at DIAC
scheme is linked with Australia's economy as thewithdrawing 20000 applications with no explanation.
shortage of skilled workers stunts economic growth. 
The changes to date have been to balance the needAt AMVL we will continue to make updating our clients
for local labour to be given opportunity to finda priority. We have had to advise of various changes,
employment with filling shortages with the assistancegood and bad, and work towards meeting our clients'
of skilled migrants.needs as well as fitting into DIAC's new framework.
The FutureWith the up take in the Australian economy and a well
Australia is still actively seeking skilled migrants. Withthought out General Skilled Migration scheme we look
the retirement of the large generation group theforward to a prosperous future in Australia and know
‘baby boomers' the labour force is shrinking and asour clients will contribute to this greatly.
this generation group ages, certain skills are needed to 
support their needs. Lower fertility rates have also had 
an impact.To confirm the processing arrangement is as follows:
  
Australia's immigration system has been the basis of1. Applications from people who are employer
many others around the world including the Unitedsponsored under the ENS and the RSMS.
Kingdom. The view of the existing system however is2. Applications from people who are nominated by a
that some aspects are ‘rusty and in need ofstate/territory government agency under a state
reform'.migration plan agreed to by the minister.
 3. Applications from people who are nominated by a
In 2009, 170,000 applications were received by DIACstate/territory government agency and whose
for the 108,000 positions that were available under thenominated occupation is on the Critical Skills List (CSL).
General Skilled Migration scheme. The action taken by4. Applications from people who are neither nominated
the Australian Government over the past 12 monthsnor sponsored in priority groups 1, 2 or 3, but whose
has been described as shifting the General Skillednominated occupation is listed on the CSL.
Migration scheme from current supply driven system5. Applications from people who are nominated by a
to a demand driven system to better manage thestate/territory government agency whose nominated
needs of the Australian economy. What this translatesoccupation is not listed on the CSL.
to is DIAC can take from the 170,000 applicants (the6.         (i) Applications from people whose
supply), those who have the most sought after skillsoccupations are listed on the Migration Occupations in
(the demand) and process those applications quicker.Demand List (MODL).
The previous system processed all applications(ii) Applications from people who are sponsored by
supplied in the order they were received with nofamily and whose nominated occupation is not listed on
regard to the demand of the Australian employer.the CSL.
 7. All other applications are to be processed in the
Top priority has been assigned to employer sponsoredorder in which they are received.
applications in line with this new approach to skilled 
migration. An applicant for an Employer NominationAmanda Skeen
Scheme visa has the skills set required by anPartner - LLB, B.