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It is unclear when the subclass 482 Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) visa will change to align with its replacement after the Albanese Government broke a budget promise to reduce the amount of experience needed to apply.
Details of the Skills in Demand (SID) visa were released earlier this month including provisions requiring just one year of work in an applicant’s chosen occupation for them to be eligible. Many expected this visa to be released on November 23 as promised in this year’s Federal budget, but it was not and the amount off work experience a migrant to Australia needs in their chosen field to be eligible for the 482 visa has remained at two years.
The Department of Home Affairs has not given any detail about plans to adjust the eligibility criteria for the TSS visa’s remaining time before it is changed into the SID visa, potentially leaving some migrants in limbo.
The subclass 482 visa is the most popular visa for sponsored employees to make their way into Australia and applicants have a 98% chance of being granted the visa. Migrants holding the 482 visa are able to work full time and are also eligible for permanent residency if they have worked for their sponsoring employer for two years and can achieve an IELTS score of at least 6 in each band.
The exact date the TSS visa will cease and the SID visa will kick off is yet to be announced but the Department said it anticipates the switch to be made before the end of the year. For a change like this one to come into force, a legislative instrument must be released and Australia’s online migration portal ImmiAccount would have to advise users of scheduled maintenance, neither of these have happened.
With no guidance on the exact timing of the changes or when to expect them, the migration industry, and potentially thousands of migrants, must simply wait until the new visa rules come into effect. This could place the possibility of having to make the life-changing decision to abandon hopes for a future in Australia squarely on the table.