Skills Australia - the body that will determine the new SOL

**Alan Collett** · 10-02-2010, 03:49 AM

**Alan Collett** · 10-02-2010, 03:51 AM

http://www.skillsaustralia.gov.au/PD...s/QANewSOL.pdf

Best regards.

**Carlos fandango** · 10-02-2010, 07:17 AM

I was wondering whether if a visa application was submitted now (after 8th Feb and before July 2010) that the DIAC and W.A. would honour the application given the applicants occupation is on the SOL list now and the W.A.O.I.D.L.(but may not after July 2010) Reading this information posted by Alan, it reads as if they would.

"The new SOL will be published on the Department of Immigration and Citizenship website at Department of Immigration & Citizenship by 30 April 2010. The list will take effect from mid 2010.
Does the new SOL affect applications for General Skilled Migration?
After mid 2010, General Skills Migration visa applicants will have to nominate an occupation on the new SOL unless they are state/territory government nominated".

Does anyone agree. Am I reading this correctly. I'm waiting for my WA SS (hopefully mid March) and expected to apply for my 176 then, so I'm very interested in the responses.

Cheers

Carl

**Gollywobbler** · 10-02-2010, 07:38 AM

Originally Posted by Carlos fandango

I was wondering whether if a visa application was submitted now (after 8th Feb and before July 2010) that the DIAC and W.A. would honour the application given the applicants occupation is on the SOL list now and the W.A.O.I.D.L.(but may not after July 2010) Reading this information posted by Alan, it reads as if they would.

"The new SOL will be published on the Department of Immigration and Citizenship website at Department of Immigration & Citizenship by 30 April 2010. The list will take effect from mid 2010.
Does the new SOL affect applications for General Skilled Migration?
After mid 2010, General Skills Migration visa applicants will have to nominate an occupation on the new SOL unless they are state/territory government nominated".

Does anyone agree. Am I reading this correctly. I'm waiting for my WA SS (hopefully mid March) and expected to apply for my 176 then, so I'm very interested in the responses.

Cheers

Carl

Hi Carlos

I read the DIAC information pages in the same way that Alan reads them. However I haven't even tried to read any of the draft enabling legislation.

George Lombard says that there is doubt about the new SOL. He says:

There are many issues outstanding - however the one with widest significance is whether the new skilled occupation list will apply to existing applications lodged on or after 8 February (in which case you should not lodge an application now unless you know with certainty that your occupation will be on the new list) or whether it will only apply to applications lodged on or after 1 July, when it's introduced.

It's possible to interpret the various documents released on Monday to support either interpretation, and to that end the Migration Institute of Australia is seeking clarification from the Department of Immigration. Hopefully there will be some resolution of this issue by the end of the week.

Cheers,

George Lombard

http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/migrat...changes-2.html

I think we need to wait for the MIA to get some clarity with all this.

Cheers

Gill

**Carlos fandango** · 10-02-2010, 08:14 AM

Thanks for your reply Gill..... I will keep watching and hope some clarity appears soon.

Carl

**scubabud** · 10-02-2010, 09:27 AM

Like you Carl, I too am waiting for WA SS and have been told mid March, I was advised by agent not to apply for 176 till SS came through, now wondering if I send it in will it still be processed, I am in a race against time as 45 in July so can't afford to wait for the new sol to come into effect

**parkinfour** · 10-02-2010, 11:37 AM

Hi Carlos,

We are days away from uploading our 176 family sponsored application and also concerned that we may not be on the new SOL list. After some searching I found this..

What's New? Recent Changes in General Skilled Migration

Click on the link for the Changes to the current Skilled Occupation List and the following FAQ is in there ..

Q 12 If I apply for a GSM visa in April 2010, will I be subject to the new SOL?
No, as the new SOL does not commence until mid-2010.

So my interpretation is simple..if you apply now before mid 2010 you can use occupation on the current list and not the new one coming out in April 2010.

All I am going to do once its in is just cross my fingers that my application doesn't sit there for two years and then get canned! Please correct my under standing if I am wrong anyone.

While I am here..I love PIO and there is so much help and advice. Keep it up everyone.

**Gollywobbler** · 10-02-2010, 11:52 AM

Originally Posted by parkinfour

Hi Carlos,

We are days away from uploading our 176 family sponsored application and also concerned that we may not be on the new SOL list. After some searching I found this..

What's New? Recent Changes in General Skilled Migration

Click on the link for the Changes to the current Skilled Occupation List and the following FAQ is in there ..

Q 12 If I apply for a GSM visa in April 2010, will I be subject to the new SOL?
No, as the new SOL does not commence until mid-2010.

So my interpretation is simple..if you apply now before mid 2010 you can use occupation on the current list and not the new one coming out in April 2010.

All I am going to do once its in is just cross my fingers that my application doesn't sit there for two years and then get canned! Please correct my under standing if I am wrong anyone.

While I am here..I love PIO and there is so much help and advice. Keep it up everyone.

Hi Parkinfour

I read it exactly the same way that you read it. Which - for both of us - is reading DIAC's "information" only and taking that at face value. The information sheets provided by DIAC have no force of law, remember.

According to George Lombard, the enabling legislation is what raises a doubt. He saus that this is capable of two different interpretations.

I don't know what the problem is, exactly, because I haven't read the relevant legislation. However my guess is that somewhere there is some legislation that gives the present SOL its legal validity. It could be that there is a conflict between the legislation for the existing SOL and the proposed legislation for the new SOL.

I'm guessing but this is roughly what it sounds like to me. Unless there is absolute clarity and no conflicting legislation, somebody will go to Court with the doubt and get a ruling from the Court about what the proper interpretations should be.

This must be why the MIA staff have been asked to ask DIAC what the law actually says and what it is actually supposed to mean.

If the MIA can get this answer quickly then there will be clarity quickly.

What would your losses be if you waited for a week or two so as to get some proper clarity? What would your gains be if a Court were to say that you and thousands like you jumped the gun?

Cheers

Gill

**parkinfour** · 10-02-2010, 12:37 PM

Gill, thank you. Glad I joined this thread now! We will certainly hold off for clarity on this old SOL new SOL debate. With luck my husbands job will be on the new SOL but know we can't hold out for that! Its so tricky knowing when to apply and what the outcome will be...my thoughts really are with everyone on here holding on to a dream like we are.Good luck! x

**McKlaut** · 10-02-2010, 12:59 PM

Originally Posted by parkinfour

Hi Carlos,

We are days away from uploading our 176 family sponsored application and also concerned that we may not be on the new SOL list. After some searching I found this..

What's New? Recent Changes in General Skilled Migration

Click on the link for the Changes to the current Skilled Occupation List and the following FAQ is in there ..

Q 12 If I apply for a GSM visa in April 2010, will I be subject to the new SOL?
No, as the new SOL does not commence until mid-2010.

So my interpretation is simple..if you apply now before mid 2010 you can use occupation on the current list and not the new one coming out in April 2010.

All I am going to do once its in is just cross my fingers that my application doesn't sit there for two years and then get canned! Please correct my under standing if I am wrong anyone.

While I am here..I love PIO and there is so much help and advice. Keep it up everyone.

But what do you think about this:

Q 6 Who will the new SOL apply to?
The new SOL will apply to all new GSM applicants from
mid-2010, except those applicants who, at 8 February
2010:
• hold a Skilled—Graduate (subclass 485) visa, or
had a pending subclass 485 visa application and
had not yet lodged an application for a provisional or
permanent GSM visa and who make an application
by 31 December 2012, or
• had a pending GSM visa application.

I think this new SOL implementation is rather vague now.