Jan 2018 Changes to eligible skilled occupation lists

[Guest The Pom Queen]

The first update of Australia’s skilled migration lists since the Turnbull government overhauled the system last year includes an occupation that health officials had previously recommended be left off.

This month’s update makes 13 changes to the Short-Term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL) and Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List that underpin the temporary and permanent skilled visa ­programs.

In April last year, Malcolm Turnbull and then immigration minister Peter Dutton announced a series of reforms they said would give Australians ­“absolute first priority for jobs”.

However, in the health sector, the reforms failed to deal with a looming bottleneck where locally trained medical students and interns may be left without jobs while overseas-trained practitioners continued to be fast-tracked into vacancies.

Under changes that come into effect today, the role of psychotherapist will be added to the STSOL, along with property managers and real estate rep­resentatives specifically for ­regional, high-end jobs.

While the announcement of the changes yesterday stated that the three roles were not previously on either list, they were among the 12 occupations removed from the previous system as part of government reforms.

The Department of Health had made a submission ahead of the 2016-17 review of the Skilled Occupation List, as it was then known, calling for psychotherapist to be removed and no longer open to foreign workers.

“The term is problematic,” the department argued at the time.

“Anyone can call themselves a psychotherapist. It is similar to the term ‘counsellor’. We recommend that psychotherapist is not added to the list due to the inconsistency in the professional qualifications recognition in Australia.”

Today’s changes also remove building associate and hair or beauty salon manager from the lists, shift horse breeders and management consultants from the short-term column to the medium-term column, and put caveats on six other occupations.

Anyone brought in from overseas to work in real estate will work in a regional area.

Source: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/immigration/psychotherapists-make-belated-debut-on-skilled-migrant-lists/news-story/7cd4629cf177c4f10602826b19c65465

 

The Combined current list of eligible skilled occupations can be viewed at: 

https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/trav/work/work/skills-assessment-and-assessing-authorities/skilled-occupations-lists/combined-stsol-mltssl

 

Summary of 17 January 2018 changes to the lists of eligible skilled occupations

There are changes (including additions) to certain occupational caveats (indicated via ‘*** asterisks’) which exclude the use of the occupation in certain circumstances.  A summary of Caveats on occupations is available.

These changes will only impact applications lodged on or after 17 January 2018. Applications lodged before this date will not be impacted.

Occupations added to the lists

The three occupations below, which were previously unavailable on either list, will be added to the STSOL. Details of any caveats applicable to these three occupations are also provided below.

Note: To align the Training (subclass 407) visa with other visa programs, a number of occupations which were previously not eligible for this visa will be available when the instrument comes into effect.

Occupation	ANZSCO code	Caveat from 17/1/2018
Property Manager***	612112	Excludes any of the following positions:   that have a nominated base salary of less than AUD$65,000 with businesses that have fewer than five employees with businesses that have an annual turnover of less than AUD$1M which are not located in regional Australia – see Eligible Postcodes in Regional Australia.
Psychotherapist	272314	Nil
Real Estate Representative***	612115	Excludes any of the following positions: that have a nominated base salary of less than AUD$65,000 with businesses that have fewer than five employees with businesses that have an annual turnover of less than AUD$1M which are not located in regional Australia – see Eligible Postcodes in Regional Australia.

Occupations moved between the lists

The two occupations below will be moved from the STSOL to the MTLSSL. Details of any caveats applicable to these occupations are also provided below.

Occupation	ANZSCO code	Caveat from 17/1/2018
Horse Breeder***	121316	Excludes positions that: predominantly involve low skilled tasks (e.g. fruit picking or packing, feeding of livestock or animals); or are not located in regional Australia – see Eligible Postcodes in Regional Australia. Note: this caveat has not changed.
Management Consultant***	224711	Excludes positions in businesses that: have an annual turnover of less than AUD$1M in businesses that have fewer than five employees; or have a nominated base salary of less than AUD$90,000. Note: Amended caveat – base salary requirement raised to $90,000.

No occupations will be moved from the MLTSSL to the STSOL.

Occupations removed from the lists

The two occupations listed below will be completely removed from the lists of eligible skilled occupations for all skilled visa programs on 17 January 2018.

Occupation	ANZSCO code
Building Associate	312112
Hair or Beauty Salon Manager	142114

Occupations with caveat-only changes

The six occupations listed below will remain on their existing lists. A new and/or amended caveat will, however, be in effect as of 17 January 2018 as outlined below.

Occupation	ANZSCO code	Caveat from 17/1/2018	Explanation of change
Accommodation and Hospitality Managersnec***	141999	Excludes positions that are not located in regional Australia – see Eligible Postcodes in Regional Australia.	New caveat
Management Accountant***	221112	Excludes any of the following positions: clerical, book keeper and accounting clerk positions positions in businesses that have an annual turnover of less than AUD$1M positions in businesses that have fewer than five employees.	New caveat
Massage Therapist***	411611	Excludes any of the following positions: are non full-time are not based in a therapeutic setting involve the provision of  non-medical relaxation massage; or are in a retail setting.	Caveat amended – clarification of wording only
Recruitment Consultant***	223112	Excludes any of the following positions: that have a nominated base salary of less than AUD$90,000 with businesses that have an annual turnover of less than AUD$1M with businesses that have fewer than five employees.	Amended caveat – base salary requirement raised to $90,000
Supply and Distribution Manager***	133611	Excludes any of the following positions:  based in a front-line retail setting; that predominately involve direct client transactional interaction on a regular basis; with businesses that have an annual turnover of less than AUD$1M unless they involve an intra-corporate transfer to which an international trade obligation applies; that have a nominated base salary of less than AUD$65,000 unless they involve an intra-corporate transfer to which an international trade obligation applies.	Amended caveat - annual turn over requirement does not apply where international trade obligations apply
Taxation Accountant***	221113	Excludes any of the following positions: clerical, book keeper and accounting clerk positions positions in businesses that have an annual turnover of less than AUD$1M positions in businesses that have fewer than five employees.	Amended caveat – size of business requirements added

 

 

[JustUs]

Thanks for the update Pom Queen.

Resident Medical Officers which are essentially entry-level doctors have been moved to the short-term skilled occupation list. The only other specialist doctor category in the short term list is anaesthetists. Interesting..Not sure what the visa implications of that will be. 

18 hours ago, The Pom Queen said:

However, in the health sector, the reforms failed to deal with a looming bottleneck where locally trained medical students and interns may be left without jobs while overseas-trained practitioners continued to be fast-tracked into vacancies.

 

 

 

 

[barker]

RMOs were always on the STSOL. No visa implications, because at 1 year the RMO/Intern just applies as a 253999 (Medical Practitioner nec) for PR.

Doctors have the greatest flexibility in PR applications because any doctor in training can just apply as any of the 30 position codes due the ANZSCO code specifying that anyone training for that role can apply as that. Ie: if someone is training to be a GP they can apply as a GP for the purposes of PR. 

[JustUs]

Thanks for that clarification barker. Never knew that bit about a doctor in training being able to use the ANZSCO code of the specialty. 

[barker]

No problem, if you look at any of the specialist descriptions you'll see this "Medical Registrars training in these specialties are included in this unit group."

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Product+Lookup/24ED79D1706EE8A9CA2575DF002DA60D?opendocument

[DXW059]

9 hours ago, barker said:

No problem, if you look at any of the specialist descriptions you'll see this "Medical Registrars training in these specialties are included in this unit group."

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Product+Lookup/24ED79D1706EE8A9CA2575DF002DA60D?opendocument

Hi, 

I don't understand how medical registrars can actually apply like this because they would not be able to meet the skills assessment for the specialty they are applying for. For example, a GP trainee will not have the full MRCGP qualification until around the end of their training and up until this point would not pass the skills assessment for a GP. 

Does that make sense? Am I misunderstanding?

Cheers

Dan 

[barker]

8 hours ago, DXW059 said:

Hi, 

I don't understand how medical registrars can actually apply like this because they would not be able to meet the skills assessment for the specialty they are applying for. For example, a GP trainee will not have the full MRCGP qualification until around the end of their training and up until this point would not pass the skills assessment for a GP. 

Does that make sense? Am I misunderstanding?

Cheers

Dan 

The skills assessment does not matter in this instance. Here is the wording from the government on this:

10.3.7.1 Medical Registrars
Positions in which doctors are completing their hospital based training are known by various terms throughout the process, such as Resident Medical Officer, Junior Registrar and Registrar.

The occupation of Resident Medical Officer (ANZSCO 253112), which also includes the occupation of Medical Intern as a specialisation, is an appropriate occupation to describe doctors who are completing this period of hospital based training and may be used for the entire period so that different nominations are not required each time the doctor starts a rotation in a different speciality.

If, after the initial period of hospital based training, the doctor chooses to specialise in a particular field and accepts a position as a Registrar to train in a particular speciality, it is also appropriate for them to be nominated in the relevant specialist Medical Practitioner occupation (unit groups within ANZSCO minor group 253) - for example:
 

• a doctor working as a Cardiology Registrar could be nominated in the occupation of Cardiologist (ANZSCO 253312)
• a Paediatric Surgical Registrar could be nominated in the occupation of Paediatric Surgeon (ANZSCO 253516).

This is because the various ANZSCO unit groups within minor group 253 provide that Medical Registrars training in these specialties are included in the respective unit groups. In such cases, it is appropriate for either occupation to be used to describe the position (Resident Medical Officer or the relevant specialist ‘Medical Practitioner’ occupation).

To ensure that any associated visa application is assessed against the appropriate skill requirements, applicants should clearly note in both the nomination and visa applications that the position is that of a Registrar.

[DXW059]

10 hours ago, barker said:

The skills assessment does not matter in this instance. Here is the wording from the government on this:

10.3.7.1 Medical Registrars
Positions in which doctors are completing their hospital based training are known by various terms throughout the process, such as Resident Medical Officer, Junior Registrar and Registrar.

The occupation of Resident Medical Officer (ANZSCO 253112), which also includes the occupation of Medical Intern as a specialisation, is an appropriate occupation to describe doctors who are completing this period of hospital based training and may be used for the entire period so that different nominations are not required each time the doctor starts a rotation in a different speciality.

If, after the initial period of hospital based training, the doctor chooses to specialise in a particular field and accepts a position as a Registrar to train in a particular speciality, it is also appropriate for them to be nominated in the relevant specialist Medical Practitioner occupation (unit groups within ANZSCO minor group 253) - for example:
 

• a doctor working as a Cardiology Registrar could be nominated in the occupation of Cardiologist (ANZSCO 253312)
• a Paediatric Surgical Registrar could be nominated in the occupation of Paediatric Surgeon (ANZSCO 253516).

This is because the various ANZSCO unit groups within minor group 253 provide that Medical Registrars training in these specialties are included in the respective unit groups. In such cases, it is appropriate for either occupation to be used to describe the position (Resident Medical Officer or the relevant specialist ‘Medical Practitioner’ occupation).

To ensure that any associated visa application is assessed against the appropriate skill requirements, applicants should clearly note in both the nomination and visa applications that the position is that of a Registrar.

Ah I see, thanks. 

So the trainee would still need to have general registration (i.e. have worked in Australia before)? A UK based medical trainee with no previous work experience in Australia would not meet the requirements I'm guessing. 

 

[Dorsetbrit]

Hi there I thought id tag on this post, after speaking to our migration guy it turned out that next to accounting and how many points they need it says N/A and he didnt really know why, does anyone have any ideas, bit of a worry but were not quite ready yet as need to complete superior English test and to be skills assessed so got a while before we get all together and the 75 points we hope will be enough for general accountant.

Any thoughts on this?

[Ferrets]

On 23/01/2018 at 07:22, Dorsetbrit said:

Hi there I thought id tag on this post, after speaking to our migration guy it turned out that next to accounting and how many points they need it says N/A and he didnt really know why, does anyone have any ideas, bit of a worry but were not quite ready yet as need to complete superior English test and to be skills assessed so got a while before we get all together and the 75 points we hope will be enough for general accountant.

Any thoughts on this?

I think it's just a function of there being no accountants invited in the 3rd January round, with 75 should just be a case of waiting it out

[Dorsetbrit]

That’s what we were hoping and hopefully will go up in the next rounds. Thanks for that.