A ministerial directive, which came into effect recently, has highlighted the need to support regional Australia by streamlining visa processing for businesses located in regional Australia who are sponsoring skilled workers.
"The new Direction elevates applications for employer-sponsored visas in relation to all occupations to be carried out in regional Australia to the highest priority," the Department of Home Affairs told SBS Hindi.
"This change supports Australia’s regions and employers who continue to face critical shortages across all industries and all sectors."
"The first priority is for all occupations to be carried out in a regional area under the Temporary Skill Shortage (Subclass 482), Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 186) and Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) (Subclass 494) visas as they fill an identified shortage and are guaranteed to be in regional Australia," the department said.
It further added that priority processing for employer-sponsored visas in healthcare and education roles located in regional Australia remained unchanged as the first priority.
However, applications for the same sectors (health and education) in metropolitan areas will now be processed as a second priority.The Department of Home Affairs
"Given the reduction in the visa backlog, this change in priority will have a minor impact on processing times for the healthcare and education sectors," the department spokesperson said.
How many visas were granted in the healthcare and education sectors?
In the 2022-23 program year, the Department of Home Affairs granted 6,466 Temporary Skill Shortage (Subclass 482) visas to workers in the Health Care and Social Assistance industry.
Just over 1,060 visas were granted in the Education and Training sector.
The department also approved 17,061 permanent visas for applicants in healthcare occupations, marking a 108.2 per cent surge from the 2021-22 figure of 8,195.The Department of Home Affairs
The healthcare sector continues to be the highest volume sector for temporary and permanent skilled visa applications.
According to the department, this was supported by targeted invitation rounds for the sector.
An expert's view
According to Neha Singh, a Melbourne-based migration agent, onshore applicants in healthcare and education are currently experiencing swift approvals for their permanent visas.
"In fact, one of my clients who was an onshore applicant from the teaching sector, was granted permanent residency status within 10 days after PR lodgement," Ms Singh shared.
On the other hand, she highlighted the challenges faced by offshore applicants in securing their visa grants.
"Overseas nurses undergo specific exams to qualify as registered nurses in Australia, while overseas teachers must present proof of supervised teaching practice," Ms Singh said.
She added that meeting these visa conditions still remained a challenge for many overseas applicants.
"Numerous overseas nurses face challenges in clearing these certifications in a single attempt, while overseas teaching applicants often find it difficult to provide evidence of supervised teaching practice," she explained.
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