Skilled Migration Update

Due to the ongoing support from the NSW Government, our office will continue to play an active role in attracting Skilled Migrants to settle in our region. This skilled labour can be critical for employers who need a position filled and cannot do so with local labour and it also provides skilled workers a pathway to permanent residency and an opportunity for a quality lifestyle in our region.

As we are optimistic that the NSW Government will re-commence nominating supported applicants by Monday the 22nd of July, we will be accepting applications for Skilled Regional State Nomination (sc489) for our region from Midday (12:00 pm AEST) today (Thursday 18 July, 2019). Our revised Occupation List will go online at the same time on the Skilled Regional NSW Sponsorship page of our website. The application process will remain the same as last financial year, and full details can also be found on the Skilled Regional NSW Sponsorship page of our website. The occupation list will be updated regularly to reflect the applications that we receive. We generally provide close to one week of notice prior to occupation list changes, however tight timeframes and considerable demand over the next month and a half will make that impossible. Therefore skilled migrants are encouraged to check our Occupation List before applying as it may change without notice.

Due to the commencement of the new Skilled Regional State Nominated visa sub-class 491 on the 16th of November, the last day that nominations for the 489 visa will be processed and invitations from the Department of Home Affairs will be issued will be the 10th of September. To allow time for processing before this cut-off time, our office will not accept any 489 applications after the 3rd of September, and we will be unable to make any exceptions to this deadline.

The Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) for employers seeking to nominate a skilled worker will also be replaced on the 16th of November this year. Therefore, to allow time for assessment, we will be unable to accept applications for assessment under this program after the 11th of November. Applications for certification for the RSMS are currently open, and details on how to apply are available on the RSMS Employer Nomination page of our website. Information on the new Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa, while limited at this stage, is available on the Department of Home Affairs website.

If you have any queries about certifications for either of these visas after reading our website, our office staff are available to communicate with skilled migrants and employers on 6771 0700 or migration@rdani.org.au.