Don Susantha Katugampala, Specialist Immigration Lawyer and Founder & Principal Lawyer of Fairfields Lawyers, spoke in detail about the nomination opportunities in Victoria.
Following are his responses as per the guidelines given by the Department of Home Affairs:
What are the latest opportunities for skilled migration in Victoria?
This is called Workforce Skills Pathway (WSP) opened in the beginning of September 2021. The Victoria State Government announced that skill gaps in Victoria are primarily addressed through local training and recruitment. However, on certain occasions, industries may require migration to quickly supplement the number of skilled professionals available. WSP is introduced to address skills gaps in Victoria. This was created by way of introduction of a new Victorian Government policy and strategy where alternative pathways are not readily available or effective and other workforce development solutions are not effective or do not exist; or skills gaps that exist in specific industries where alternative migration pathways and other workforce development solutions are not effective or do not exist.
The WSP must support state or industry wide development and be in the public interest. It addresses a state-wide or region-wide skill gap and may have its own unique selection criteria. Any targeted occupations will be highly skilled.
If you are eligible to apply or have been asked to apply under a Workforce Skills Pathway, you do not need to be working in a target sector to be selected to apply for visa nomination.
What are the current Workforce Skills Pathways?
Hospitality is one pathway. To assist industries address labour shortages caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Victorian Government has established the Hospitality pathway for highly skilled cooks and chefs.
Early Childhood Educators is the other pathway. The Victorian Government is investing almost $5 billion over the decade to deliver Three-Year-Old Kindergarten. This investment will create an additional 6,000 teaching jobs across Victoria.
In partnership with the Department of Education and Training, Victoria is accepting applications from eligible early childhood educators for Victorian nominated skilled visas.
Who are eligible for these pathways?
For the Hospitality Pathway, you must be eligible under either the subclass 190 or subclass 491 Victorian visa nomination criteria and be living and working in Victoria as a Skilled Cook or Chef.
For Early Childhood Educators, you must be eligible under either the subclass 190 or subclass 491 Victorian visa nomination criteria and be living and working in Victoria as an Early Childhood Educator.
You must also have a relevant skills assessment, required English language skills, be under 45 years of age and satisfy the Skills Points Test for each subclass 190 or 491, in the Migration Regulations.
To be selected to apply for Victorian skilled visa nomination and assessment, you must first make or update an EOI via Skill Select and then submit a Registration of Interest for Victorian State Visa Nomination.
How can interested parties apply?
You need to ensure you are eligible under the Workforce Skills Pathway. When submitting your Registration of Interest, respond yes to ‘Are you applying under a Workforce Skills Pathway?’ Select the appropriate pathway. Complete the rest of your Registration of Interest and submit. If you are selected to apply for a Victorian visa nomination, complete the relevant nomination application.
What are your comments on the Victoria State Nomination Criteria in the new financial year?
Victorian skilled visa nomination opened on July 7, 2021 allowing those already living and working in Victoria to continue supporting Victoria’s economic recovery.
Victoria provides visa nomination to highly skilled professionals, already employed and living in Victoria for Skilled Nominated Visa (subclass 190) and Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491).
Compared to other states, what can you say about the nomination level allocated to Victoria for 2021-22?
Victoria has a nomination level of 3,500 for Skilled Nominated (Subclass 190) Visa, 500 for Skilled Work Regional (Subclass 491) Visa and 1,750 for Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP). Victoria is in the third place among the list of states.
Compared to other states, Victoria has begun the state migration policies with a rather tough approach by opening state nominations for very limited target sectors. Victoria was distinct from other states as the State Government didn’t announce an occupation list with specific occupations. This means that if you are in a skilled occupation in the STEMM, satisfying the key criteria for either visa subclass 190 or 491, and live and work in Victoria in a Victorian target sector, you will be able to apply for your state nomination.
What are the target sectors in Victoria?
The target sectors are health, medical research, life sciences, digital, agri-food, advanced manufacturing, new energy, emissions reduction, and circular economy.
To be selected to apply for skilled visa nomination, you must be currently working in one of the target sectors using your science, technology, engineering, mathematics and manufactouring (STEMM) skills.
If you are seeking subclass 190 nomination and working in the digital sector, Victoria is only selecting candidates working with cyber security skills or digital game engineers, with specialisation in coding, art direction, AI or physics programming. However, if you are using digital skills in a different target sector (e.g., software developer working in health), you may also be selected.
What are the other Workforce Pathways?
There are other skilled visas for professionals looking to migrate to Melbourne. They are Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189), Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186), Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 494), and Global Talent Visa Program (also known as the Global Talent Independent Program).
What is the update on the Request of Interest (ROI) selections for Victoria?
As of August 31, 2021, the first 170 invitations to apply for subclass 190 visa nomination for the 2021-22 program were sent to successful candidates. These invitations were sent to the best candidates working in six different sectors. While the Health sector featured strongly, 62 per cent of invitations were sent to candidates working in other sectors.
In Advanced Manufacturing, the top occupations are Mechanical Engineer, Engineering Technologist and Electrical Engineer, in Agri-food, the top three are Food Technologist, Mechanical Engineer and Engineering Technologist, in health, they are Medical Practitioners NEC, Resident Medical Officer / Physiotherapist, and Occupational Therapist, in Life Sciences, the top three are Secondary School Teacher, Food Technologist, and Chemical Engineer, in Medical Research, the top two are Software Engineer, and Biomedical Engineer/Industrial Engineer/Life Scientist NEC, in New Energy, and Emissions Reduction and Circular Economy, the top three are Electrical Engineer, Mechanical Engineer and Developer Programmer/Engineering Technologist.
What is your message to applicants?
Melbourne, the capital of Victoria is one of the world’s most livable cities. Those migrating here would have some of the world’s best healthcare, education, and housing.
If you have the right skills, qualified in Victoria, live and work in Victoria and genuinely intend to be a part of this great state, please do not give up your hopes of securing your migration to Victoria by way of securing Victorian state nominations. As mentioned above, not even 10 per cent of the Victorian quota has been used yet to fill the skills shortage in this state. We will continue to extend this message to the top, urging them to retain all Victorian graduates who are international students, without letting them go to other states as they deserve the equal opportunity to contribute for the growth and sustenance of this Covid-affected economy.
Discussion with Don Susantha Katugampala, Immigration Specialist Lawyer and founder of Fairfields Lawyers.
By Kathya de Silva Senarath
