State Migration Plans
Please see below an update from the various State Government Websites regarding the eagerly awaited State Migration Plans (SMPs):Western Australia 5 October 2010“The Government of Western Australia’s State Migration Plan is currently with the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship for final sign off. The Plan will introduce the Western Australian Skilled Migration Occupations List.Details of the State Migration Plan, State Sponsorship criteria and the re-opening of applications for State Sponsorship will be available on the website in the coming weeks”South Australia “While we await the finalisation and implementation of the State Migration Plan and the Stat Sponsored Migration List (SSML), the on-line application form is re-instated to offer sponsorships for a limited number of occupations that have been identified as priority skills for our State.” This means that sponsorship applications can be lodged with SA if your occupation is on the new Skilled Occupations List (SOL). Please note this is not their SMP. The interim list can be viewed at:www.migration.sa.gov.au/sa/immigrate_from_overseas/visa_options/gen_skill3.jspVictoria “Due to the federal election, the Victorian Government State Migration Plan will be implemented after 1st November 2010.”New South Wales “NSW is currently negotiating with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) on the terms of a NSW State Migration Plans. When a plan is agreed we will provide information on the ‘What’s New’ page of our website.”Queensland “A Queensland State-sponsored and State regional-sponsored Migration Plan is currently under development. Until the Plan is in place, Queensland may continue to nominate suitable applicants with an occupation on the current Queensland Eligible Skills Lists as long as the occupation is also on the Australian Governments Skilled Occupation List (SOL).”Queensland ’s 176 eligible skills list can be viewed at:
http://www.workliveplay.qld.au/dsdweb/v4/apps/web/content.cfm?id=13714ACT“It is expected that the 2010/2011 SMP Skills List will be published in October 2010 when the ACT State Migration Plans is announced.”Northern Territory “Due to the upcoming election, the target date for the Northern Territory ’s State Migration Plan is late September 2010.”Tasmania “The Tasmanian Government has suspended the assessment of applications for offshore Skilled Sponsored (SS) subclass 176 visas and Skilled Regional Sponsored (SRS) subclass 475 visas until further notice. The Suspension will take place whilst the Tasmanian Government reviews current sponsorship policies. During this period the assessment of all other sponsorship applications will remain unchanged.”DIAC’s Skilled Occupations List (SOL) which was released in July can be found at http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/pdf/sol-schedule3.pdfWe are continuously monitoring DIAC and state websites for new information and as members of the Migration Institute of Australia we receive updates as soon as they are published. If you would like to clarify your options or require further information please contact one of our visa specialist now on 01244 321414 or email info@tegltd.co.uk.