Yesterday, the government has issued a new legislative instrument, LIN 22/038, which allows for a new cohort of applicants to apply for subclass 186 (TRT stream), even if their occupation is not in the Medium and Long-Term List.
What are the effect of this new changes
The new legislation has created a new pathway to PR for many people. This has a significant impact on their plan.
For example, applicants whose nominated occupation is Marketing Specialist will have a new option. Previously, Marketing Specialist is not in the Medium and Long-term list, and the applicants, who wish to earn their PR via employment sponsored, have only one option to find a sponsor in the regional area under subclass 494 visa. This requires them to have full skill assessment and 3 years full time experiences, which is almost impossible for newly graduate. Even if they use their graduate visa, they can only earn 2 years of experience in their nominated occupation, not to mention that some may find it difficult to find jobs in regional areas.
With the new change, those who are eligible can apply for subclass 482, which only requires 2 year experience and many occupations do not require mandatory skill assessment. After 3 years of working for the sponsor, they are eligible for subclass 186 (TRT stream). This approach is much more doable compared to previous situation.
It is noticeable that Cooks receive great benefit from this change. Previously, people will need to nominate their position as Chef to be able to choose the pathway 482/186. Now, those who are eligible can confidently choose Cook as their nominated occupation. This will be much better as it is harder to find a job as Chef than Cook, and the requirement of skill assessment (if not exempted) for Cook is also easier to meet.
In practice, people whose occupation in the Short-term List will, first, need to have a subclass 482 visa (short term stream) for 3 years, then they will be eligible for subclass 186 (TRT stream) if the employer continues to sponsor them. It is noted that not all Nationalities are eligible to get a 3 or 4 years subclass 482 visa in short term stream. In this case, the applicant will only be granted a 2 year visa, and will need to apply and be granted a second 482 before meeting the requirement to be eligible for subclass 186 (TRT stream).
In addition, those who have nominated occupation in the Medium and Long Term List will feel more secure. They won't be worried whether or not their occupations will be removed from the Medium and Long Term List in the future, which makes their 3 years of hardworking for the employer becomes wasted.
Who are eligible?
The first cohort of applicants who are specified by the new legislation instrument are those who have been in Australia for total of at least 12 months between 01 Feb 2020 and 14 Dec 2021. This is a government's response to the current labour shortage and an incentive rewarded to the skilled workers who chose to stay in Australia during the Pandemic.
Secondly, this new legislation instrument is to extend the transitional agreement for people who held or applied for subclass 457 before the introduction of TSS (482 visa) - 18 Apr 2017. The previous transitional agreement which was supposed to end on 18 Mar 2022 has now been extended without any ending date. Besides of being exempted from the requirement of having a nominated occupation in the Medium and Long-term List, this cohort also enjoys the concession of working for the employer in only 2 years before being eligible to apply for subclass 186 (TRT stream).
Thanks for reading. If you have any question, feel free to leave yours in the comment section.
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