The Queensland State Government has recently updated their state skilled immigration program, including a list of eligible occupations for sponsorship.
According to Senator Chris Bowen, the Gillard Government has a formal commitment to supporting the Australian economy by attracting more skilled migrants who can positively contribute to the workforce and this plan is one of their actions.
Applications for Queensland Government state sponsorship are now open under the Queensland State Migration Plan (SMP).
The SMP is the result of a formal agreement between the Queensland Government and the Australian Government’s Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC).
Individual Australian states and territories have agreements with the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship to enact individual State Migration Plans. These agreements specify the total number of immigration applicants each state or territory are permitted to sponsor and which occupations are in demand.
The Queensland Government provides a limited number of nominations to those skilled migrants who have an eligible skill and who are assessed as likely to provide a clear benefit to the Queensland economy. DIAC eligibility is also a condition of Queensland nomination for sponsored visas.
Queensland is faced with the critical skills shortages in many priority industry areas, especially high-growth ones, such as regional health practitioners and engineers for mining and coal seam gas projects. Queensland Treasurer and Minister for Employment Andrew Fraser also indicated that 83 specific occupations in demand were included under the state’s new State Migration Plan.
The commencement of the State Migration plan has enabled the Queensland Government to choose and nominate highly skilled migrants who can contribute positively to the community and economy. This plan is expected to help the Queensland State deal with the demands for skilled labor in recent years.
The migration plan limits State sponsorship of skilled migrants to Queensland through subclasses 176 and 886 for the skilled sponsored visas and subclasses 475 and 487 for skilled regional sponsored visas. However, “State sponsorship is just one of the strategies the Queensland Government uses to address the future needs of its workforce. Other measures include education, training and employment initiatives”, said Mr. Bowen.
More about these Visa Options:
Each occupation on the eligible skills list for this visa has its own:
Applicants for subclasses 475, 487 and 176 must:
Subclass 176 (Offshore, Skilled – Sponsored)
The list for offshore Skilled – Sponsored applicants consists of 35 occupations. Occupational categories included in the list include:
Engineers
Pharmacists
Medical Practitioners
Nurses
ICT Business Analysts
Psychologists
Social Workers
Most occupations on the offshore Skilled – Sponsored list require a minimum of 5 years of experience. However, medical professions require 3 in general, whereas geotechnical and mining engineers require a minimum of 7 years.
Subclass 886 (Onshore, Skilled – Sponsored)
The list for international students applying onshore for skilled – sponsored is much shorter at a mere 8 occupations.
The onshore list is limited to:
Medical Laboratory Scientists
Radiographers and Sonographers
Radiation Therapists and Nuclear Medicine Technologists
Dentists
General Medical Practitioners
No minimum work experience is specified for the onshore Skilled – Sponsored list.
Skilled – Regional Sponsored
The list for the provisional Skilled – Regional Sponsored visa consists of 84 occupations. In addition to occupations mentioned above, the fields are also available:
Management Accounting
Teachers
Various allied health professions such as Physiotherapists, Audiologists, Speech Pathologists
Most Medical Practitioner Specialist occupations
Software and Applications Programmers
Aircraft Maintenance Engineers
In general, the minimum amount of work experience required for the Skilled – Regional Sponsored list is 3 years in the occupation. There are a few exceptions to this:
Medical practitioners and specialists, as well as most allied health professions require at least 2 years, whereas GPs require 1 year
Secondary School Teachers require 2 years of experience.
IT Business Analysts require at least 5 years, and Software and Applications Programmers require at least 7.
Only one year is required for Radiographers, Sonographers, Radiation Therapists, Nuclear Medicine Technologists, Psychologists and Aircraft Maintenance Engineers.
English Language Requirements
The vast majority of occupations on the relevant lists require a minimum of 7 in each of the 4 components of IELTS.
Some require an even higher level of English, for instance:
Social Workers – minimum of 8
Pharmacists – overall 7.5, minimum of 7
However, IT professionals require only a minimum of 6 in each components, and engineers applying for the regional sponsored visa require an overall score of 7 in IELTS with a minimum of 6 in each component.
To apply for nomination, applicants must meet all requirements for their nominated occupation.
Useful Resources (Open in a new window) :
Queensland State Migration Website: http://www.workliveplay.qld.gov.au
Queensland Elegible skills list : http://www.workliveplay.qld.gov.au/dsdweb/v4/apps/web/content.cfm?id=16410
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