Introduction of subclass 494 Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa

Policy effect

From November 16, 2019, Schedule 2 introduced the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) subclass 494 visa, with Employer Sponsored and Labour Agreement streams. Both required an approved, unexpired nomination by an approved work sponsor, a genuine intention to perform the nominated occupation and a genuine full-time regional position likely to exist for at least five years. An application could identify a pending nomination but grant required approval; the nominator could not be barred. The occupation had to be eligible under the applicable instrument or agreement, and relevant sponsorship charges and debts had to be addressed. Employer Sponsored applicants generally needed to be under 45, have competent English, at least three years of full-time employment in the nominated occupation at the required skill level, and a suitable non-subclass-485 skills assessment valid within its specified period if it ended no more than three years after assessment, or otherwise no more than three years old. Qualifying assessments connected with an existing subclass 457 or 482 visa could also satisfy the stated alternative, and instrument-specified exemptions applied to age, English, experience and assessment. Australian qualifications obtained on student visas had to be from registered courses. Unless an instrument-specified occupation exception applied, employment was in the sponsor or associated entity’s business under a signed written contract without an express bar on extension. Nomination requirements included applicable market-salary and income-threshold rules, with the high-earnings qualification and specified discretion, regional-body salary advice, no discriminatory recruitment, and employment conditions not less favourable than equivalent Australian workers, subject to the stated discretion. Labour Agreement applicants needed an authorised occupation and agreement, suitable English and skills, ordinarily three years in the occupation or related field unless reasonably disregarded, and age below 45 unless the agreement allowed older workers. Agreement requirements and nomination limits applied. Applicants and family members remained subject to specified public-interest and special-return criteria; the two streams used different health criteria, with the stated exception for assessing non-applicant family members. Adverse sponsor information and recent prohibited sponsorship-related conduct could be disregarded only as provided. Secondary applicants needed the required family relationship and inclusion in the nomination or written sponsor agreement. Onshore applicants needed a substantive visa or bridging A, B or C; applications and grants could be onshore or offshore but not in immigration clearance. Primary visas lasted five years from grant; family visas ended five years from the primary grant. Holders faced regional residence, work and study requirements tied to the relevant nomination, with timing rules when nominations changed, 14-day reporting of specified changes, 28-day responses to written address-evidence requests and attendance at requested interviews. Primary holders also had nominated-occupation and employer restrictions, with specified-occupation and industrial-notice exceptions; subject to the occupational-authorisation condition, work had to start within 90 days of arrival if granted offshore or grant if granted onshore, employment gaps could not exceed 90 consecutive days, and mandatory occupational authorisations had to be obtained within the same applicable 90-day period, maintained and complied with, with refusal or loss notified. Offshore grantees had a first-entry deadline; condition 8515 could apply to secondary applicants. Prescribed application charges and applicable second instalments remained payable, including the Minister of Religion exception to second instalments. The subclass 187 transition preserved the stated treatment for Temporary Residence Transition nominations involving transitional 457 or transitional 482 workers as at November 16, 2019; clause 8101 also specified withdrawal and training-charge refund rules for affected nominations. The separate subclass 191 permanent visa was not commenced by this 2019 component.

Conditions and exceptions

Validated condition or limit: Both required an approved, unexpired nomination by an approved work sponsor, a genuine intention to perform the nominated occupation and a genuine full-time regional position likely to exist for at least five years.; An application could identify a pending nomination but grant required approval; The occupation had to be eligible under the applicable instrument or agreement, and relevant sponsorship charges and debts had to be addressed.; Employer Sponsored applicants generally needed to be under 45, have competent English, at least three years of full-time employment in the nominated occupation at the required skill level, and a suitable non-subclass-485 skills assessment valid within its specified period if it ended no more than three years after assessment, or otherwise no more than three years old.; Unless an instrument-specified occupation exception applied, employment was in the…

Official source excerpt

Quoted verbatim from the official source below. Ellipses indicate omitted text.

OPC63741 - C Migration Amendment (New Skilled Regional Visas) Regulations 2019 I, General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Ret’d), Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, make the following regulations. Dated 04 April 2019 Peter Cosgrove Governor-General By His Excellency’s Command David Coleman Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural AffairsAuthorised Version F2019L00578 registered 08/04/2019 Authorised Version F2019L00578 registered 08/04/2019 Migration Amendment (New Skilled Regional Visas) Regulations 2019 i OPC63741 - C Contents 1 Name ........................................................................................................................... 1 2 Commencement .......................................................................................................... 1 3 Authority ..................................................................................................................... 1 4 Schedules .................................................................................................................... 1 Schedule 1—Amendments relating to the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa 2 Migration Regulations 1994 2 Schedule 2—Amendments relating to the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa 16 Migration Regulations 1994 16 Schedule 3—Amendments relating to the Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa 48 Migration Regulations 1994 48Authorised Version F2019L00578 registered 08/04/2019 Authorised Version F2019L00578 registered 08/04/2019 Migration Amendment (New Skilled Regional Visas) Regulations 2019 1 OPC63741 - C 1 Name This instrument is the Migration Amendment (New Skilled Regional Visas) Regulations 2019. 2 Commencement (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms. Commencement information Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Provisions Commencement Date/Details 1. Sections 1 to 4 and anything in this instrument not elsewhere covered by this table The day after this instrument is registered. 9 April 2019 2. Schedules 1 and 2 16 November 2019. 16 November 2019 3. Schedule 3 16 November 2022. 16 November 2022 Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument. (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument. 3 Authority This instrument is made under the Migration Act 1958. 4 Schedules Each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to … has effect according to its terms.Authorised Version F2019L00578 registered 08/04/2019 Schedule 1 Amendments relating to the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa 2 Migration Amendment (New Skilled Regional Visas) Regulations 2019 OPC63741 - C … 2.72C Criteria for approval of nomination—Subclass 494 (Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional)) visa Application of this regulation (1) This regulation applies in relation to a person who: (a) is any of the following: (i) a standard business sponsor; (ii) a person who has applied to be a standard business sponsor; (iii) a party to a work agreement (other than a Minister); (iv) a party to negotiations for a work agreement (other than a Minister); and (b) under paragraph 140GB(1)(b) of the Act, nominates a proposed occupation in relation to a holder of, or an applicant or proposed applicant for, a Subclass 494 (Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional)) visa (the nominee ). (2) For the purposes of paragraph 140GB(2)(b) of the Act, the criteria set out in this regulation are prescribed. Note: In addition, subsection 140GB(2) of the Act requires the person to be an approved work sponsor and to have paid any nomination training contribution charge in relation to the nomination. General (3) The Minister is satisfied that the person made the nomination in accordance with the process set out in regulation 2.73B. (4) The Minister is satisfied that either: (a) there is no adverse information known to Immigration about the person or a person associated with the person; or (b) it is reasonable to disregard any adverse information known to Immigration about the person or a person associated with the person. (5) The Minister is satisfied that: (a) if the occupation is nominated for a Subclass 494 (Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional)) visa in the Employer Sponsored stream—the person is a standard business sponsor other than an overseas business sponsor; or (b) if the occupation is nominated for a Subclass 494 (Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional)) visa in the Labour Agreement stream: (i) the person is a party to a work agreement (other than a Minister); and (ii) the work agreement authorises the recruitment, employment, or engagement of services of a person who is intended to be employed or engaged as a holder of a Subclass 494 (Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional)) visa. (6) The Minister is satisfied that the position associated with the occupation is located at a place in a part of Australia that, when the nomination was made, was a designated regional area. Note: Regulation 1.03 provides that designated regional area has the meaning set out in regulation 1.15M. (7) The Minister is satisfied that any debt due by the person as mentioned in section 140ZO of the Act (recovery of nomination training contribution charge and late payment penalty) has been paid in full. Information to be provided as part of nomination (8) If the nominee holds a Subclas …

Review method

Source-based draft with independent Gemini 3.8 Flash verification

Other Australia changes operative in 2019

• 2019-03-02Medivac: statutory medical-transfer approval and review pathway
• 2019-07-01Introduction of Third-Year Visa Extension for Working Holiday Makers
• 2019-07-01Sponsored Parent (Temporary) subclass 870 visa applications open
• 2019-11-04Global Talent Independent program: targeted priority-processing launch
• 2019-11-16General Skilled Migration points: education, partner and regional nomination changes
• 2019-11-16Introduction of subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa
• 2019-12-05Medivac statutory transfer pathway repealed, with limited court-proceeding protection