26 March 2019
2 min read
Published by:
New visas announced for regional Australia
Last week the Federal Government announced new visas for regional Australia which will be available from November 2019. It will also revise the definition of Regional Australia to include all of Australia except for the metropolitan areas of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast, and Perth.
The new visas will be:
These visas are both provisional visas which may lead to the grant of a permanent visa if the holder satisfies certain conditions. A new permanent visa pathway – Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) Visa will be available to holders of the above visas in November 2022.
We will provide more information about these visas as it becomes available.
Expansion of Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMAs)
An additional three Designated Area Migration Agreements have been announced for the following regions:
A Designated Area Migration Agreement is a formal agreement between the Australian Government and a specific regional area focussed on filling skills shortages in those specific areas which cannot be filled from the local labour market.
Migration program planning levels 2019/2020
The Government last week announced the migration program planning levels for the 2019-2020 program year. The total places available will be capped at 160,000 which is a reduction of 30,000 from previous years.
| Skilled | |
| Employer Sponsored | 30,000 |
| Skilled Independent | 18,652 |
| State / Territory Nominated | 24,968 |
| Skilled Regional | n/a |
| Skilled Employer Sponsored (Provisional) new | 9,000 |
| Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) new | 14,000 |
| Business Innovation and Investment | 6,862 |
| Global Talent | 5,000 |
| Distinguished Talent | 200 |
| Skilled total | 108,682 |
| Family | |
| Partner | 39,799 |
| Parent | 7,371 |
| Other Family | 562 |
| Family total | 47,732 |
| Other | |
| Special Eligibility | 236 |
| Child | 3,350 |
| Program total | 160,000 |
Author: Rebecca Macmillan
Contacts:
Brisbane
Rachel Drew, Partner
T: +61 7 3135 0617
E: rachel.drew@holdingredlich.com
Cairns
Rebecca Macmillan, Registered Migration Agent
T: +61 7 4230 0412
E: rebecca.macmillan@holdingredlich.com
Disclaimer
The information in this publication is of a general nature and is not intended to address the circumstances of any particular individual or entity. Although we endeavour to provide accurate and timely information, we do not guarantee that the information in this publication is accurate at the date it is received or that it will continue to be accurate in the future. We are not responsible for the information of any source to which a link is provided or reference is made and exclude all liability in connection with use of these sources.
Published by:
