Australia’s government is implementing changes to Australia's migration system to ensure temporary skilled workers have a pathway to permanent residency. 

The changes are expected to help Australia attract and retain the skilled workers it needs amidst ongoing skills shortages. 

Australia’s Department of Home Affairs introduced its changes to the employer nominated visas with effect from 25 November 2023.

For its Temporary Skill Shortage Visa (subclass 482), this visa enables employers to address labour shortages by bringing in skilled workers where employers can't source an appropriately skilled Australian worker.

The changes are set to eliminate the cap on short-term stream applications made within Australia. This change specifically applies to new Temporary Skill Shortage Short-Term visa applications initiated on or after the effective date of 25 November. Short-term stream visa holders with visas expiring before the effective date of 25 November 2023 will be required to travel outside of Australia to submit a third short-term stream application.

With the subclass 482, employees can work in Australia for up to two years for their sponsor or work in Australia for up to four years if an International Trade Obligation (ITO) applies, or up to five years if they are a Hong Kong passport holder; study (they won’t receive government assistance); travel to and from Australia as many times as they want while the visa is valid. They are also able to apply for permanent residency, if eligible.

The Subclass 186 Temporary Residence Transition stream visa lets skilled workers, who are nominated by their employer, live and work in Australia permanently.

According to Roam Migration Law, an immigration law firm based in Australia, the proposed alterations to the Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream requirements are significant, including provisions such as allowing employers to nominate individuals from all TSS visa streams, abolishing the skilled migration occupation list requirement for nominated occupations, and reducing the TRT prerequisite nomination requirement, to two out of the last three years before nomination.

Further changes include modifications to TRT stream visa application prerequisites, including adjustments to age exemptions for regional medical practitioners and high-income applicants aged 45 years and over. The updates aim to facilitate a two-year pathway for these candidates while discontinuing Covid-19-related age exemptions.

With the visa, workers can stay in Australia indefinitely; work and study in Australia; enrol in Australia’s public health care scheme, Medicare; sponsor eligible relatives to come to Australia; travel to and from Australia for five years; and apply for Australian citizenship, if eligible.

According to KPMG, the prior TSS visa framework made it difficult for employers to attract foreign skilled workers where their TSS visa will fall under the Short-Term stream because of the limit on onshore applications and lack of pathway to company-nominated permanent residence under the Employer Nomination Scheme.  The changes announced by the Australian government are expected to provide both employers and visa holders with greater certainty.