Australian Immigration Daily News

BSMQ State Nomination Program

• The Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491) is now OPEN from 19 April 2021 25 April 2021.
• If you submitted an EOI from 1 7 February 2021, a new EOI will not be required. Please do not submit multiple EOIs. The first EOI picked up will be processed. 
• Queensland 491-SBO (Small Business Owners) Pathway is OPEN.
• Please note: amended requirements for 491-SBO commenced 1 April 2021.
• The Skilled Nominated (Permanent) visa (subclass 190) remains CLOSED and will not re-open in April 2021 as quota will be filled with the current pipeline.
• The subclass 190 will re-open in the next financial year once new nomination allocation has been received by the Department of Home Affairs.
• Subclass 190 EOI s submitted from 1 -7 February 2021 will be continued to be processed. 
• The Business Program is CLOSED.
• Business EOIs submitted up until 24 February 2021 will continue to be assessed up until the below deadlines.

The Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Subclass 491 visa (from 65 points and above)

As a leading professional services firm, KPMG Australia (KPMG) is committed to meeting the requirements of all our stakeholders – not only the organisations we audit and advise, but also employees, governments, regulators and the wider community. 

We strive to contribute to the debate that is shaping the Australian economy and welcome the opportunity to provide a submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Migration’s Inquiry into Australia’s Skilled Migration Program (the Inquiry). Australian businesses are feeling acute labour shortages in areas historically filled by temporary visa holders that have been restricted from entry due to border closures.

Shortages have been more pronounced in agriculture, tourism and hospitality sectors, and especially in regional Australia. There have been some temporary schemes to facilitate entry of seasonal and pacific work visa holders, but more could be done, and we would like to see a wider package of concessions be developed to help address the immediate shortfall of workers in regional Australia.

COVID 19 has disrupted the world and upended markets, communities and business strategies, prompting the Australian Government to launch a powerful blueprint for economic growth – with the JobMaker Plan a key tool to help turbocharge our economy. 

As part of this effort to generate thousands of quality jobs for Australians, the Prime Minister set up the Global Business and Talent Attraction Taskforce. He’s described our mission as “Australia’s  brain gain”. 

The Taskforce is a cross agency government initiative to bring the best and brightest businesses and talent to Australia. We are targeting high yield companies that can bring new technologies, cutting edge research and development as well as IP and capital to our shores. 

The Migration Amendment (Bridging Visa Conditions) Regulations 2021 (the Regulations) amend the Migration Regulations 1994 (the Migration Regulations) to allow the Minister to specify that certain bridging visas are subject to specified visa conditions.

In particular, the Regulations allow the Minister to impose a number of existing visa conditions, relating to the safety and security of the Australian community, on Subclass 050 (Bridging (General)) visas and Subclass 070 (Bridging (Removal Pending)) visas.

The conditions may be imposed if the visa is granted by the Minister exercising his or her personal power under section 195A of the Migration Act to grant a visa to a detainee.

Christopher Levingston, Secretary of Migration Alliance, and Accredited Specialist Immigration Lawyer is offering free mentoring to Registered Migration Agents and Migration Lawyers.

This free services is only available to Registered Migration Agents and Migration Lawyers and is not available to members of the public.

If you have a tricky immigration question, or need assistance formulating a strategy for a client then you can contact Christopher by email on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .