Australian Immigration Daily News

As reported earlier, the Department of Home Affairs has issued an interim allocation of subclass 491, 190, 188 and 132 visa nomination places to states and territories.  It is anticipated that that the interim nomination arrangement will continue until early – mid December 2020.

The Department of Home Affairs has directed that, all nominations must be justifiable in relation to their likely contribution to Australia’s economic recovery, and follow three priorities:

High quality subclass 188 and 132 (Business Innovation and Investment Program) nomination applications.

Applicants critical to supporting Tasmania’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including individuals providing critical or specialist medical services, critical skills required to maintain the supply of essential goods and services, or delivering services in sectors critical to Australia’s economic recovery.

Applicants considering Tasmanian Migration

All new and existing nomination applications will be considered according to these priorities, with those in critical roles being nominated first.

Existing applicants who are not in critical roles will be considered only after priority applications for critical roles have been processed.

Imminent visa expiry is not normally sufficient to give priority to an application. If your visa is about to expire you should contact the Department of Home Affairs or a Registered Migration Agent about your visa options.

All new applications lodged after 1pm (AEST), Tuesday 25th August 2020 must meet the minimum requirements of their chosen nomination category and demonstrate that the applicant is critical to supporting Tasmania’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery.

Applicants must provide a letter of support from their employer clearly explaining how their role is critical to providing medical services, the supply of essential goods and services, or delivering services in sectors critical to Tasmania’s economic recovery. If an applicant cannot show that their role is critical, it will not be supported for nomination.

What are critical roles?

The Department of Home Affairs provides guidance on critical roles or critical skills at https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/critical-skills-and-sectors#toc-1

For Tasmania these roles include those:

• directly assisting in Tasmania’s COVID-19 response directly engaged by Tasmanian Government
• providing critical or specialist medical services or delivering medical supplies potentially associated with COVID-19 response. This includes all general nursing and medical positions with the Tasmanian Health Service
• directly involved in the supply of essential goods and services (medical technology, critical infrastructure, telecommunications, engineering and mining, supply chain logistics, agricultural technology, food production, and the maritime industry) including highly skilled and specialised roles in:
• infrastructure engineering and maintenance such as dams, large-/high-complexity bridges, irrigation schemes, transport logistics planning and maintenance
• agriculture such as artificial insemination technicians, wool classers, livestock pregnancy scanners
• the supply of essential goods and services which would be in jeopardy without the applicant.

In addition, Tasmania will accept new applications from people employed in:

• health and allied health occupations, including in private and not-for-profit sectors
• senior support workers/enrolled nurses/registered nurses in aged, disability and community care (minimum diploma qualified).
• Note: Chefs and Cooks – Now included in interim program

All new and existing nomination applicants employed full-time as chefs or cooks will be considered for the interim quota, if their visa is due to expire before 31 December 2020. Applicants must be in a genuine and ongoing skilled role with a minimum qualification Certificate III in Commercial Cookery or skills assessment as a Chef or Cook.  This does not normally include lower-skilled employment in limited service restaurants, e.g. sushi makers, pizza makers.

Subclass 188 and 132 visa nomination applications

Migration Tasmania is seeking interest from high calibre business investors who can make a significant contribution to Tasmania’s economy.

• Investment in a regional area (which generally excludes Hobart CBD and suburbs)
• Generation and/or retention of local jobs for Tasmanians.
• Investment in key sector/s that will benefit Tasmania’s economy which may include:
• Aquaculture, Agriculture and Agribusiness
• Minerals and Mining
• Forestry and Timber
• Antarctic and Marine Science
• Information and Communication Technology
• Creative Industry
• Community Infrastructures that enhance a region’s liveability
• Renewal Energy

Migration Tasmania will contact those with the best value proposition and invite them to provide full application details.

Migration Tasmania has released Q&A document which can be accessed here: https://www.migration.tas.gov.au/news/2020-2021_program_year_update