Programmers and ICT security specialists will get prioritised visa processing to enter Australia and bypass travel restrictions under an expansion of the skilled migration program.
Immigration minister Alex Hawke on Tuesday announced that 22 new occupations would be added to the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List, which was launched in September last year offering prioritised visas and exemptions from travel restrictions for the jobs listed.
The new occupations include electrical engineers, analyst programmers, software and application programmers, ICT security specialists and multimedia specialists.
The existing occupation list also included developer programmers and software engineers. Visa holders who are sponsored by an Australian business in one of the listed occupations will be able to have their visa prioritised and request an exemption from the current travel restrictions, but will still have to undergo quarantine for 14 days at their own expense.
The previous priority occupation list allowed software engineers and developers to obtain visas in the last year despite Australia’s closed borders, according to TechVisa director Sam Bricknell. “Many of our clients talk to us about how tight the market is and it’s more competitive than ever to get the right talent,” Mr Bricknell told InnovationAus.