Migration Amendment (Expanding Access to Temporary Residence Transition Stream) Regulations 2023

Overview of the Disallowable Legislative Instrument

The Migration Amendment (Expanding Access to Temporary Residence Transition Stream) Regulations 2023 (the Amendment Regulations) amend the Migration Regulations 1994 (the Migration Regulations) to expand access to the Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream of the Subclass 186 (Employer Nomination Scheme) visa (Subclass 186 visa). The changes also apply to the TRT stream of the Subclass 187 (Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme) visa (Subclass 187 visa).

The Subclass 186 visa and Subclass 187 visa are permanent visas that allow employers to nominate skilled overseas workers for permanent residence in Australia to fill genuine vacancies in their business. The Subclass 186 visa is available nationally, while the Subclass 187 is for skilled workers who want to work in regional Australia. Both programs consist of a TRT stream, with a Direct Entry stream and a Labour Agreement stream also available in the Subclass 186 visa.

The TRT stream of the Subclass 186 and Subclass 187 visas provides a permanent visa pathway to Subclass 482 (Temporary Skill Shortage) visa (Subclass 482 visa) and certain Subclass 457 (Temporary Work (Skilled)) visa (Subclass 457 visa) holders who have worked in Australia for a specified period with a sponsoring employer who wishes to sponsor them for permanent residence.

The Subclass 457 visa closed to new applications on 18 March 2018 and was replaced with the Subclass 482 visa.

The Subclass 482 visa enables employers to source skilled overseas workers to address labour shortages where an appropriately skilled Australian worker is unavailable. Overseas workers must be nominated by a sponsoring business and obtain a Subclass 482 visa before they can commence work in Australia. Subclass 482 visas have a Short-term stream (up to 2 years duration), a Medium-term stream (up to 4 years duration), and a Labour Agreement stream (up to a 4 year duration depending on the terms in the labour agreement).

Source: Migration-Amendment-Expanding-Access-to-TRTS-Regulations-2023.pdf and 

Migration-Amendment-Expanding-Access-to-TRTS-Regulations-2023-Explanatory-Statement.pdf