TAS Nomination 2020 – 2021 Priority List

SKILLED MIGRATION PROGRAM

What has changed?

The Department of Home Affairs has issued an interim allocation of subclass 491, 190, 188 and 132 visa nomination places to states and territories. These allocations will be updated after the 2020-21 Federal Budget is handed down in October.

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

1. High quality subclass 188 and 132 (Business Innovation and Investment Program) nomination applications.
2. 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.
3. Applicants currently in Australia who can demonstrate their capacity to meaningfully contribute to economic recovery.

What does this mean for applicants?

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.

Decisions on non-critical role applications may not be available until October or later. Only those applicants with the most compelling claims will be nominated.

Imminent visa expiry is not 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.

What does this mean for applications lodged before 1pm (AEST), Tuesday 25th August 2020 (Subclass 491/Subclass 190)?

Migration Tasmania will email all applicants who lodged their application, offering them an opportunity to either:

• request priority consideration on the basis that they are engaged in a critical role supporting the health system or the Tasmanian economy, or
• withdraw their application for nomination and receive a full refund of the application fee, or
• continue with their application in respect of a requirement to demonstrate that their nomination will lead to a genuine ongoing and meaningful contribution to Tasmania’s economic recovery.

Applicants who request their application continue to be considered for nomination will not receive a refund regardless of the outcome.

Applicants who are not employed in critical roles will not be nominated unless they can strongly demonstrate that their nomination will genuinely benefit economic recovery in Tasmania.

There is no guaranteed timeframe for an outcome and applicants in non-critical roles may not receive an outcome until October or later.

Migration Tasmania will competitively assess all existing applications in accordance with priorities established by the Department of Home Affairs.

With the very limited number of nomination places available, nomination cannot be guaranteed and only those in critical roles or able to provide the most compelling claims will be supported.

What does this mean for applications lodged after 1pm (AEST), Tuesday 25th August 2020 (Subclass 491/Subclass 190)?

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. *** Note that Category 3A is only open to occupations in the High Demand section of the Tasmanian Skilled Occupation list.

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.

This requirement will be reviewed after the Federal Budget in October when full details of the 2020-21 nomination allocations and requirements are announced by the Department of Home Affairs.

https://www.migration.tas.gov.au/news/2020-2021_program_year_update