Changes to Priority Processing

The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship has set new priority processing arrangements for certain skilled migration visas. The current priority processing began on 8 February 2010. The changes apply to applications that have not been finalised, and to applications lodged with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship on or after 8 February 2010.

- The new priority processing arrangements which apply to the following visas from 8 February 2010:

• Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS)
• Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS)
• General Skilled Migration (GSM) visas

- The following processing priorities (with highest priority listed first) apply:

• Applications from people who are employer sponsored under the ENS and the RSMS.
• Applications from people who are nominated by a state/territory government agency under a state migration plan agreed to by the minister 
• Applications from people who are nominated by a state/territory government agency and whose nominated occupation is on the Critical Skills List (CSL).
• Applications from people who are neither nominated nor sponsored in priority groups 1, 2 or 3, but whose nominated occupation is listed on the CSL.
• Applications from people who are nominated by a state/territory government agency whose nominated occupation is not listed on the CSL.
• (a)Applications from people whose occupations are listed on the Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL).
  (b) Aplications from people who are sponsored by family and whose nominated occupation is not listed on the CSL.
• All other applications are to be processed in the order in which they are received.

- The following visa subclasses are exempt from priority processing:

• Skilled—Recognised Graduate (subclass 476)
• Skilled—Graduate (subclass 485)
• Skilled—Designated Area—Sponsored (Residence, subclass 883)
• Skilled—Regional (subclass 887).

Applications for these visa subclasses will be processed in the order in which they are received

- The priority processing arrangements are designed to ensure that the Australian economy gets the skills it needs now, rather than those of visa applicants who applied first. It helps to better address the needs of industry by targeting skills in critical need across a number of sectors, and is one of the measures used to ensure that the skilled migration program is responsive to the current economic climate and the needs of the Australian economy.

- The changes took effect from 8 February 2010 and apply to applications lodged with the department on or after this date. The changes also apply to applications that had been lodged previously with the department and have not been finalised.

- Priority processing applies to onshore and offshore applications equally. However, processing times between the two can vary.

- The new arrangements apply to all visa applications, including those in the final stages of processing. Applications in lower priority groups cannot be processed further until those in higher priority groups are finalised.

- If you are not nominated by a state or territory government in accordance with an approved state migration plan, or your nominated occupation is not on the CSL and you have applied for an offshore GSM visa or intend to apply for an offshore GSM visa, it is unlikely that your application will be finalised within 3 years of the date of the application. If you are not nominated by a state or territory government in accordance with an approved state migration plan or your nominated occupation is not on the CSL and you applied for an onshore GSM visa or intend to apply for an onshore GSM visa, it is unlikely that your visa will be finalised within 3 years of the date of the application. Your ‘nominated occupation’ is the occupation you nominated at the time you lodged your application and it cannot be changed.

- There are options if your application is unlikely to be finalised by the end of 2012 and you have applied for an onshore visa:

• continue to live and work in Australia (if your visa permits) while you await a decision on your visa application
• consider your eligibility for an employer sponsored visa, or a nomination by a state/territory government under a state migration plan
• apply for another visa
• withdraw your application and return to your home country. Please note, if you choose to withdraw your application you will not be entitled to a refund of your Visa Application Charge (VAC).

- Accountants who have scored a minimum of 7.0 (Proficient English) in all four components of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test are eligible for priority processing under the CSL. All accountants, including those who hold a current British, American, Canadian, New Zealand or Republic of Ireland passport must present an IELTS test result of at least 7.0 in each test component if they wish to receive priority processing.

For an accountant, If you have already met the time of application criteria (by holding an eligible passport or you have IELTS 6.0) and now wish to submit an IELTS test to access priority processing, you may submit the results from an IELTS test undertaken after you lodged your application. You will only be eligible for priority processing under the CSL once you provide evidence of your ‘proficient English’ IELTS results to the department.

- If you are a computing professional with a specialisation on the Migration Occupation in Demand List, you are eligible for priority processing in the order outlined at question two, that is, they receive the fourth highest priority.

- Priority processing arrangements do not apply to Skilled—Graduate (subclass 485) visa applicants from 8 February 2010. These applications will be processed in the order in which they are received. This includes applications that have been partially assessed and those in the final stages of processing.

- Compensation is not available for delays in processing.