The new skilled visa regime has officially come into force, with the federal government launching an invite-only scheme for highly talented migrants and a revamped skills list.

Major reforms to Australia’s skilled visa programs were outlined in the Labor government’s Migration Strategy late last year with the aim of bringing skilled migrants to Australia and to fill roles where there are no Australians workers available.

The changes, which came into effect over the weekend, include a new Targeted Core Skills Occupation List featuring cyber security roles, and the Skills in Demand and National Innovation visas.

“As a government we are focused on targeting skilled migration to address our workforce needs while promoting worker mobility,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement.

“The new visa program reshapes temporary and permanent skilled migration to drive long-term prosperity and supports Australia to attract and retain the best and brightest.”

Official list of in-demand occupations

The Core Skills Occupation list is now a consolidated single list with 450 occupations, including new ones in the cyber security sector.

The list is based on labour market analysis and stakeholder consultation undertaken by Jobs and Skills Australia.

It will be used for a number of the new visa programs, Minister for Skills and Training Andrew Giles said.

“The Core Skills Occupation List is a key step in ensuring Australia has a targeted skilled migration system that addresses genuine skills gaps in the economy,” Giles said.

“This is a positive step forward for the future of Australia’s most vital workforces.”

The Temporary Skills Shortage visa has now been replaced with the Skills in Demand visa, which is split into two streams: Core Skills and Specialist Skills.

The Core Skills stream is for filling existing workforce gaps in Australia and providing vital services to the community, while the Specialist Skills stream is aimed at individuals earning more than $135,000 in non-trade occupations.

The visa will provide a streamlined pathway for skilled migrants and a simpler process for employers to access these talented workers.

Invitation-only visa

Alongside this will be the National Innovation visa, an invitation-only program that aims to bring the “best and brightest to Australia in the global race for talent”.

It will be aimed at “nationally important sectors” including critical technologies, renewable energy and health”, and replaces the former Coalition government’s Global Talent visa scheme.

To apply, an individual must first be invited in writing by the Minister.

Industry Minister Ed Husic said the new program is about securing top science and tech talent from around the world.

“We want to ensure Aussie firms have the workers they need, when they need them, so they can scale and grow their businesses,” Husic said.

“There’s a global race to attract the best science and tech workers to give industry an edge – these new visas put Australia in the best position to attract the right people to work hand-in-glove with our own world-class researchers.”

The federal government has also scrapped the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for the Global Business and Talent Attraction program.

This position has been vacant since 2020, and less than five visas were issued through it since it was introduced.

Additional amendments

Other changes include reforms of the permanent Employer Nomination Scheme, and a new category of accredited sponsors for startups that have received venture capital funding.

The implementation of the reforms has been welcomed by the Migration Institute of Australia.

“The new visa will be critical to addressing short-to-medium-term skills shortages in the economy, adding to our economic prosperity and benefitting all Australians,” said Migration Institute of Australia CEO Peter van Vliet.

The skilled migration reforms were slated in this year’s federal budget, alongside a plan to set aside 70 per cent of permanent migration places for skilled workers.

This saw the scrapping of the Business Innovation and Investment program (BIIP), and the reduction of work experience requirements for the Temporary Skill Shortage visa from two years to one.

The BIIP saw the issuing of 11,000 visas from 2020 to mid-2022, but this fell to 5,000 spots in 2022-23 and 1,900 in the last financial year.