Australia’s ACT State Migration Plan commences

Australia, 9th November: The Migration Plan has been published by the ACT along with a detailed skilled occupations list.

The announcement was made by Chris Bowen, Australia’s immigration and citizenship minister, and John Stanhope, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Chief Minister.

Migrants looking to immigrate to Australia have been eagerly awaiting the announcement of ACT’s State Migration Plan since it lists the occupations to be considered by the states for sponsorship of Australian visas. The changes will help the federal government to give ranking to the occupations in accordance with the need by putting an end to applications for industries that are no longer beneficial.

Meanwhile, the State Migration Plan of Victoria has begun already and other plans are likely to get finalized in a span of few weeks.

Immigration minister Bowen stated that such plans provide the exact requirements of candidates and the occupations in which they might get nominated. The aim of such plans is to improve the General Skilled Migration Program’s focus by nominating skilled migrants in a wide range of occupations currently included in the SOL(Skilled Occupation List).

State Migration Plans are among the efforts of the Australian government to support the nation’s economy by inviting skilled immigrants to contribute positively towards the nation’s workforce, asserted Bowen.

Speaking about the ACT, Stanhope said it has the strongest economy in Australia and the rate of joblessness is very low. So, this has resulted in shortages of skills in few areas and the State Migration Plan(SMP) is likely to help in bridging the gap between demand and supply of skilled workforce.

The Skilled Sponsored Scheme helps the ACT government in nomination of graduate students under Subclass 886 or skilled migrants under Subclass 176 having----

•    Any occupation in the skills list of SMP;

•    Experience and skills benefiting the ACT economy;

•    English language ability required for reasonable job opportunities in the present labor market of ACT;

•    Any occupation with enough opportunities of jobs in an industry having relevance to the ACT;

•    Sufficient resources of finance for settlement in the ACT while searching jobs;

•    A commitment to live and work in the ACT for a minimum of 2 years duration; and

•    Already met all requirements of Australian visa for General Skilled Migration.