TACC news

What the new Migration Strategy means for automotive

16 February 2024

Attend our lunchtime online seminar with immigration experts Samantha Panchal and Maria Hrambanis from KMPG, as they explain the implications of the new Migration Strategy for automotive businesses seeking international skilled labour.

VACC will host two sessions. Register for one or both via the links below.

Background:

In December 2023, the Federal Government released its Migration Strategy in response to the Parkinson Review. The Federal Government is committed to reducing overall net migration, to reduce the overall Net Overseas Migration (NOM) by 180,000 over the next five years.

The government has announced three temporary visa pathways:

• Specialist Skills Pathway – for occupations above $135,000 – seven-day visa processing time – not eligible for tradespeople, machinery operators, drivers and labourers.
• Core Skills Pathway – for occupations between $70,000 - $135,000 – 21-day visa processing time – the occupation needs to be on the core skills occupation list that Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) will develop. VACC is working on behalf of the industry to ensure the government’s Core Skills Pathways represent automotive occupations. VACC is also working closely with JSA on the development of the Skills Priority List.
• Essential Skills Pathway – for occupations below $70,000 – for the care and aged care industries.

Other key points:

• Regional visas will be prioritised first.
• Effective immediately, employers will no longer be required to advertise positions through Workforce Australia.
• The government looks to reform the points test and develop a new Talent and Innovation Visa as it relates to permanent skilled migration.
• 20 visas have been removed from the system