The subclass 186 visa is a Permanent Resident visa which is available for qualified overseas workers who meet the requirements for one of the streams.

Requirements 186 Direct Entry Stream:

1. Have an eligible occupation that is provided by the Department of Home Affairs. https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/working-in-australia/skill-occupation-list
2. Have relevant work experience unless exempt. The applicant is required to have at least 3 years of relevant work experience in the nominated occupation.
3. Licensing, registration, or membership: The applicant must be licensed, registered, or a member of a professional body if it is mandatory in the state or territory the applicant intends to work in.
4. *Have a positive skill assessment
5. Be nominated by an Australian employer whose business is actively and lawfully operating.
6. The applicant must be under 45 years of age when he or she applies unless the applicant is eligible for the exemption policy.
7. Have at least competent English: Competent English (homeaffairs.gov.au)

The Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) is a requirement almost all migrants will have to pass in the process of immigrating to Australia. Failing the GTE requirement can result in a devastating visa refusal. Here is what you need to know about the GTE criteria so you don’t receive a visa refusal notification.

1. What Is The GTE?
2. How To Meet The GTE Criterion?
   1. What Factors Do The DoHA Look At? 
   2. Your Immigration History? 
   3. If You Are A Student
   4. Supporting Your Claims
3. Does Every Visa Have The GTE Criterion? 

What Is The GTE?

GTE is short for Genuine Temporary Entrant. Based on the documents provided by the applicant, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) will determine whether the applicant has a true purpose of temporary stay and the intention to stay in Australia for the time being. 

The DHA will consider the applicant's background in their home country, the immigration history, the incentive to stay in Australia or return home. If you do receive a GTE visa refusal you may have the option to appeal and review the decision.

How to Meet GTE Criterion?

What Factors Do the DoHA Look At?

DoHA looks at factors which might make you wish to not return to your home country:

• Political or civil unrest
• Military service commitments
• Your financial circumstances in your home country

The DoHA will also look at factors which would encourage you to return home such as, if you have a job back home, and have approved study leave. Another example would be if you have a business or personal assets in your home country, or close family members this may also be considered.

Your Immigration History

DoHA checks your immigration history as well:

• If you have spent a long time in Australia, DoHA may consider that you are seeking to extend your stay in Australia and work here.

• If you have had previous visa refusals/cancellations

• Any previous issues with visa compliance - for example not completing studies on previous student visas, working in excess of work conditions, overstaying your visa

If You Are A Student

Some visas may require more information, take Student visa subclass 500 for example. You will have to provide all the mandatory information but you may also need to explain how the proposed course will assist you in your future career.

If you are requested to provide how the course will assist you, it would be very helpful to:

• Relate the new course to what you have previously studied
• Relate the new course to what you are currently doing in your work
• Relate the new course to your career plan

In your explanation, try to answer the following questions:

• Why you chose Australia to study instead of in your home country?
• Why did you choose the courses?
• What is the value of your course to your future?
• What is your plan after graduation?

One of the more important categories DoHA will question you about is the value of the course to your future. DoHA will consider:

• if the course is consistent with your current level of education
• if the course is relevant to past or proposed future employment in your home country or a third country
• expected salary and other benefits in your home country or a third country with your qualifications from the proposed course

When drafting your GTE statements, it is important that you pay very close attention to all the requirements if you fall under one or more of these categories:

• Student visa applicants over 30 years old
• Applicants who have not completed their studies and need to transfer to another school
• Applicants who have applied for a degree lower than their highest academic level
• People who have applied for a student visa in Australia many times
• Applicants who are not related to the previous education situation

Supporting Your Claims

Evidence documents to support the facts you listed in your statement should be provided at the time of application as well.

For example, if the applicant mentions that his future goal is to return home and open a restaurant, he can explain it in his GTE and prepare a corresponding business plan for opening a restaurant. However, if an applicant only said in his GTE statement, “I applied because I like it very much.” Such claim is not convincing and will not meet the GTE requirements.

Below is a real example of a refusal that a client received before consulting with Work Visa Lawyers.

Please note that it is common for a case officer to call you and ask you questions about your reasons for study in Australia. You may not receive any notice of this, so it is very important that you are prepared to discuss your case.

 Does Every Visa Have the GTE Criterion?

In short, no, but the majority of visas do use GTE requirements. The GTE is important because it applies to all Visitor Visas and some of the Temporary Visas. To put this in perspective, the Australian Bureau of Statistics recorded 780,500 Visitor visa movements in September 2018. Keeping the same amount of movements per month, in a year there would be 9,366,000 Visitor Visa movements. This means that nearly 10 million people would have had to pass the GTE requirements.

Some of the most common Temporary Visas that have the GTE criterion are:

• Student visa subclass 500  Recently released migration system review report has suggested that the GTE criteria for Student visa subclass 500 applications be replaced with something called Genuine student test, which will be focused on assessing whether the student has genuine studying intentions as compared to GTE where focus is on assessing whether the student is coming to Australia on a temporary basis and will not live here permanently.
• Visitor visa subclass 600
• Temporary work visa subclass 400
• Temporary Activity​ subclass 408
• ​Training subclass 407
• Work and Holiday visa subclass 462
• Working holiday subclass 417
• Medical treatment subclass 602
• Short-term stream subclass 482

It is important to remember that the GTE is often not the only criteria you will have to meet. For example, the Short-term stream subclass 482 which replaced the popular subclass 457 recently, has many requirements including IELTS and other skills assessments.

It is also important to show a range of documents to demonstrate an incentive to return home.
These could include:
- Employment to return to in home country.
- Close family ties and responsibilities in the home country - for example, if you are married and your partner is staying in home country during the visit, this is a positive GTE factor.
- Ownership of property or businesses in home country

Do you need help with an Australian visa application?

Lawyers and Registered Migration Agents from Work Visa Lawyers have rich experience in drafting GTE statements. If you need any assistance, please feel free to contact our team.

At Work Visa Lawyers we are experienced in assisting applicants in all matters relating to Australian visa applications, including state sponsorship applications. Our areas of expertise include Skilled Migration visas, Business Skills Migration visas, Employer Sponsored Work Visas, Partner and other Family Migration visas as well as Migration Review Tribunal, Judicial Review and Ministerial Intervention.

If you require further information regarding your Australia visa options you can contact us through:

(08) 8351 9956

or   This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sources

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/mf/3401.0/

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/student-590/genuine-temporary-entrant

https://www.workvisalawyers.com.au/news/all/australian-visa-refusal-notification-options-for-the-appeal-review-process-tribunal-ministerial-review.html

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/student-500

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/visitor-600

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/temporary-work-400

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/temporary-activity-408

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/training-407

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/work-holiday-462

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/work-holiday-417

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/temporary-skill-shortage-482

https://www.workvisalawyers.com.au/news/all/top-10-facts-you-need-to-know-about-the-new-482-visa-1.html#Skills

https://www.workvisalawyers.com.au/news/all/ielts-now-offering-computer-delivered-english-tests-for-visa-applicants-in-australia.html

https://www.workvisalawyers.com.au/news/all/skills-assessments-occupation-lists-for-australian-tss-482-and-employer-sponsored-permanent-resident-visas.html

The world is short-staffed. And this is especially felt by the health sector.

Australia needs more health workers.

According to the report prepared by the International Centre on Nurse Migration, Sustain and Retain in 2022 and Beyond, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the global shortage of nurses was estimated at 5.9 million. This has been exacerbated by the pandemic.  And this skill shortage is across the health sector.

Australia has not been spared of the shortage of health workers and the Australian Commonwealth government and the different state governments had been implementing programs to attract overseas health workers to tackle staff shortages.

If you are a health worker and is interested to migrate you might be interested in the following support and programs offered by the different state governments.

*Note that all health professionals wishing to practice in Australia must hold Australian registration, have appropriate levels of education, skills, English language proficiency and experience and the appropriate visa to work in Australia.

Victoria

The Victorian government has announced that it will be providing relocation support for international and returning Australian health and mental health workers who have secured a job in a public health service.

This program is for health professionals who:

• are currently living overseas, which may include Australian citizens returning home or non-residents who meet Commonwealth visa requirements
• are international candidates whose occupation is on the Skilled Occupation list (SOL) and
• have secured a job with a Victorian health service between 1 April 2022 and 30 June 2023 and intend to work within the Victorian public health system for at least two years, and
• can access relevant Australian registration or accreditation for their profession
• are fully vaccinated (including travelling families) for COVID-19 by a Therapeutic Goods Administration approved or recognised vaccine.

The support is for international travel allowance to help with relocation costs:

• $10,000 for healthcare workers who secure a role in a public metropolitan health service
• $13,000 for healthcare workers who secure a role in a rural or regional health service

The money will be transferred to the employing health service.

South Australia

SA Health is looking for internationally trained health professionals to express their interest to work for them in South Australia.

They are looking for international applicants with transferable skills and qualifications for medical, nursing and midwifery, and allied and scientific health positions.

The guidelines for the online application can be found in the SA Health website. 

If you meet the eligibility criteria, SA Health will sponsor your visa and help you work through the visa process.

New South Wales

The New South Wales government announced that the state will have a $4.5B recruitment drive to increase its health workforce by more than 10,000 staff over the next 4 years.  This included giving a one-off ‘appreciation payments’ and raising the public sector wage cap.

Some regional NSW districts such as the Western NSW Local Health District are also recruiting overseas medical and nursing professionals who are registered or close to completing their AHPRA registration process and have an IELTS score of at least 7. They can offer incentives of up to $10,000 and can provide sponsorship for the visa.

Queensland

Queensland is looking for international applicants with transferable skills and qualifications in the following professions:

• Medical
• Nursing and midwifery
• Allied Health

And information for overseas application can be found in the Queensland Health website.

Tasmania

If you get a position with Tasmania's Department of Health, they may be able to provide vis sponsorship either permanent or temporary sponsorship.

They can also provide relocation support which may include:

• reimbursing your travel expenses (private motor vehicle use, rail fares, economy class airfares)
• contribution to transfer of furniture and personal effects
• temporary accommodation
• registration support
• immigration and visa support.

More information can be found in the Tasmania Department of Health website.

Northern Territory

The Norther Territory regularly have job opportunities throughout the territory for registered nurses, enrolled nurses and a variety of internationally trained Medical Officers or International Medical Graduates (IMGs).

For assistance with the application process, IMGs may contact:

For Top End Health Service (TEHS) job enquirers:

• specialist and registrar roles: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• interns and resident medical officers roles: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• emergency department registrar and specialist roles: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

For Central Australia Health Service (CAHS) job enquirers: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

More information can be found in the Northern Territory Government NT Health website.

Western Australia

Western Australia is also recruiting international health professionals and often advertise job vacancies on the WA Health Jobs Board

The WA government had previously offered relocation incentives and offered experienced health professional reimbursement for their relocation costs if they are appointed to a permanent or fixed term contract of 12 months or longer with WA Health on, or after, 1 July 2022 and up to 30 September 2022.

Australian Capital Territory (ACT)

The ACT government has a national campaign to recruit more nurses and midwives to the ACT.

The ACT Nurses and Midwifery Enterprise Agreement 2020-2022 contains the provisions for the reimbursement for relocation expenses, allowances, etc.

Reimbursement for relocation expenses can be provided to interstate or overseas employees.

The relevant pre-determined ceiling is as below:

Information as to what the ACT offers to nurses and midwives can be found in the ACT Health website.

Work Visa Lawyers has extensive experience in assisting international health workers apply for a visa in Australia.

Contact us if you need our assistance you can contact us at (+61) 08 8351 9956 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

You can also book an appointment online.

Our team of experience Immigration lawyers and Migration Agents will be happy to assist you.

Sources:

International Centre on Nurse Migration, Sustain and Retain in 2022 and Beyond,  chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.icn.ch/system/files/2022-01/Sustain%20and%20Retain%20in%202022%20and%20Beyond-%20The%20global%20nursing%20workforce%20and%20the%20COVID-19%20pandemic.pdf

Victoria Department of Health website, Support for international healthcare workers, https://www.health.vic.gov.au/jobs/migrating-to-victoria/support-for-international-healthcare-workers

The Guardian, “NSW to raise public service wage cap, pay health workers $3,000 ‘appreciation payments’ “ Tamsin Rose, 6 Jun 2022  - https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jun/06/nsw-to-raise-public-service-wage-cap-pay-health-workers-3000-appreciation-payments

New South Wales Government, NSW Government lifts wages and recognises health workers, https://www.nsw.gov.au/media-releases/budget-2022-public-sector-wages#:~:text=The%20policy%20will%20apply%20to,of%20the%20COVID%2D19%20pandemic.

New South Wales Government Health, Western NSW Local Health District, https://wnswlhd.health.nsw.gov.au/join-us/diversity-inclusion/overseas-trained-professionals/

SA Health -  International applicant guidelines https://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/public+content/sa+health+internet/careers/how+to+apply/international+applicant+guidelines

Queensland Health - https://www.health.qld.gov.au/employment/overseas

Tasmanian Department of Health -  https://www.health.tas.gov.au/

Northern Territory - https://health.nt.gov.au/ ]

Western Australia -  https://ww2.health.wa.gov.au/Careers/International-applicants

Government corruption is a serious offence and needs to be dealt with accordingly. Daryl Maguire abused his position of power on more than one occasion, so why hasn't he faced any punishment?

Changes to ENS 186 and RSMS 187 for 457 & 482 visa holders affected by  COVID-19 Pandemic.

The Department of Home Affairs has recently announced new changes to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is good news for 457 and 482 visa-holders who are looking to apply for a permanent employer-sponsored visa through the Temporary Residence Transition stream.

The Australian 2019/20 bushfire season has been one of the worst natural disasters our country has faced.

We have previously discussed the impact of the bushfires on various visa subclasses in our recent article: https://www.workvisalawyers.com.au/news/all/how-will-the-bushfire-crisis-impact-on-australian-visas-and-immigration-1.html

Among the affected visa holders, Working Holiday (subclass 417) and Work and Holiday (subclass 462), have felt the biggest impact. Working holidaymakers may have experienced disruptions to their work and thus, are unable to meet the specified work required to extend their visas. Others may have been turned away from fire and drought affected areas as there is simply no work available.

Following recommendations from the National Bushfire Recovery Agency, changes to working holiday visas were announced today. These changes are mutually beneficial for fire affected regions and working holiday visa applicants and holders.

Employer sponsored visas (including DAMA) can be an attractive option for many migrants, but it is important to remember that you must first find an employer that is willing to sponsor you.

Even though the Business Talent 132 visa is available throughout all of Australia, South Australia sponsors over 50% of all 132 visa applicants every year.

So, why is South Australia so attractive to 132 visa migrants?

Overview

The DAMA program is currently a very hot topic, with many business owners currently interested in seeking migrant workers through the program or pursuing Australian migration through the program.

DAMAs are great for regional employers, as they facilitate filling skilled and semi-skilled positions which are facing a labour shortage in a designated area. They are adapted to the needs of the local economy and allow business’ to access the workers they need.

For overseas workers, the DAMAs present an opportunity for work and migration for workers who may not otherwise have access to the TSS and ENS programs. Skilled and semi-skilled workers in occupations which are not on the Short-Term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL) and Medium and Long-Term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL) may be able to access skilled Australian migration through the DAMA program.

What Is A DAMA?

A DAMA is an agreement arranged by a designated area’s government (such as the NT Government) and the federal government. Employers in the designated area can apply for a streamlined labour agreement to sponsor overseas workers for their business if they are unable to fill the position locally.

What Areas Have A DAMA?

Currently, the only DAMA actively accepting applications is the Northern Territory Designated Area Migration Agreement Mark 2 (“NT DAMA Mk II”). It is Mk II as it replaced the previous Northern Territory’s DAMA.

Warrnambool in regional Victoria has been approved for a DAMA, but this has not yet open for applications. Warrnambool City Council has indicated that details of this DAMA will be released in the first quarter of 2019, so we expect more information will be available soon.

Also, there are potentially more areas to be added in the near future including, Orana region of NSW, Pilbara and the Kalgoorlie-Boulder regions in WA, as well as Cairns in Far North Queensland.

Recent reports by the Advertiser indicated that a DAMA visa is also expected soon for South Australia immigration.

What Visa Are Included With The DAMA Program?

The DAMA program uses the “labour agreement” stream of the Temporary Skills Shortage visa (“TSS”) subclass 482 and the Employer Nomination Scheme (“ENS”) subclass 186 visa. Availability of each type depends upon the rules of the particular DAMA which applies.

For the Northern Territory, (the only designated area accepting applications at the time of publication) you can apply for the 186 visa under the DAMA stream if you have spent 3 of the last 4 years working for an employer on a TSS visa under the DAMA program. This requires your employer to nominate you for the permanent visa as well.

As such, the permanent ENS 186 visa is not accessible directly through the DAMA program.

The advantage over TRT for 187 and 186 is the concessions at the TSS stage, as well as the freedom to move between different DAMA sponsors in the NT, without resetting the time needed to reach the 3 years for permanent sponsorship. NT DAMA TSS holders can apply to become a permanent resident after 3 years working on an NT DAMA visa.

We expect that the other proposed DAMAs will include similar pathways to PR, based on the model created by the NT government.

What Concessions Are Available Within The DAMA?

As indicated above, the NT DAMA Mk II is the only DAMA which (at the time of publication) has published their guidelines. The DAMA visa requirements consist of concessions based on the original requirements of either the TSS or ENS visa depending on which visa you are applying through.

While the requirements of the short-term and medium-term streams of the TSS 482 visa can be difficult for regional businesses (as their requirements are designed to fit capital cities, as well as regional areas) the DAMA program includes concessions adapted to the conditions of the local labour market. Essentially, the DAMA requirements are to assist in processing applicants to regional areas that may not be able to fulfill the TSS or ENS criteria.

The concessions available under the NT DAMA include:

•          English requirement concessions (IELTS overall 5 with a minimum of 5.6 in speaking and listening only, NO minimum requirement for writing and reading)

•           Skills concessions for certain occupations

•           Broader occupation lists compared to the TSS short-term and medium-term lists. These are more adapted to the local needs of NT businesses

• Employment conditions are better aligned with local conditions – more flexibility in employment contracts compared to the rigid requirements for short-term and medium-term stream TSS.

•           10% TSMIT Concession (the requirement for annual salary to be no less than $53,900 is not appropriate for all occupations, so an adjusted minimum of $4,8510* applies to NT DAMA Mk II)

It is difficult to say which concessions will be available in the Warrnambool and South Australian DAMAs, however, we expect to see similar flexibility to better meet the practical needs of local employers and to facilitate migration of skilled workers in local occupation shortages.

*Note: for TSMIT concessions, all skilled migrants within the DAMA must still be paid the same or more as an Australian worker that would be doing the same occupation.

Does The Skilling Australians Fund Levy Apply To A DAMA Visa?

Yes, nomination applications for a TSS or ENS under the labour agreement stream attract the Skilling Australians Fund (“SAF”) levy unless the nominated occupation is for a religious worker.

For a TSS DAMA, the SAF will be $1,200 per year for a business with a turnover of less than $10 million and $1,800 for a business with a turnover of $10 million or more.

For an ENS DAMA, the SAF will be $3,000 flat for a business with a turnover of less than $10 million and $5,000 flat for a business with a turnover of $10 million or more.

What Are The Steps For A TSS DAMA Visa?

Applying for a visa under the DAMA program is a 4-step process.

The below is tailored to the NT program, however, similar steps would apply once another designated area is open for applications.

1.       The sponsoring business applies to the designated area body (such as the Northern Territory Department of Trade, Business, and Innovation “DBTI”) for endorsement of your business’ labour agreement
2.       The sponsoring business applies to the Department of Home Affairs for a labour agreement
3.       The sponsoring business applies to the Department of Home Affairs for the nomination of an individual worker under the labour agreement
4.       The worker applies for a TSS 482 visa under the labour agreement stream

What Are The Costs Involved In The TSS DAMA?

At the time of publication, the costs for all stages of an NT DAMA TSS application are:

•          Cost to apply for NT endorsement of labour agreement: Nil
•          Cost to request a labour agreement: $420
•          Department of Home Affairs labour agreement stream nomination           charge: $330
•          Skilling Australians Fund levy (due when lodging nomination application

Department of Home Affairs visa application charges:

•    A base of $2,455
•    $2,455 for each additional applicant over 18
•    $615 for each additional applicant under 18

As we have commented on the past in our review of 2018 and forecast for 2019, we expect to see more DAMAs appearing in different regional Australian areas. The DAMA is an attractive tool for regional areas to remedy labour shortages and support their local businesses who are unable to find the labour they need to best carry on their business.

Do You Need Help With An Australian Visa Application?

At Work Visa Lawyers our team of immigration lawyers and migration agents are experienced in assisting applicants in all matters relating to Australian visa applications, including state sponsorship applications. Our areas of expertise include Skilled Migration visas, Business Skills Migration visas, Employer-Sponsored Work Visas, Partner, and other Family Migration visas as well as Migration Review Tribunal, Judicial Review and Ministerial Intervention.

If you require further information regarding your Australia visa options you can contact us through:

(08) 8351 9956 or   This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

6 Reasons Why A Nomination May Be Refused For Permanent Residency Visas In 2019. When Applying For A Permanent Visa (ENS 186 & RSMS 187), Both The Skilled Applicant And The Business Have Terms And Conditions That Are Required To Be Fulfilled.