DIAC has temporarily, and with no prior warning, suspended the acceptance of new applications from primary applicants for subclass 175 Skilled Independent, Subclass 176 – Skilled Sponsored and Subclass 475 – Skilled Regional Sponsored visa applications.

At this stage, it is expected that the suspension will cease at the end of June, by which time amendments to the Migration Regulations 1994 will have passed through Parliament, to allow implementation of the new Skilled Occupation List, which is now scheduled to be announced later this month.

Primary applicants for 175, 176 and/or 475 visas, who lodged their applications up to and including 7 May are not affected by these changes. Their applications will be processed as normal and in accordance with current priority processing arrangements.

Applications submitted on or after 8 May will considered invalid and DIAC will refund the Visa Application Charges. However, once again, DIC will not refund associated fees such as those incurred for medicals, English tests and skills assessments. Although these expenses were incurred to meet DIAC’s requirements at the time, DIAC’s stance is that it cannot refund those payments as they were not made to the Government.

While DIAC says that applications for those visa subclasses will be able to be lodged once the suspension has been lifted, applicants should be aware that with the advent of the new SOL and the State Migration Plans which are due out about the same time, eligible occupations, and other criteria, such as English skills evidence, might change.

Potential 175, 176 and 475 applicants are invited to contact us to discuss  their options for migration in light of this new announcement.