What’s changed?

Since the inception of the 482 visa program in 2018, in most cases only those who hold 482 visa with occupation codes on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL) list have had a potential pathway through to Permanent Residency. 

Following on from the announcement made by Minister Hawke on 25 Nov 2021, new legislation has been recently introduced that offers a pathway to permanent residency for a specified cohort of Subclass 482/457 visa holders working in occupations on the Short-Term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL) from 30 June 2022.

Why the change?

The legislation aims to allow more Subclass 482 and 457 visa holders who remained in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic to access permanent residency, with the purpose of addressing the ongoing skilled worker shortage and the declining number of temporary visa holders due to the pandemic.

What happens next?

Given how new and complex the legislation is, the industry is still digesting the details and communicating with the Department of Home Affairs (DoHA) on how the legislation will be practically applied to specific cases.

For now, while this is excellent news for certain 482/457 visa holders with occupations on the short-term occupations list, it must be emphasised there remain many other requirements that must be met before being able to apply for a permanent residency in the TRT stream for a Subclass 186 or 187 visa.

We will publish more information as soon as we know more details about the potential impact on our clients. 

You can read the legislation in full here.