Key Points
- Western Australia received 8,140 places for its migration program 2022–23, 4,950 more places than the previous year.
- The state government has increased occupations eligible for skilled migration by around 60 per cent.
- 'Temporary measures' include waiving the $200 application fee,
The WA government announced the new changes to its migration program 2022-23 on Sunday as part of its efforts to deliver the skilled labour required for the state economy and jobs market.
The state's nomination criteria has also introduced a number of "temporary measures", including the waiving of the $200 application fee.
Aerial view of Elizabeth Quay waterfront, Perth - Western Australia Source: Moment RF / Robbie Goodall/Getty Images
The state also increased occupations eligible for skilled migration by around 60 per cent.
The additions, which include 46 health occupations, have brought the list to a total of 276 occupations.
"Regional skill needs are being supported with 33 of the new occupations aligning with four current Designated Area Migration Agreements in place in WA regions to respond to unique regional economic and labour market conditions," a state government said.
In July, the McGowan government also launched a new Skilled Migrant Employment Register to connect skilled migrants with state jobs.
The changes to the state's skilled migration pathway are expected to be implemented over the course of the next month.
Western Australia has made changes to its migration program to ensure WA is the state of choice for skilled workers migrating to Australia. Source: Moment RF / anand purohit/Getty Images
The WA received 8,140 places for 2022–23, 4,950 more places than the previous year and the third largest allocation overall, after New South Wales and Victoria.
The state government said it is running several campaigns to attract skilled workers in key industries including building and construction, manufacturing, healthcare, tourism and agriculture.
"The changes to the State Nominated Migration Program will build on our work to boost skilled migration in areas of high demand by making migration to WA easier,"
"We have been successful in advocating for WA's needs nationally, and the Australian Jobs and Skills Summit will give me further opportunity to address issues managed by the Commonwealth Government," he added.
"These latest changes are about making it easier for people to migrate to WA on skilled migration visas," Education and Training Minister Sue Ellery said.
"They are targeted changes that are focused on attracting more skilled migrants to the state in the short-term, and will be reviewed as the State's skills challenges ease," she added.
While many new visa conditions have been relaxed, some applicants like Rounaq Mongia are still finding it tough.
The recent graduate from Curtin University said that while the new changes will open up more options for many skilled workers, he still need to meet work experience requirements.
Rounaq Mongia has recently graduated from the Curtin University.
"For me as a marketing specialist or coordinator, I still need to show work experience in a managerial role to meet skills assessment," he added.
However, migration expert Suman Dua described the changes as "very positive" for attracting skilled workers.
"For the Subclass 491 visa, the state has removed the work experience condition for both onshore and offshore applicants which is a great move," Ms Dua said.
"Those applicants whose occupations are in the state's list, they will no longer be required to show work experience which was the case earlier," she said.
