On 05 August 2013, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) announced that state and territory governments are not able to nominate any intending migrants from the following occupations for a points tested visa:
Notice
Applications under the Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) visa in certain occupational categories
On 05 August 2013 the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) advised that invitations for certain occupational groups in the points-tested migration program will be issued on a pro-rata basis over the 2013/14 program year.
This advice means that it will not be possible for NSW to nominate any applicants from these occupations for a 190 visa.
Occupations impacted by this policy change include:
ICT Business and Systems Analysts - 2611
Chemical and Materials Engineers - 2331
Electronics Engineers - 2334
Telecommunications Engineering Professionals - 2633
Other Engineering Professional - 2339
Software and Applications Programmers - 2613
DIAC advise that the total of the occupational ceiling will remain the same but the pro-rata approach will mean that invitations will be staggered and issued to selected individuals over the course of 2013/14 in twice monthly occupation rounds.
NSW appreciates that this announcement will concern many applicants who have already applied for nomination to date. We are seeking further clarification from DIAC on how this announcement will affect nomination applications that are currently being assessed.
We will not be able to provide any further guidance to you until DIAC provides further information.
We assure you that we will be updating this website with further guidance as soon as possible. Please continue to check this website. We will not be able to provide any further information by phone or email.
We would encourage you not to withdraw your application until we are able to provide more specific information.