By Jeffrey Stone

Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) has opened consultation on the new Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL).

There are to be three visa pathways under the Migration Strategy:

  • Specialist Skills pathway (salary over $135,000)
  • Core Skills pathway
  • Skills in Demand pathway (salary under $70,000).

This JSA consultation refers to the Core Skills pathway for occupations being paid a median salary above $70,000 and below $135,000. The draft list is based on labour market analysis of ANZSCO Skill Level 1-3 occupations, so some occupations in the other salary bands may be included in this list. However, it is not yet clear how this will be addressed in the visa regulations.

The JSA reports it has developed the draft lists benchmarked to the 2022 ANZSCO not the 2013 version which will capture new and emerging occupations and has also used the most up to date employment/labour market datasets.

The JSA notes that this is a draft list and further surveys, submissions, bilateral meetings and qualitative analysis will be undertaken on the list with closing date for submissions of 10 May

  1. The consultation information may be accessed on the JSA website where three lists appear:
  • occupations JSA is confident will be on the new Core Skills list
  • occupations JSA is confident will not be on the Core Skills
  • occupations for further targeted consultation

The MIA recommends that members bring this consultation to the attention of industry association contacts and relevant employer clients they may have. It is expected that the JSA, as with previous ‘list creators’, will give most weight to submissions supported by industry or labour market evidence from these stakeholders. Guidelines on the timeline for the release of the final list and for lodging submissions are available on the JSA webpage.

 

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