Australia Immigration Rule Changes in 2024

Australia is now inviting fully vaccinated immigrants and travellers from all parts of the world under various visa categories, i.e. Skilled visa, study visa, family sponsored visa, Visitor visa, etc. If you are applying for Australian visa this year, you must know the process requirements and rule changes applicable. Australia has the quite straightforward point-based system of immigration to allocate permanent residency to the skilled and talented people from overseas.

In last few months, the Australian government has employed few vital changes in the visa rules and process requirements, which will crucial for the individuals applying for visa in Australia this year.

Australia Immigration and Visa Rule Changes 2024

Find below the key Australia immigration rule changes applicable in 2024. To read the key visa rule changes in detail, visit and explore the Immigration News page on Visas Avenue website.

Australia Student Visa- Higher scores in English proficiency tests

To obtain the Australia Student Visa, the Aussie government has employed new guidelines, mandating that international students attain elevated scores in English proficiency exams. Greater scrutiny will be applied to subsequent visa applications seeking extensions. This applies specifically to the IELTS (International English Language Testing System).

• English proficiency requirement increased for Graduate visa applicants from a score of 6.0 to 6.5
• English proficiency requirement increased for Student visa applicants from a score of 5.5 to 6.0

Work Visa- New Skills in Demand Visa

The Aussie government has unveiled plans to implement a new visa, known as the Skills in Demand Visa, with the intention of replacing the current Temporary Skill Shortage Visa. This new visa aims to provide workers with increased flexibility in transitioning between employers and establish transparent pathways to permanent residency for those who aspire to pursue such opportunities, as per the assessment.

This 4-year visa will feature 3 distinct pathways, each delineated by skill level.

• The initial route is designed for individuals with specialized skills, attracting highly skilled professionals predominantly from fields such as technology and energy. To qualify for this pathway, applicants must have a minimum annual income of $135,000 in any occupation, excluding trade workers, machinery operators, drivers, and labourers.
• The second option concentrates on fundamental skills crucial to meeting workforce demands, featuring a "simpler" occupation list that will be regularly updated to adapt to the evolving dynamics of Australia's job market.
• The third pathway, still in the development stage, aims to address essential skills and prioritizes tackling labor shortages, especially among individuals with lower incomes.

Ending the COVID-19 concession period for All Visa Subclasses

The temporary COVID-19 concession period, initiated in early 2020 amid global travel restrictions and economic challenges, is scheduled to conclude on November 25, 2023. Impacted visa categories will be:

• TGV
• Employer Sponsored visas
• Skilled Regional Visa subclass 887
• Family visas
• Business Innovation and Investment Program visas
• Safe Haven Enterprise Visa

Australia 2024–25 Migration Program

The Australian Department of Home Affairs (DHA) is seeking public input for the planning of the 2024–25 Migration Program. The program aims to achieve a balance between economic, social, and demographic goals, prioritizing the nation's long-term interests. In the current 2023–2024 program, Australia has set a target of 190,000 permanent residents, maintaining the traditional 70/30 split between the Skill and Family streams, except for the pandemic-affected years 2020–21 and 2021–22. Share your thoughts to contribute to Australia's future migration planning.

New and Improved Nomination pathways of NSW Regional Migration

Enhanced Nomination Paths for NSW Regional Migration Announced New South Wales (NSW) introduces upgraded pathways for skilled migrants seeking nomination for the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa Subclass 491. This nomination enables skilled individuals to reside, work, and study in designated regional areas specified by NSW for a five-year period.

Australia Expands PR Opportunities for Temporary Skilled Sponsored Workers

Australia is broadening pathways to Permanent Residency for Sponsored Skilled Temporary Workers. Effective November 25, 2023 (pending regulatory approval), the Australian Government is set to implement changes to the Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa subclass 482 and the Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream of the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) visa subclass 186.

NSW Shifts Focus to Priority Sectors Over Skilled Occupation Lists

To address evolving skill shortages in the Australian state of New South Wales more effectively, the NSW migration approach is transitioning from the previous practice of releasing a list of eligible ANZSCO unit groups. Instead, a new strategy is being adopted, concentrating on specific sectors that closely align with skills shortages in NSW. These sectors identified by NSW migration include the following:

• Health 
• Education 
• Information and Communication Technology (ICT) 
• Infrastructure  
• Agriculture

Australia updated Financial Capacity Requirements for Student Visas. 

Starting from October 1, 2023, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), Australia has raised the financial capacity prerequisites for international students applying for student visas. Applicants will now need to show a minimum savings balance of AU$24,505 to ensure they can cover their annual living expenses.

Opening of South Australia and New South Wales Migration Programs The prominent Australian states, namely South Australia (SA) and New South Wales (NSW), have started accepting new knapplications for their Skilled Migration Nomination programs for the 2023-2024 program year.

Commencement of Queensland's State Nomination Skilled Migration Program for 2023-24. Migration Queensland formally announced the start of its state nomination skilled migration program for the 2023-24 period on September 5, 2023. This year, Queensland has received a relatively modest allocation of 1,550 skilled nominations, and with the absence of a Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP) allocation from the Department of Home Affairs in Australia, competition for Queensland's state-nominated program is anticipated to be intense.

• Key changes to WA State Nominated Migration Program

The key changes includes the following:

• Same or equal invitation ranking for Interstate and Overseas candidates;
• prioritised invitations for applicants with an occupation deemed critical in a WA industry sector (as per the WA State nomination invitation ranking system); and
• reduced employment requirements for applicants invited through a WA building and construction industry sector occupation (as classified on the WA State nomination Occupation lists).

New Australia Immigration Rule changes applicable from 1 July 2023

• Australia has allocated nearly 70% of places to skilled migrants in the 2023‑24 permanent Migration Program to skilled migrants
• The Aussie govt. offering extra 2 years of post‑study work rights to Temporary Graduate visa holders with a few specially specific degrees, to improve the pipeline of skilled labour in key sectors
• Rising the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold to $70,000 to make certain skilled migration settings are better targeted
• Exempting international students working in the aged care sector from the capped fortnightly work hour cap until 31 December 2023
• Additional training places for Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme workers in important sectors for the Pacific and Timor‑Leste and where there are job shortages in Australia.
• Under a new scheme based on India-Australia agreement, from 1 July 2023 Indian graduates studying in Australian tertiary institutions on a student visa can apply to work in Australia without visa sponsorship for up to 8 years.
• 2-year extension of post-study work rights to international graduates: With effect from July 1st, 2023, Australian government to provide an extension of 2 years for post-study work rights to international higher education graduates with eligible qualifications.  Moreover, the permissible work hour’s limit for foreign students in the Australia will be raised from the current 40 hours to 48 hours per fortnight, providing even more flexibility to balance work and study.
• Quick visa processing for Teachers and healthcare workers: The Department of Home Affairs (DHA), Australia has discontinued using the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL) to rank skilled visa applications. As per DHA, the skilled visa applications are processed as per government policy priorities, which are mentioned in Ministerial Direction No. 100. Hence, now, visa application of Teachers and healthcare workers will be processed on priority.
• NSW- Australia has eased Nomination Criteria for Subclass 190 visa: New South Wales (NSW) Immigration has removed the earlier available points scores and work experience instructions for the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) due to greater availability of the Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) by DHA, Australia.
• South Australia has received Nomination Allocation of over 8,000 Places: Australian government has confirmed the final nomination allocation levels of South Australia (SA) for 2022-23. The SA will issue state nomination to more than 8,000 candidates in the year 2022-23. The SA has received these nominations for key visa categories, i.e. Subclass 190, Subclass 491 and Subclass 188 visa.
• Australia has updated requirements for temporary visa applicants in Australia: The Government of Australia has reformed the requirements for temporary visa applicants in Australia. . The government has mainly update the requirement regarding the medical examination requirement for Temporary visa applicants in Australia.

• Changes in MSA of TRA: The Trades Recognition Australia (TRA) has announced a few vital changes to its Migration Skills Assessment (MSA) program guidelines. These new instructions will reflect changes made to employment requirements for all new MSA applications lodged from 4 October 2022. 

• Key skilled migration updates: Australia has announced key skilled migration updates in the recent Jobs and Skills Summit held at the start of September 2022. These updates are:
• The cap for 2022-23 permanent skilled migration has been raised to 195,000 from 160,000 places
• This resulted in 34,000 places in the regions for this year, i.e. 9,000 more than the formerly announced.
• Structuring a big lift under the state and territory sponsored visas – from 11,000 previous year to 31,000. 

• Removal of Covid-19 restrictions: On 6 July 2022, Australia removed all Covid-19 related restrictions. It implies that travellers to Australia no longer need to complete a Digital Passenger Declaration (DPD) to declare their COVID-19 vaccination status. 

• Federal and State governments are accepting applications Federal as well as almost all state governments of Australia are now accepting the applications from overseas immigration applicants.

• Australia’s new migration program year Starts on 1st July: Australia’s migration program year starts on 1st July every year. In 2022, Australia has a target to accept 160,000 new immigrants under Skills, Family and Special eligibility streams.
• Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) subclass 482 visa holders: Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) subclass 482 visa holders in the short-term stream can now apply for PR Visa via the Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream of the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) subclass 186 visa. These provisions also applicable to Temporary Work (Skilled) subclass 457 visa holders with an occupation on the Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL).
• Subclass 457 visa holders’ age exemption: Eligible legacy subclass 457 visa holders can access an age exemption when applying through the Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream of the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) subclass 186 visa.
• Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) subclass 482 (Short-term stream) visa holders: Eligible former TSS visa holders, who have experience of working in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic, can now apply for a third short-term stream TSS visa while in Australia.
• Visa Fee Revised from 1st July: Australia has revised the visa fee for most skilled, visit and sponsored visa categories. The new visa fee is applicable with effect from July 1, 202

Earlier Australia Immigration Rule changes

• A region of WA enters DAMA- South West region of WA has entered the DAMA agreement in order to fill labour shortage. The federal Government is creating a DAMA (Designated Area Migration Agreement) with the Shire of Dardanup. It will the 8th region in Australia to enter a 5 year agreement with the Commonwealth.
• New South Wales to consider offshore candidates- The NSW is now considering the offshore candidates, skilled in a few main occupations within some ANZSCO unit groups in periodic invitation rounds. These unit groups have been marked already in NSW Skilled Occupation List.
• Australia reopened its borders- Australian government has opened its border from 15 December 2021 for all fully vaccinated eligible visa holders, i.e. skilled professionals and international students.
• Announcements for International students- Australian government has declared key measures for the overseas students. These new arrangements will extend measures to protect the post-study work rights of overseas students as well as increase the temporary graduate visa from 2 to 3 years for masters by coursework graduates.
• Section 48 bar no longer a hurdle- As per the announcement from Australian government, from November 13, 2021, onshore candidates affected by the section 48 bar can apply for the below three skilled visas, i.e. Skilled Work Regional visa (subclass 491), Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) and Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional visa (subclass 494).
• Changes in WA state nomination ranking- Western Australia (WA) has applied some key changes to the ranking system it uses for the issuing of ITAs for State nomination. The idea of these changes to focus more on the applicants, i.e. skilled workers and international students, currently staying in WA.

Update on South Australia Business & Investment Program 2021-22

The SA has removed two key steps from the application process, used in the former 2020-21 program year. The new changes comprise the following:

• Removal of the exploratory visit to South Australia and
• Elimination of the requirement to submit an ‘Intention to Apply’ (ITA) form for the 2021-22 program year.

The Business & Investment Program 2021-22… Read more

Changes to Victoria 2021-22 Skilled Migration program

Victoria, Australia has made some key changes inits Skilled Migration Program 2021-22. The changes includes, elimination of the minimum experience and hours worked requirement, rise in the number of targeted sectors, etc. ……Read more

Australia has increased the Citizenship Application fee

The Australian government has revised the Australian Citizenship Application fee with effect from July 1, 2021. The fee is being revised to more accurately reflect the cost of application processing. However, there are no changes to fee exemptions…. Read more

The Australian government has revised the visa fee

Australia has revised the visa fee for all its visa categories with effect from July 1, 2021. Among other visas, the Department of Home Affairs, Australia has slightly increased the visa fee for all popular skilled visa categories, i.e.

• Skilled Independent Visa Subclass 189
• Skilled Nominated Visa Subclass 190
• Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa Subclass 491

The government revises the visa fee every year on…. Read more

Australia has updated the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List

The Department of Home Affairs, Australia has updated the PMSOL (Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List) on June 22, 2021.This time around, the DHA has included 22 new occupations to the list. It is now the list of 41 occupations, prepared to meet the critical skills shortage in Australia to support economic recovery in view of the Global Pandemic…. Read more

Changes to the Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP)

Australia is making key changes to the Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP) of Australia. The government will simplify it from nine to four key streams, and there will be changes to eligibility requirements as well. These changes will take effect from July 1, 2021….. Read more

Annual Nomination Quota allocated to states/territories

The Australian government has allocated a full annual nomination quota to states/territories of Australia. Most of them shall start accepting application for 2020-21 from January 2021 onwards.

English language requirement for the partner visa applicants

Alan Tudge- the acting Immigration Minister of Australia, has announced that Australia to introduce the English language requirement for the partner visa applicants from the closing months of 2021….. Read more

Australian Citizenship Test updated. 

Australia has updated the Citizenship Test from November 15, 2020. The new changes in the test will focus on Australian values. Alan Tudge- the acting Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, has confirmed the same…… Read more

Fee waiver on the lodgement of new international student visa

The DHA, Australia has confirmed that it has applied for the fee waiver on the lodgement of new international student visa applications from 5 August 2020 (midnight-AEST). The government has announced to waive the student visa fee of those students who held a student visa on or after 1st February 2020. Hence, could not complete their course of study within their original visa validity because of the global pandemic…. Read more

Key Changes applicable to Australia’s immigration point system

With effect from November 16, 2019, Australia has implemented the following changes in Australia’s Immigration point Calculator 2021:

• 10 points for having a skilled spouse or de facto partner
• 15 Points for applicants nominated by a State or Territory government or sponsored by a family member residing in regional Australia
• 10 points –for having certain STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) qualifications
• 10 points for applicants who do not have a spouse or de facto partner
• 5 Points – for applicants with a spouse or de facto partner who has competent English 

Other Important Australia Immigration Rule Changes applicable in 2022

Schedule 1 Changes: A news killed work Regional (Provisional) Visa Subclass 491 has been introduced w.e.f. November 16, 2019, with the following features:

• Introduction of the new Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (Subclass 491), a new and enhanced Points-tested visa to benefit regional parts of Australia, for candidates nominated by a state or territory government agency or sponsored by an eligible family member living in a designated regional area
• Removal of the Subclass 489 (Skilled – Regional (Provisional) visa (Subclass 489) has been removed and replaced by Subclass 491 visa.

Schedule 2 Changes:

• Introduction of the Subclass 494 (Skilled Employer-Sponsored Regional (Provisional)) visa (Subclass 494), a new and improved employer-sponsored visa to benefit regional Australia, with 2 key streams: Employer-Sponsored and Labour Agreement;
• Brings employers seeking to employ foreign workers on a Subclass 494 visa under the sponsorship regime for employers in the Migration Act (Division 3A of Part 2 of the Migration Act); and
• Removal of the Subclass 187 (Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme) visa, except for certain transitional cohorts. TheSubclass 494 visahas replaced the old Subclass 187 visa.

Schedule 3 changes:

• Introduction of a new PR visa Subclass 191 (Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional)) visa (Subclass 191) from 16 November 2022
• provide that the new Subclass 191 may only be applied for by holders of the new Subclass 491 and Subclass 494 visa

To know more details or clarification about the rule changes above, you can e-mail your queries to our Australia immigration expert at info@visasavenue.com. 

Apply Australia PR this year through the Certified Australia Migration Expert

If you want to apply for a Skilled visa, Study visa, Visit visa, etc. in Australia or wish to apply for an Australian PR visa this year, through the guidance of certified and vastly experienced Australia migration experts, you may get in touch with Visas Avenue- the top and trusted Australia Immigration Consultant in India.

You may call Visas Avenue migration experts on Toll-Free Number- 78-18-000-777. Moreover, to get your eligibility checked and subsequently receive a call from the expert, you may fill the free assessment form.