What's New Australia

  17 August 2011

      Skilled migrant visa concerns

THE number of skilled migrant visas given to people with accounting qualifications more than doubled last year to 14,680, according to the official 2010-2011 migration program report. Monash University researcher Bob Birrell said the main source appeared to be former international students who had applied under the old, more relaxed rules for skilled migration. It was part of the government's effort to work through a "stockpile" of former students seeking permanent residency.


• He questioned whether accounting should still be included as an occupation in demand on the Skilled Occupation List for skilled migration.


• CPA Australia's higher education executive Caroline Armstrong said the strongest demand in the market continued to be for accountants with three to five years' experience.


• In the 2010-11 report from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, the next biggest occupational categories after accounting were those with qualifications in computing (2920) and cookery (2307).


• Those rules have been tightened to stop any one occupation dominating skilled migration and to require higher proficiency in English and to emphasise advanced qualifications not just from local institutions.