Posted on July 03 2021

Australia allots 79,600 spaces for the Skill stream in 2021-2022

By
Anshul Singhal
, Editor

Updated January 06 2024

The Department of Home Affairs of the Australian government has announced the 2021-22 Migration Program planning levels.

As was expected and previously predicted, Australia will be continuing with the 2020-2021 Migration Program planning levels for 2021-2022. The 2021-2022 program year shall run from July 1, 2021 until June 30, 2022.

Set annually, the Australian government’s Migration Program is a part of the Federal Budget process.

https://youtu.be/BY_TEfkq29U

The Migration Program is aimed at striking a balance between the demographic, social and economic objectives as well as priorities of the Australian government.

To come up with the annual plan, the government of Australia holds consultations with the representatives of state and territorial governments, community organizations, academia, as well as industry stakeholders.

Public submissions are also solicited through the publication of a discussion paper for the same.

The 2021-2022 Migration Program has been specifically designed for supporting “Australia’s economic growth and continued recovery from COVID-19".

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The reason behind there being no change between the planning levels for 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 is said to be that of building upon Australia’s success in managing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and maximizing the flexibility for increased migration in line with the evolving border, health, and economic conditions.

While the overall migration planning levels have been retained, there has been left scope for a redistribution of visa spaces between the Skill stream visa categories for Australia immigration.

This redistribution – at the discretion of the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs – can be done in response to “public health, economic and labour market requirements”. Thereby ensuring Australia immigration remains responsive to the shifts in border restrictions and economic activity.

As per the Australian government's Department of Home Affairs – “To support Australia’s ongoing recovery from the impacts of COVID-19, the program settings, priorities and planning levels put in place for the 2020-21 Migration Program will remain in place in the 2021-22 program year.”

Certain Australian visa categories are expected to remain in focus for helping Australia’s economy rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Priority is to be given to visas that can provide Australia with jobs, investment, as well as critical skills.

3 Australia immigration Skill stream categories to be prioritized –

The Global Talent Program,
The Employer Sponsored Program, and
The Business Innovation and Investment Program.

Under the 2021-2022 Migration Program family stream, the greatest share of the visa spaces available have been allocated to the Family stream, in recognition of the strong economic and demographic contributions of such visa holders.

There will continue to be priority processing of onshore Australia Partner visa applications. This will help in delivering an enhanced employment certainty for this class of migrants in Australia, in turn stabilizing the Net Overseas Migration [NOM] through the retention of migrants.

Australia’s 2021-22 Migration Program planning levels
OVERALL PLANNING LEVEL – 160,000 visa spaces available · Skill stream: 79,600 · Family stream: 77,300 · Child: 3,000 · Special Eligibility: 100
Stream	Category	Places in 2021-2022
SKILL STREAM	Employer sponsored	22,000
	Skilled Independent	6,500
	Regional	11,200
	State/Territory Nominated	11,200
	Business Innovation & Investment program	13,500
	Global Talent	15,000
	Distinguished Talent	200
Total skill		79,600
FAMILY STREAM	Partner	72,300
	Parent	4,500
	Other family	500
Total family		77,300
Special Eligibility		100
Child [estimated, not subject to a ceiling or ‘cap’]		3,000
TOTAL		160,000

How many can the state and territorial governments in Australia nominate in 2021-2022?

States and territories can nominate individuals for Australian permanent residence under certain visa categories.

State and Territory nominated Australian visa categories

· Skilled Nominated visa [subclass 190] · Skilled Work Regional [Provisional] visa [subclass 491] · Business Innovation and Investment Program [BIIP]

Each of the states and territories assess applicants for eligibility against a set criteria, unique to their own jurisdiction.

It is the prerogative of the Australian states and territories to decide whether they intend considering offshore applicants [applying from overseas] or onshore applicants [applying from within Australia].

State Nomination levels allocated for 2021-22
State	Acronym	Subclass 190	Subclass 491	BIIP
Australian Capital Territory	ACT	600	1,400	30
New South Wales	NSW	4,000	3,640	2,200
Victoria	VIC	3,500	500	1,750
Queensland	QLD	1,000	1,250	1,400
Northern Territory	NT	500	500	75
Western Australia	WA	1,100	340	360
South Australia	SA	2,600	2,600	1,000
Tasmania	TAS	1,100	2,200	45
TOTAL		14,400	12,430	6,860

Among the individual allocations, certain Australian states – such as, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, and South Australia – have a good quota of the available state nominations for subclass 491/190.

Cosmopolitan to the core, Australia is among the Top 3 countries for immigration post COVID-19.

If you are looking to Migrate, Study, Invest, Visit, or Work Overseas, talk to Y-Axis, the World’s No. 1 Immigration & Visa Company.

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