Australia’s signature overhaul of employer-sponsored immigration—the Migration Amendment (Strengthening Sponsorship and Nomination Processes) Bill 2024—is running into practical headwinds only weeks before the new ‘Skills in Demand’ (SID) visa is due to replace the 482 TSS in mid-November.
Writing on 30 October, Accounting Times cited BDO migration-services lead Rebecca Thomson, who warns that outdated labour-market-testing rules, week-long nomination queues and a lack of fast-track options for accredited sponsors threaten to stall the government’s promised ‘skilled-migration reset’. Thomson argues that employers able to pay above-market salaries and with strong compliance histories should receive automatic priority; otherwise Australia will “bury employers in red tape” while Canada, the UK and Singapore court the same talent.
The bill introduces three SID streams—Specialist Skills, Core Skills and Essential Skills—indexed salary floors (AUD 141,210; 76,515; and award-based minimums respectively) and a portable visa for lower-paid care and hospitality roles. However, BDO says operational guidance is still missing on how the Department of Home Affairs will vet high-earners, publish service-level data or police portability between employers.
For HR teams the uncertainty has tangible costs: global hires booked for January projects are already asking for alternative destinations; meanwhile, internal mobility teams face having to lodge 186 permanent-residency nominations in parallel as a hedge against SID processing delays.
Practical take-aways: (1) keep pre-lodgement check-lists tight—especially market-salary evidence—to avoid RFI cycles; (2) budget extra time for labour-market testing until DHS confirms a risk-based alternative; (3) review assignment letters to ensure salary packages meet the 1 July 2025 indexation that lifts the Core Skills threshold to AUD 76,515.
Writing on 30 October, Accounting Times cited BDO migration-services lead Rebecca Thomson, who warns that outdated labour-market-testing rules, week-long nomination queues and a lack of fast-track options for accredited sponsors threaten to stall the government’s promised ‘skilled-migration reset’. Thomson argues that employers able to pay above-market salaries and with strong compliance histories should receive automatic priority; otherwise Australia will “bury employers in red tape” while Canada, the UK and Singapore court the same talent.
The bill introduces three SID streams—Specialist Skills, Core Skills and Essential Skills—indexed salary floors (AUD 141,210; 76,515; and award-based minimums respectively) and a portable visa for lower-paid care and hospitality roles. However, BDO says operational guidance is still missing on how the Department of Home Affairs will vet high-earners, publish service-level data or police portability between employers.
For HR teams the uncertainty has tangible costs: global hires booked for January projects are already asking for alternative destinations; meanwhile, internal mobility teams face having to lodge 186 permanent-residency nominations in parallel as a hedge against SID processing delays.
Practical take-aways: (1) keep pre-lodgement check-lists tight—especially market-salary evidence—to avoid RFI cycles; (2) budget extra time for labour-market testing until DHS confirms a risk-based alternative; (3) review assignment letters to ensure salary packages meet the 1 July 2025 indexation that lifts the Core Skills threshold to AUD 76,515.
