Yesterday the Australian Government released a new Core Skills Occupation List (COSL) which it says is designed to “attract skilled migrants who will make a significant contribution to the Australian economy, including in the housing sector”.
The CSOL is based on labour market analysis and stakeholder consultation undertaken by Jobs and Skills Australia. More than 450 occupations are included in the single consolidated list including in the construction, agriculture, cyber security, and health sectors.
In an irony that will not be lost on the international education sector, occupations in the education sector that will be directly impacted by the Government’s desire to reduce the number of international student enrolments in Australia are also listed. These include, Faculty Head, University Lecturer, and Vocational Education Teacher.
The list contains other occupations that will also raise eyebrows for the sector, including aeroplane and helicopter pilots. (For those not following the debate about indicative caps that would have been introduced if the Education Services for Overseas Students Amendment (Quality and Integrity) Bill 2024 had passed Parliament, a number of flight training providers had been allocated ridiculously small, single digit, indicative caps.)
Given the Government’s sensitivities about migration numbers pre-election, the second sentence of the media release from the Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, Tony Burke, says “The new CSOL will fill positions where no Australian workers are available”,
The CSOL will apply to the Core Skills stream of the new Skills in Demand visa, which will replace the Temporary Skill Shortage (subclass 482) visa on 7 December 2024. The CSOL will also apply to the Direct Entry stream of the permanent Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) visa.
The list can be found on the Department of Home Affairs website here.
