As the world gradually recovers from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, many advanced economies, including Australia are facing labour shortages. Australia has released a list of skilled occupations, priority migration skilled occupation list (PMSOL). This is assessed by the Australian government and has been brought in for Australia’s economic recovery.
Jobs included in the PMSOL
The PMSOL was first announced in September 2020, but it was a temporary list and subject to change. This is because the Australian government assesses the impact of Covid-19 on the Australian labour market, which demands skill changes.
There are a total of 44 occupations on the PMSOL as of now, and they are: Chief Executive or Managing Director, Construction Project Manager, Accountant (General), Management Accountant, Taxation Accountant, External Auditor, Internal Auditor, Surveyor, Cartographer, Other Spatial Scientist, Civil Engineer, Geotechnical Engineer, Structural Engineer, Transport Engineer, Electrical Engineer, Mechanical Engineer, Mining Engineer (excluding Petroleum), Petroleum Engineer, Medical Laboratory Scientist, Veterinarian, Orthotist or Prosthetist, General Practitioner, Resident Medical Officer, Psychiatrist, Medical Practitioners (NEC), Midwife, Registered Nurse (Aged Care), Registered Nurse (Critical Care and Emergency), Registered Nurse (Medical), Registered Nurse (Mental Health), Registered Nurse (Perioperative), Registered Nurses (NEC), Multimedia Specialist, Analyst Programmer, Developer Programmer, Software Engineer, Software and Applications Programmers (NEC), ICT Security Specialist, Social Worker, Maintenance Planner, Chef.
The Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs Alex Hawke on June 27, 2021, included 3 more occupations to the PMSOL: Hospital Pharmacist, Industrial Pharmacist and Retail Pharmacist.
Visa applicants with an occupation on the PMSOL list are given priority processing if it is:
Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa
Skilled Employer-Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa
Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) visa
Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) visa
If you fall under any of the above visa subclasses, you will be granted an exemption to travel to Australia. You can apply for this exemption either by yourself or your employer can do it for you.
Once after getting a valid visa falling under PMSOL, you can go ahead with it. But you should go through the mandatory 14-day quarantine period and still be at the traveller or sponsor’s expense.
You can go through the website (https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/employing-and-sponsoring-someone/sponsoring-workers/pmsol) of the Department of Home Affairs to know more about the PMSOL.
