Skilled Migrants

In reply to the Hon. M.C. PARNELL (12 April 2017).

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Employment, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Science and Information Economy): The Minister for Investment and Trade has advised:

1. The State Nominated Occupation List is prepared and maintained annually by the Department of State Development. It is published annually in July following modelling, analysis and industry consultation.

The document is date stamped as current for the date it is downloaded. The availability indicators also update in real time as applicants apply for state nomination, to reflect the remaining availability of state nomination places. These availability indicators should not be interpreted as the volume of positions unfilled in the labour market.

2. The Department of State Development monitors publicly available vacancy data from the Federal Department of Employment.

The department also purchases data from SEEK Limited in order to gauge current industry demand for workers and skills. In future, both the Federal Department of Employment and the Department of State Development are looking at incorporating more real-time data to inform occupation lists, so that this can be responsive to changes in the employment market.

3. There are a range of activities that take place, both surveying and dedicated employment support services.

Immigration SA's Specialist Migrant Services provides a suite of employment related services relevant to skilled migrants. Feedback is regularly received from clients thanking the government for providing a valuable service, which has been directly attributed to helping migrants obtain skilled employment in a competitive market.

Clients are surveyed to ascertain their progress, including whether they have gained skilled employment and to facilitate their access to further services dependent on their need

At the state level, there are two forms of surveys across the state nominated cohort. Major surveys of skilled migrants were conducted in 2010 and 2015 and a short ongoing survey is sent to state nominated migrants at three months, six months, 12 months, 18 months and 24 months post-arrival.

At a national level, the Australian Government's Continuous Survey of Australia's migrants, covers both family and skilled migrant outcomes.