The impact of the NSW 491 visa on regional skilled migrants and the skills shortage crisis

Recently published details of eligibility for a key visa attracting workers to the regions has left many job seekers feeling helpless and businesses confused.

Ali Hamza moved to Wagga Wagga in NSW's Riverina in December 2021 in the hopes of finding full-time work and applying for the Skilled Work Regional visa (subclass 491) but until last month didn't know he was currently ineligible.

"The government has changed how to be permanent here," Mr Hamza said.

The state body in charge said what many have perceived as an unfair change for the financial year is simply a higher degree of transparency for the minimal nominations allocated by the federal government.

As an alternative to employer sponsorship, the visa scheme is considered by many to be highly complicated and is reportedly often misunderstood.

Born in Pakistan, Mr Hamza studied for his bachelor in mechanical engineering and masters in engineering management at Central Queensland University's Melbourne campus.

The 28-year-old currently works as a casual employee for Woolworths stacking shelves since struggling to find full-time employment in his field over the last 10 months.

"I have to do something," he said.

"That's why you see a lot of guys doing Uber here, doing taxis here.

"We're not getting equal opportunity - we're not here to drive Ubers."

Like many other skilled migrants, Mr Hamza chose Wagga for a specific reason.

"If you want to be a permanent resident, you have to go to a regional area - you'll get more points," he said.

Before applying for the 491 visa, applicants must meet a certain level of eligibility based on a points system.

The minimum required points set by the federal Home Affairs office is 65 for all professions, which are accumulated through criteria like age, education, a skills assessment, a language test and work experience.

Mr Hamza also requires one year of full time work experience in his chosen field, which he is struggling to find despite months of job applications - often told he lacks "local experience".

He is currently on 85 points, which allowed him to unsuccessfully apply for nomination earlier this year, but is well shy of the 110 he now knows he needs as a mechanical engineer in the state.

That number was officially published by Investment NSW in early September after being previously unknown.

Mr Hamza said he counted 10 migrants he knew living in Wagga who decided to leave within a week of the points minimums being officially released, hoping for better luck in other states.

Wagga migration lawyer Julie Briggs said the published numbers for NSW were a surprise to those in the industry.

"In the skills shortage environment that we are in at the moment, which is acute in this region across so many occupations - I do not understand why the NSW government has decided to exclude people who reach the minimum number of points the federal government requires," Ms Briggs said.

Ms Briggs said the 110 points required by Mr Hamza and other applicants in professions like web development and electronics engineering were "virtually impossible to get".

"I've never seen 110 and I have been a migration lawyer since 2008," she said.

Until the published numbers, the Briggs Law principal said the understanding was applicants with the highest points totals were selected for nomination.

"What the NSW government is doing now is saying if you don't have 90 points and you're a nurse, don't bother applying," she said.

One of Ms Briggs' local clients, a migrant nurse, can no longer reach the necessary total because her age bracket affords her zero points.

"What are we short of in the state? Nurses," Ms Briggs said.

"But this woman cannot apply for a 491 visa or a 190, which is the state sponsored visa, despite the fact she's a highly qualified nurse that's been working here for over three years."

Not just a difficult task for those seeking work, Ms Briggs said NSW businesses are also confused by the "really complicated" visa pathway.

"Most business people truly struggle to understand the many hurdles that need to be jumped in order to employ someone," she said.

NSW only has 12,000 491 and 190 visa allocations for the 2022/23 financial year as allowed by Home Affairs, with over 45,000 people at any one time hoping for a nomination.

An Investment NSW spokesperson said the minimum points system was made publicly available for the first time last month.

"These are not new requirements but have for the first time been published to provide greater transparency about the minimum requirements needed to be considered for nomination by NSW," they said.

"The NSW government has been advocating to the federal government on immediate initiatives to help alleviate skills shortages."

Those initiatives include a more significant intake of skilled migrants and greater state and territory input into the migration program.

Ms Briggs said her advice to clients had always been to aim higher than the minimum 65 points, with 80 or 85 being a reasonable target.

"But I would never have thought to say to somebody you're going to need 100," she said.

Advice from the NSW government through Regional Development Australia recommends that people seeking nominations explore all migration pathways available due to the high demand.

Indian-born Abdul Aziz has been in Wagga for nearly a year since completing a bachelor in mechanical engineering and masters in project management at Sydney's Asia Pacific International College.

Mr Aziz has worked at a local petrol station for the past few months while looking to apply for a 491 visa.

The process has been difficult, with the skilled migrant applying for well over 100 jobs since moving to the region.

"I hope I'll one day get a job in my occupation," Mr Aziz said.

"I'm still trying."

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But the clock is ticking with only five months left on Mr Aziz's Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485), which gives university graduates two years of residency and TAFE graduates 18 months.

"That's the reason so many people are migrating to different states," he said.

And that's where migration lawyer Julie Briggs said a common mismatch exists.

"A lot of employers are somewhat reticent to employ somebody on one of those visas," she said.

"Because a) they don't really understand it and b) they want somebody for longer than 18 months."

For graduates requiring one, two or three years of full time experience in their field, the period of time afforded by the graduate visa makes the task difficult.

Mohammed Jafar has one semester left before completing his masters in technology management, after which he can move onto a graduate visa and eventually hope for a 491.

But unlike Mr Hamza and Mr Aziz, the 33-year-old Bangladeshi is working in a job close to his field.

Mr Jafar found employment at Riverina Oils as a control officer two months ago through a recruitment agency but is yet to secure a necessary full time contract.

"Because I'm on a student visa, they're hesitant to give me a job," Mr Jafar said.

There's no guarantee that will change on a graduate visa.

Business NSW Regional Manager for Riverina-Murray Anthony McFarlane said the government needs to keep in mind what skill sets regions most need when allocating visas.

"The important thing is you don't want to have a mismatch in terms of what we need versus what we're getting," Mr McFarlane said.

That means prioritising those already in the regions who have the skills and may even have the experience, he said.

"It makes complete sense from a business point of view to keep someone that's already here rather than bring in someone new," Mr McFarlane said.

Wagga MP Joe McGirr said recent developments around the "pretty complicated issue" are a cause for some concern.

"There seems to be confusion about what happens to people who are already here and they are concerned that they won't meet this new system," Dr McGirr said.

"They're already working - why would we risk losing them by having them apply through a system versus people who are still yet to come in the country?"

Riverina Oils people and culture coordinator Kira Walker said several of its visa holding employees are facing difficulties with obtaining and retaining their visas "due to recent changes around eligibility".

"As a result, some of our current employees are evaluating alternative options such as resettling interstate where the visa requirements are not as restricted," Ms Walker said.

Despite their struggles with finding full time employment, the three skilled migrants said they were mostly still happy they had come to Australia and to Wagga.

"If you get a job, it's good to live here," Mr Hamza said.

Mr Jafar said his experience so far had been a "roller coaster".

"But I love it over here and the work rights are far better," he said.