Over fifty occupations may be removed from Australia’s Skilled Occupation List that identifies occupations for immigration to the country. The SOL is a compilation of occupations for skilled migration for the purpose of meeting the medium to long-term skill needs of the Australian economy.
The 52 occupations that have been flagged on the Skilled Occupation List 2016-17 include health professionals, including specialists, engineers, taxation accountants, barristers, solicitors etc.
The federal health department is pushing to scrap 41 jobs from SOL – including GPs, surgeons and anaesthetists, The Australian has reported.
“Immigration is often used as a short-term demand management strategy and it continues to be poorly co-ordinated,” a Health Department submission into the review of the Skilled Operations List reads.
“Over a longer planning horizon, better management of migration pathways for international health professionals must occur in combination with all commonwealth departments”.
The move would be counterbalanced by increasing numbers of local medical graduates who could fill vacancies, especially in regional areas.
The Department of Education and Training provides advice to the Minister of Immigration and Border Protection on the composition of the SOL.
The department undertakes the review of the SOL each year following which there are a number of occupations which are ‘flagged’ for possible removal in the future. Generally, occupations are flagged when there is emerging evidence of excess supply in the labour market.
The list of occupations flagged by the Department of Education and Training:
