According to the DIBP publication “2015–16 Migration Programme Report, Programme year to 30 June 2016”, the total permanent migration programme outcome for the 2015-16 migration programme year was 189,770 places.

Source: DIBP

Out of total permanent visa places, the Skill stream accounted for 67.7 per cent of the total 2015–16 migration programme outcome

At the major group level of the Australia New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO), the top three major occupation groups for primary visa grants in the Skill stream were Professionals (64.8 per cent), Technicians and Trades Workers (17.7 per cent) and Managers (9.9 per cent).

Within the Skill stream:

• the Employer Sponsored category had an outcome of 48,250 places which is 37.5 per cent of the 2015–16 Skill stream outcome. It comprised of:
  • ENS 186 visas: with 35,981 places (74.6 per cent)
  • RSMS 187 visas: 12,269 places (25.4 per cent)
• General Skilled Migration (GSM) had an outcome of 72,840 places. GSM comprised 56.7 per cent of the Skill stream outcome in 2015–16.
  • Within GSM, 85.1 per cent (31,061) of primary places granted had an occupation on the Skilled Occupation List (SOL); and
• outcome in the Business Innovation and Investment Programme and the Distinguished Talent categories were 7260 and 200 places respectively

Occupations of Primary applicants in the Skill stream:

The top 5 occupations in 2015-16 were Accountants, Software Engineers, Cooks, Registered Nurses and External Auditors. In 2010-2011, Accountant was the number one occupation with 14,596 visa places granted. However the numbers have reduced to just 3,640 places in 2015-16. The number of visa places for External Auditors were increased from 228 to 1,790 for the same period, while the number of visa places for Software Engineers was increased from 328 to 3,409 for the same period.

The number of Permanent visa grants for Software Engineers under all Skill Stream visas including Employer Sponsored and General Skilled category was only 326 in the 2010-11 financial year. This was increased to 3,409 in 2015-16. The number of visa grants for this occupation has increased by more than 10 times during the last 5 years.

Source: DIBP

The composition of the 457 programme

DIBP also published the “Subclass 457 Quarterly Report, quarter ending at 30 September 2016”, with the tables below outlining the composition of the 457 visa programme for 2016-17 in terms of applications granted as of 30 September 2016.

Primary 457 visas granted according to Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) occupational group - top three groups

Primary 457 visas granted - top three sponsor industries

Top 15 Nominated occupations for 457 primary applications granted in 2016-17 to 30 September 2016

The top three IT (ICT) occupations for 457 visa applications are ICT Business Analyst, Software Engineer and Analyst Programmer.

ACS requires a highly related Bachelor degree with four years of post-qualification work experience. If you have a degree which is not related to IT (ICT) or not have a degree at all, you will need to have a longer work experience.

• The nominated occupation for your employer sponsored visa may be different to what your existing work experience and qualifications can obtain through the ACS skills assessment.

• General Skilled Migration
  
  People in the IT (ICT) industry may move from one role to another when they change employers. If you were a Software Engineer for 2 years and then a Web Developer for 2 years, you may not have enough work experience for one occupation. This can only be determined by the Skills Assessment Authority.

• Post-visa-grant Obligations - Employer Sponsored visas including subclass 457, ENS 186 and RSMS 187 visas
  
  It has been observed that some employers may change the role of their 457 visa employees after the 457 visa was granted. This is in violation of the obligation that the 457 visa holder should only work in the occupation nominated for the visa. A non-compliance of the sponsorship obligation could lead to 457 Standard Business Sponsor Monitoring and Sanction. If the employer is sanctioned, no further sponsorship applications can be made for at least 12 months.

There are some IT (ICT) related occupations that are not assessed by ACS.

These are including:

232413 Multimedia Designer - VETASSESS
232414 Web Designer - VETASSESS
225211 ICT Account Manager - VETASSESS
225212 ICT Business Development Manager - VETASSESS
225213 ICT Sales Representative - VETASSESS
313111 Hardware Technician - TRA
313112 ICT Customer Support Officer - TRA
313199 ICT Support Technicians (nec) - TRA

VETASSESS requires a highly related Bachelor qualification with at least one year of post-qualification experience. If you have a degree which is not related to IT (ICT) or not have a degree at all, you will need to have a longer period of work experience.

TRA requires a trade qualification and at least three years of full time post-qualification work experience.

If your occupation is listed on both the SOL and CSOL, then you may be eligible for Employer Sponsored visas (457, ENS 186 and RSMS 187) and General Skilled Migration (GSM) options (189, 190 and 489).

If your occupation is listed only on the CSOL, then your visa options may be restricted to Employer Sponsored visas and some GSM visas such as the subclass 190 and 489 visas. Most Australian States and Territory Governments do not nominate all IT occupations on the CSOL and each have their own criteria for selection. The individual state and territory nomination requirements are normally much higher than what DIBP requires.

If your occupation is IT (ICT) related and is either on the Skilled Occupation List (SOL) or Consolidated Sponsored Occupation List (CSOL), you may have options for Australian Permanent Resident Visas or Temporary Resident Visas which can lead to Permanent Resident Visas.

The Skills Assessment Authority for most IT or ICT occupations is the Australian Computer Society (ACS). You can only have one active Skills Assessment application at any one time. However once your application is finalised, you can apply for another application with a different IT (ICT) occupation. This may apply to ICT professionals who work across different fields of the ICT industry. If the multiple applications were all positive you can keep all the occupation classifications.

The following 6 occupations are currently (March 2017) on the SOL:

261111 - ICT Business Analysts
261112 - Systems Analysts
261311 - Analyst Programmer
261312 - Developer Programmer
261313 - Software Engineer
263111 - Computer Network and Systems Engineer

The following 24 occupations are currently (March 2017) listed on the CSOL:

135111 - Chief Information Officer
135112 - ICT Project Manager
135199 - ICT Managers NEC
223211 - ICT Trainer
261111 - ICT Business Analysts
261112 - Systems Analysts
261211 - Multimedia Specialist
261212 - Web Developer
261311 - Analyst Programmer
261312 - Developer Programmer
261313 - Software Engineer
261314 - Software Tester
261399 - Software and Application Programmer
262111 - Database Administrator
262112 - ICT Security Specialist
262113 - Systems Administrator
263111 - Computer Network and Systems Engineer
263112 - Network Administrator
263113 - Network Analyst
263211 - ICT Quality Assurance Engineer
263212 - ICT Support Engineer
263213 - ICT Systems Test Engineer
263299 - ICT Support and Test Engineer NEC
313113 - Web Administrator

The team of Registered Migration Agents and Skills Assessment Specialists at Work Visa Lawyers can advise on the most suitable occupation to be nominated for your visa application.