Victoria keeps migrants up to date about delays in the SMPs.
The State Migration Plans have been put on hold ever since Labor called the Australian election in August, leading to confusion amongst migrants.
Back in July the state of Victoria announced that it would not release its SMPs until after the 1st of August. The SMPs were meant to be updated and released just after the new Skilled Occupation List was implemented in July.
The states have their own critical skills lists that can sometimes differ from the SOL and they use the occupations on their own lists to draw up a migration plan for interested migrants who want to emigrate to that State. However the plans must first be approved by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship before it can be made public.
The SMPs will have all been drafted, but the politics has taken over and the government is currently in caretaker mode. That means that decisions will not be made on the SMPs until the new government in sworn in.
Now the state of Victoria have released a statement saying that their SMP will not be released any earlier than October. No doubt other states will be following suit. So why would it take so long if a government will be sworn in during the next few weeks?
Well DIAC are not denying the rumours that Senator Chris Evans, Minister for Immigration, will be leaving his post regardless of which government gets in. That means that a new Minister will have to be found. And if the government have had to negotiate deals with independents sympathetic to migration, then immigration policies may have to be reviewed.
This means a long and frustrating wait for migrants who do not have occupations on the SOL and who are hoping to be able to emigrate to Australia with a State Migration Plan. There is nothing for it but to wait and hope.
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One Response to “State Migration Plans Delayed Again”
Comment by Susan Wareham McGrath — September 3, 2010 @ 10:57 pm
One reason that it will take so long for SMPs to be approved is that regardless of which party wins government, they will not be treated as a policy priority.
The Coalition has not divulged the detail of its immigration policy, so if it becomes our new govt, SMPs might not even proceed.
This delay doesn’t only affect people whose occupations are not on the SOL; it also affects those who do have occupations on the SOL, as they have to decide whether to lodge their applications now for Priority 3 processing, or wait until the SMPs come out and if they’re eligible obtain Priority 2 processing.
The whole situation really is a disgrace and makes DIAC’s motto “People our Business” a misnomer to say the least.