PAT Conaghan, the Member for Cowper, claims that the Federal Government has imposed red tape that results in nurses, disability support workers, teachers and doctors being unfairly prevented from accessing priority visa processing.

He has called on the Government to immediately reverse its decision to impose what he says is a ‘defacto regional processing penalty’ on skilled workers in priority sectors hoping to take up one of thousands of jobs that need to be filled in regional communities.

Mr Conaghan said thousands of critical workers are being unfairly denied prioritisation of visas because they want to live in regional areas.

He said by failing to recognise the ‘Skilled – Regional visa (subclass 887)’ in its prioritisation, the Government is effectively encouraging skilled workers to move exclusively to major cities.

According to Mr Conaghan, the issue stems from Immigration Minister Andrew Giles’ Ministerial Direction No. 100, which directed that ‘Visa applications in relation to a healthcare or teaching occupation’ would receive the top priority for processing.

However, Mr Conaghan claims Mr Giles’ direction did not account for applications for the Skilled – Regional visa (subclass 887), resulting in applications for the ‘Skilled – Regional visa’ being put at the bottom of the pile, even if the candidate wants to take up a critical role such a nurse, disability support worker or GP.

He said this has been confirmed in official correspondence from the Department of Immigration which states:

‘Please note that subclass 887 visa applications are not made in relation to a specific occupation and therefore fall within priority 5 – All other visa applications’.

The Home Affairs website indicated 90 percent of ‘Skilled – Regional visa (subclass 887)’ visas are being processed in 27 months and information released under FOI indicates there could be as many as 19,000 Skilled – Regional visas awaiting processing by the Department.

“I’m calling on the Albanese Government to immediately process these critical visas,” Mr Conaghan said.

“Access to health care and education continue to be two of the most crucial issues regional communities face, and the Mid North Coast is feeling this acutely.

“Our community deserves better than being relegated to the slow lane of visa processing.”

A spokesperson for the Home Affairs Department said that skilled migration visa applications are processed according to priorities set through Ministerial Directions and priority is accorded to applicants from outside Australia to encourage them to enter Australia and join the labour force.

According to the spokesperson, the Federal Government understands that many parts of regional Australia are experiencing labour shortages and skills gaps and is committed to supporting industries and employers in regional Australia to support ongoing economic growth.

The Department says it has finalised over four million temporary and migration applications, compared to slightly more than 788,000 in 2021-22.

The subclass 887 visa is the second stage of a two stage visa – it is only available to people who already hold an eligible provisional visa who are already working and living in regional Australia.

The spokesperson said that, while subclass 887 visa applicants already hold visas with work rights, either a provisional visa or a bridging visa that allows work, the Government is actively seeking to address this situation, to continue progress made on reducing visa backlogs.

By Andrew VIVIAN