Perth and Gold Coast set to be classified as Regional Centers in bid to attract more International Students and Skilled Workers
Perth and Gold Coast are set to be classified as regional centers as of the 16th of November 2019.
This comes as the Australian government announced on the 26 of October that it would add these two locations in a bid to attract more international students and those looking to immigrate to the country.
Additionally these other areas will also be classified as regional centers:
Sunshine Coast, Lake Macquarie, Illawarra, Geelong, Newcastle, Wollongong, Adelaide, Hobart and Canberra.
Migration Definitions:
| Definition | Locations | Regional incentives |
| Major Cities | Sydney
Melbourne Brisbane
|
|
| Cities and major regional centres | Perth
Adelaide Gold Coast Sunshine Coast Canberra Newcastle/Lake Macquarie Wollongong/Illawarra Geelong Hobart
|
|
| Regional centres and other regional areas | All other locations
|
|
What this means for International Students
If you chose to or are currently studying a Bachelor degree or higher in Perth, Adelaide, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Canberra, Newcastle/Lake Macquarie, Wollongong, Illawarra, Geelong or Hobart, you will be eligible to receive an extra year in Australia with the Temporary Graduate Visa.
For those of you who plan to study or are currently studying a Bachelor degree or higher in another regional area, you will be eligible for an extra 2 years in Australia with the Temporary Graduate Visa.
Additionally, regional areas will have access to priority in negotiating region-specific Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMAs). However, this does not apply to the above listed regional centers.
You will also be eligible to receive an additional 5 points in the skilled visa points grid.
Vocational education and training (VET) graduates, who accomplish a Certificate III level or above qualification in Western Australia, will be included in the State Nomination Migration Program (SNMP) graduate stream.
TAFE colleges in Western Australia offer international students a wide choice of skills-focused courses in modern facilities. Many courses offer excellent pathways to university programs.
What this means for others
These new changes will impact businesses seeking workers and skilled workers considering to apply for one of the new regional visas, which are the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa Subclass 491 and the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional Provisional visa Subclass 494.
The Australian Government also announced another 2,000 seats for regional visa quota. Those applying for a regional visa also have the opportunity to give priority to their visa applications.
What to do now
Contact us today to find out how you can make the most of these changes.
We are an education agency and help international students to study in Australia. All our services for International Students are free. We also work with Australia registered immigration agents.
