The changes to Australia's skilled migration programme announced this week will ensure that "it operates as a demand rather than a supply driven system that delivers the skills most needed in the economy," Immigration Minister Senator Chris Evans said in a statement.

He said foreign students in Australia who hold a vocational, higher education or post-graduate student visa would be able to apply for permanent residence if their occupation was on the new Skilled Occupations List (SOL).

"The new SOL, to be developed by Skills Australia, will be tightly focused on high value skills that will assist in addressing Australia's future skills needs. It will deliver a mix of skills across the professions and trades in areas such as healthcare, engineering and mining. The SOL will be available in April and will be reviewed annually," said Evans.

He said students taking up a course in an occupation that was not on the new SOL would have until the end of 2012 to apply for a temporary skilled graduate visa which would enable them to spend up to 18 months in Australia to acquire work experience and find an Australian employer willing to sponsor them on completion of their course.

"It must be remembered that a student visa is just that: a visa to study. It does not give someone an automatic entitlement to permanent residence," said Evans.

"International students should be focused on obtaining a good qualification from a quality education provider in a field in which they want to work.

"Similarly, Australia's migration programme is not and should not be determined by the courses studied by international students," he said.

Source: BERNAMA