Occupation Lists Updated for 2015-2016 Skilled Migration Programme
The occupation ceilings for the 2015-2016 Migration Programme have been released by the Department of Immigration & Border Protection (DIBP).
The occupational ceilings will apply to the Skilled Independent subclass 189 visa, and the Family Sponsored Skilled Regional (Provisional) subclass 489 visas.
Accountants & Auditors
There has been a significant change to the occupational ceilings for Accountants & Auditors with the most significant being the decrease of ANZSCO code 2211 ‘Accountants’ by 53.9%.
| ANZSCO Group | Description | Ceiling 2016 | Ceiling 2015 | Change | Percent | Invitations 2015 | % Filled |
| 2211 | Accountants | 2,525 | 5,478 | -2,953 | -53.9% | 5,478 | 100.0% |
| 2212 | Auditors, Company Secretaries and Corporate Treasurers | 1,000 | 1,188 | -188 | -15.8% | 1,039 | 87.5% |
| Total | Accounting & Auditing | 3,525 | 6,666 | -3,141 | -47.1% | 6,517 | 97.8% |
Nursing
Nursing has retained the highest occupation ceiling out of all the occupations however it has been reduced by a combined 8% across all three occupations.
| ANZSCO Group | Description | Ceiling 2016 | Ceiling 2015 | Change | Percent | Invitations 2015 | % Filled |
| 2541 | Midwives | 1,000 | 1,000 | 0 | 0.0% | 33 | 3.3% |
| 2544 | Registered Nurses | 13,872 | 15,042 | -1,170 | -7.8% | 2,811 | 18.7% |
| Total | Nursing | 14,872 | 16,042 | -1,170 | -7.3% | 2,844 | 17.7% |
IT Professionals
The occupation ceiling for ICT Business and Systems Analysts has been reduced by 5.2% however the occupation ceiling for Software and Applications Programmers has been increased by 7.2% and Computer Network Professionals occupation ceiling has increased by a considerable 11.1%.
| ANZSCO Group | Description | Ceiling 2016 | Ceiling 2015 | Change | Percent | Invitations 2015 | % Filled |
| 2611 | ICT Business and Systems Analysts | 1,536 | 1,620 | -84 | -5.2% | 1,620 | 100.0% |
| 2613 | Software and Applications Programmers | 5,364 | 5,005 | 359 | 7.2% | 5,005 | 100.0% |
| 2631 | Computer Network Professionals | 1,986 | 1,788 | 198 | 11.1% | 1,580 | 88.4% |
| Total | IT Professionals | 8,886 | 8,413 | 473 | 5.6% | 8,205 | 97.5% |
Engineers
The occupational ceiling for Engineering Managers has had the largest decrease, being 29% the majority of the occupations have only slightly been reduced or largely unchanged.
In the 2014 – 2015 Migration Programme none of the Engineering occupations reached full capacity so it is likely the changes will not have an impact on the overall applications for these occupations.
| ANZSCO Group | Description | Ceiling 2016 | Ceiling 2015 | Change | Percent | Invitations 2015 | % Filled |
| 1332 | Engineering Managers | 1,014 | 1,428 | -414 | -29.0% | 43 | 3.0% |
| 2331 | Chemical and Materials Engineers | 1,000 | 1,000 | 0 | 0.0% | 381 | 38.1% |
| 2332 | Civil Engineering Professionals | 2,970 | 2,850 | 120 | 4.2% | 1,112 | 39.0% |
| 2333 | Electrical Engineers | 1,230 | 1,332 | -102 | -7.7% | 433 | 32.5% |
| 2334 | Electronics Engineers | 1,000 | 1,000 | 0 | 0.0% | 577 | 57.7% |
| 2335 | Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers | 1,788 | 1,680 | 108 | 6.4% | 1,412 | 84.0% |
| 2336 | Mining Engineers | 1,000 | 1,000 | 0 | 0.0% | 152 | 15.2% |
| 2339 | Other Engineering Professionals | 1,000 | 1,000 | 0 | 0.0% | 881 | 88.1% |
| 2633 | Telecommunications Engineering Professionals | 1,000 | 1,000 | 0 | 0.0% | 477 | 47.7% |
| 3122 | Civil Engineering Draftspersons and Technicians | 1,000 | 1,000 | 0 | 0.0% | 81 | 8.1% |
| 3123 | Electrical Engineering Draftspersons and Technicians | 1,000 | 1,000 | 0 | 0.0% | 41 | 4.1% |
| Total | Engineering | 14,002 | 14,290 | -288 | -2.0% | 5,590 | 39.1% |