Will Australia’s GTI program promote progress in future-focused industries?

Australia introduced the Global Talent Independent program (GTI) in November last year with an intention to bring the best talent from across the world, to the country. The GTI provides a streamlined and prioritized pathway for highly skilled and talented individuals from overseas to work and live permanently in Australia.

GTI is specifically designed for attracting skilled migrants to the top future-focused fields to Australia. Under the new program, highly skilled migrants in certain selected industries will get fast-tracked processing for their Australian permanent residency.

Who is eligible for Australia PR through GTI?

Individuals with work experience in any of the seven future-focused fields under the GTI

They must earn above $149,000 per annum in Australia

Must be highly skilled in any one of the 7 key industry sectors which include:

• Energy and Mining Technology
• Quantum Information, Advanced Digital, Data Science and ICT
• AgTech
• Cyber Security
• Space and Advanced Manufacturing
• MedTech
• FinTech

They will also be expected to meet the standard checks for security, character, and integrity.

What is the application process for the GTI program?

 GTI program can be accessed through a referral from either –

• A Global Talent Officer
• An individual or organization that has a national reputation in the same field as the candidate

Highly skilled professionals that are referred to the Department of Home Affairs might be invited to apply for a Distinguished Talent visa, that is, either subclass 124 or subclass 858.

Both subclass 124 and 858 are permanent visas for people that have a globally recognized record of exceptional and outstanding achievement in an eligible field.

The only difference between the two is that while for subclass 124 the applicant must “be outside Australia when this visa is granted”; for Subclass 858 the applicant must “be in Australia.

To search for appropriate talent that can be nominated for the GTI, the Australian government has deployed Global Talent Officers in different cities across the world including New Delhi in India.

Why was the GTI program launched?

The GTI program was launched with the intention to attract highly-skilled international workers in the specific industries mentioned above. These industries the government believes will drive the growth of the Australian economy in the future. The GTI is intended to fill the skill shortages the country is facing in this field.  The GTI program is designed to give access to highly skilled talent from across the world to local industries.

With this scheme, the government hopes to make the country a global technology hub and create high-paying local jobs.

The GTI was launched to replace the 457 scheme which was scrapped in 2017 where low-cost foreign workers were hired over local professionals. The GTI scheme will however not have such risks because Australian employers applying for the scheme must provide evidence of a first-year income above the AUD 148,700 threshold.

Under the scheme, 5000 visas were made available for 2019-2020. The 5000 visas were included in the country’s permanent migration program.

Whether the GTI scheme will achieve what it sets out to do will be evident after a few years. Till then, businesses will have to make the best use of this opportunity to hire the best and brightest to work in Australia.