The Government will further evaluate how to develop an Essential Skills Pathway—a more regulated pathway for lower-paid workers with essential skills.
This pathway targets workers in crucial care roles, such as aged care and childcare, who are currently paid less than $70,000 per year. This pathway will offer a simplified application process and faster processing times, recognising the vital role these workers play in Australian society.
- Focuses on lower-paid but critical occupations in sectors like aged care.
- Still under development with planned union oversight.
- Anticipated to have a cap and restrictions to ensure quality employment conditions.
Your Pathway to Australia’s Future
The Australian Dream Within Reach
Do you dream of living and working in Australia permanently? Take the first step towards a brighter future down under!
Comparative Analysis of the Pathways
| Pathway | Minimum Annual Earnings | Occupation List | Processing Time | Priority Focus | Notable Features |
| Specialist Skills | $135,000+ | No Restrictions | 7 days | High-earning professionals | Fast-tracked, limited spots |
| Core Skills | $70,000+ | Core Skills List | Standard | In-demand occupations | Open to trades, pathway to PR |
| Essential Skills | Under $70,000 | Sector-Specific | Standard | Critical sectors | Stricter regulations, capped numbers |
The Government is primarily considering the pathway in the context of the care and support economy, which has become essential to Australians' quality of life. In doing so, the Government will maintain the primacy of our relationships with the Pacific as a guiding principle.
The Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement and the pathways for aged care workers through the PALM scheme will provide strong lessons for the Government.
This pathway would be distinct from the Core Skills Pathway and the Specialist Skills Pathway. These arrangements would be sector-specific, capped, embedded with stronger regulation and minimum standards and subject to further advice from Jobs and Skills Australia and its tripartite mechanisms. With this approach and these principles in mind, and acknowledging that there will always be a role in the system for labour agreements, the Government will evaluate existing labour agreements for below-TSMIT migration and will rewrite guidelines for future labour agreements to provide stronger worker protections. The Government will further consider how best to enshrine these guidelines in legislation.
Within sectors, the distinction between the Core Skills Pathway and Essential Skills Pathway could be defined by occupation and pay. For example, in the care and support economy, Aged and Disabled Carers would have access via the Essential Skills Pathway.