Australia has four skills shortage lists. These lists contain all the occupations in Australia that is in need of overseas talent because there is a shortage of skilled and qualified workers in the country.
- Medium and Long-Term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL)
- Short-Term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL)
- Regional Occupational List (ROL)
- Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL)
And do you know what? Developer Programmers are on the Medium and Long-Term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL)!
This means the Australian government is happy with Australian companies hiring developer programmers from overseas, albeit subject to strict requirements.
Please note: Australia has also created a temporary skilled occupation list in response to COVID-19 called the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL).
Your occupation appearing on a skills shortage list is only the start! You also have to meet Australia's skilled immigration requirements as you want to apply for a skilled migrant visa.
We take you through these requirements below:
Emigrating to Australia as a developer programmer will only be possible if you achieve a points score of at least 65 in your immigration assessment.
Please note: You may also know this occupation as Applications Developer, ICT Developer, or ICT Programmer.
In order to immigrate to Australia, you must score an IELTS 7 in all four components of your test - reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
The IELTS is not the only English test available though. Your immigration agent should advise you on which English language test would be best for you.
More information on English tests:
All applicants for permanent and provisional visas must meet Australia’s health requirements to qualify for immigration. This includes the:
- Main applicant;
- Spouse; and
- Any other members of the family unit.
The Department of Home Affairs or the migration medical services provider will evaluate the completed health exam reports to decide if applicants meet Australia’s health requirements.
Please note: In certain cases, non-migrating family members will also be assessed against the health requirements.
Everyone who wants to enter Australia must be of good character and will be assessed against Australia's character requirements. As part of your visa application, you might be required to provide a police clearance certificate or other evidence to satisfy the character requirements.
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You will not pass the character test if:
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you have a substantial criminal record, meaning you have been sentenced to 12 months or more in prison, or multiple sentences that add up to more than 12 months in prison. A suspended sentence is considered a prison sentence.
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you have been convicted of escaping from immigration detention, or convicted for an offence that you committed:
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while you were in immigration detention,
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during an escape from immigration detention,
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after an escape, but before you were taken into immigration detention again.
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You are or have been a member of a group or organisation, or had or have an association with a person, group or organisation that the Minister for Immigration reasonably suspects of involvement in criminal conduct
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The Minister for Immigration reasonably suspects that you have been involved in people smuggling, people trafficking, genocide, a war crime, a crime against humanity, a crime involving torture or slavery, or a crime that is of serious international concern, whether or not you have been convicted of such an offence
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Your past and present criminal or general conduct shows that you are not of good character
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There is a risk that while you are in Australia you would:
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engage in criminal conduct,
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harass, molest, intimidate or stalk another person,
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vilify a segment of the Australian community,
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incite discord in the Australian community or in a part of it,
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be a danger to the Australian community or a part of it.
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You have been convicted of, or found guilty or had a charge proven for one or more sexually based offences involving a child,
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You are subject to an adverse security assessment by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
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You are subject to an Interpol notice, from which it is reasonable to infer that you a direct or indirect risk to the Australian community, or a segment of the Australian community.
PART 1 – Age
Points
18 – 25 25
25 – 32 30
32 – 39 25
40 – 44 15
45 – 49 0
Developer programmers can get as much as 50% of the required 65 points just by being in the right age group!
| Points | |
|---|---|
| Superior English - IELTS 8 or more in all 4 components or OET ‘A pass’ | 20 |
| Proficient English - IELTS 7 or more in all 4 components or OET ‘B pass’ | 10 |
| Threshold English: Competent English (IELTS 6 or more in all 4 components or certain passport holders) | 0 |
PART 3 – Overseas employment experience
| Points | |
|---|---|
| 36 months (3 years) in the last 10 years | 5 |
| 60 months (5 years) in the last 10 years | 10 |
| 96 months (8 years) in the last 10 years | 15 |
'Overseas' means experience you gained while working outside of Australia. This experience must add up to at least three years of working in your occupation as a developer programmer.
PART 4 – Australian employment experience
Points are available if an applicant has worked in Australia in their nominated occupation or closely related skilled occupation as follows:
| Points | |
|---|---|
| 1 Year | 5 |
| 3 Years | 10 |
| 5 Years | 15 |
| 8 Years | 20 |
Please note: You can get a maximum of 20 points for a combination of Australian and overseas work experience.
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PART 5 – Australian professional year
You get five points if you've completed a professional year in Australia in your nominated occupation or a closely related occupation.
PART 6 – Educational qualifications
You get points if you have completed qualifications either through an Australian educational institution or an overseas qualification that is of a recognised standard:
| Points | |
|---|---|
| Doctorate (PhD) – Australian institution or recognised overseas institution | 20 |
| Bachelor degree or higher – Australian institution or recognised overseas institution | 15 |
| Diploma – Australian institution | 10 |
| Trade certificate – Australian institution | 10 |
| Qualification or award recognised by the relevant assessing authority for the applicant’s nominated occupation | 10 |
You'll only get points for your highest single qualification. It is not possible to claim points for more than one qualification under this part.
PART 7 – Australian study
You can get five points if you meet the two-year Australian study requirement.
PART 8 – Credentialed community language
NAATI-accredited translators and interpreters at the paraprofessional (level 2) or higher are eligible for five points. A list of languages is not specified, so by implication any language assessed by NAATI at the paraprofessional level or higher should be acceptable.
PART 9 – Study in a regional or low-population growth metropolitan area of Australia
Criteria are:
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Applicant meets the 2-year Australian study requirement;
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Studies were conducted at a campus in regional Australia or a low-population growth metropolitan area;
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Applicant lived in in regional Australia or a low-population growth metropolitan area during the study;
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None of the studies was via distance education.
The relevant regional areas are all parts of Australia, excluding: greater Brisbane area, the Gold Coast, Newcastle, the Central Coast, Sydney, Wollongong, Melbourne metropolitan area, Perth and surrounding areas and the Australian Capital Territory.
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PART 10 – Partner skill
Applicant’s spouse or de facto partner:
| Points | |
|---|---|
| The partner obtains competent English or holds a valid passport from the UK, Canada, USA, Ireland etc. | 5 |
| The partner is under the age of 45, an applicant for the same General Skilled Migration visa subclass, obtains a positive skills assessment, is not an Australian PR resident or citizen, and has a minimum of competent English or higher | 10 |
| The partner is an Australian or PR holder | 10 |
| You are single | 10 |
PART 11 – State or Territory nomination
One way of gaining extra points as a developer programmer seeking to emigrate to Australia is to look at state or territory nomination. While this commits you to living in a certain state for or territory for two years, it could mean that you earn vital points.
You're applying for the 190 visa:
To gain five additional points when applying for the 190 visa, you must meet these requirements:
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You've been invited to apply for the visa by a State or Territory government; and
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The nomination has not been withdrawn by the State or Territory government.
If you are able to look at the 491 visa option, the following factors apply in order to gain 15 additional points.
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The applicant has been invited to apply for the visa by a State or Territory government; and
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The nomination has not been withdrawn by the State or Territory government.
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The applicant has been sponsored by a relative usually resident in a designated area; and
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The sponsorship has been accepted by the Minister.
Want to know if you can emigrate to Australia as a developer programmer?
ANZSCO stands for 'Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations'.
It’s a system within the skilled migration program that sets the standards for the skills and work experience that visa applicants must meet to work in specific occupation in Australia or New Zealand.
Further to this, ANZSCO sets out the tasks that visa applicants must be able to perform as part of their everyday duties.
In other words, ANZSCO determines the most important requirements you must meet in order to qualify to apply for a skilled migrant visa.
Let's look at the ANZSCO requirements for your occupation in detail:
The ANZSCO code assigned to develop programmers is 261312. This code gives us more details about the criteria you have to meet in order to qualify to immigrate to Australia.
The first thing we look at is the group that developer programmers fall under:
Major Group: 2 - Professionals | Sub-Major Group: 26 - ICT Professionals | Minor Group: 261 – Business and Systems Analysts, and Programmers | Unit Group: 2613 – Software and Applications Programmers
As you can see there are four groups showing how the code is made up – we are mostly interested in the code (261312) which is specific to developer programmers.
Please note: You may also know this occupation as Applications Developer, ICT Developer, or ICT Programmer.
This part of the ANZSCO criteria lays out a broad description of what a developer programmer is supposed to be able to do:
Interprets specifications, technical designs and flow charts, builds, maintains and modifies the code for software applications, constructs technical specifications, including cyber security, from a business functional model, and tests and writes technical documentation.
Developer programmers is at a Skill Level 1, which means you must have a level of skill comparable with a bachelor degree or higher qualification. In the absence of a formal qualification, at least five years of relevant experience may act as a substitute.
In some instances relevant experience and/or on-the-job training may be required in addition to the formal qualification.
As a developer programmer applying for a skilled migrant visa, you're expected to be able to perform the tasks below:
- Researching, consulting, analysing and evaluating system program needs
- Identifying technology limitations and deficiencies in existing systems and associated processes, procedures and methods
- Testing, debugging, diagnosing and correcting errors and faults in an applications programming language within established testing protocols, guidelines and quality standards to ensure programs and applications including technical security controls perform to specification
- Writing and maintaining program code to meet system requirements, system designs and technical specifications in accordance with quality accredited standards
- Writing, updating and maintaining technical program, end user documentation and operational procedures
- Providing advice, guidance and expertise in developing proposals and strategies for software design activities such as financial evaluation and costings for recommending software purchases and upgrades
- Managing testing and automation of software and application deployments
- Collecting and analysing operational metrics
- Developing continuous improvement and continuous delivery strategies across system design and software development
- The creation and development of the tools required to support software and its management and security
performing forensic analysis to identify anomalies or threats - Encryption and decryption
- Identification and mitigation of risks that may affect the performance and security throughout the lifecycle of the product.
Many people mistakenly think that finding a job is the first step when immigrating.
In fact, the first step should always be an immigration assessment to see if you have the necessary skills, qualifications and experience to live and work in Australia.
Why do we say this?
Firstly, even if you find a job, you'll only be able to work in Australia if you have a work visa. You thus have to know if you qualify for skilled migration, or any other type of visa category that allows you to work in Australia, before you start to look for a job.
Secondly, job hunting with the confirmation that you do qualify for a work visa means you can job hunt with confidence. It's not only the confidence of job hunting while already knowing that you do qualify to live and work in Australia. It's also that employers are much more likely to extend job offers to overseas candidates who they know are eligible to work in Australia.
The golden rule? Do an assessment, then find a job.
The Australian Computer Society (ACS) is the professional association for Australia's technology sector, and the authorised assessing authority that undertakes skill assessments for the purposes of skilled migration.
ACS represent IT professionals across industry, government, and education, and its key aim is to grow Australia's digital skills and capacity.
ACS accepts applicants that can demonstrate qualifications & experience within a broad definition of ICT.
All applicants will need to provide evidence of their educational qualification and employment, along with evidence of their identity as part of the application.
The following application options are available for migration purposes:
Pathway 1: Temporary Graduate (TG)
The Temporary Graduate pathway is for graduates that have completed an Australian Bachelor degree or higher. This is a qualification only skills assessment and can only be used to apply for a subclass 485 visa.
- Only nominated occupations which appear on the subclass 485 Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL) are applicable to a Temporary Graduate pathway.
- You will be required to have completed an Australian bachelor’s degree or higher at an educational institution in Australia with a major in ICT which is closely related to the nominated occupation (ANZSCO) to meet the suitability criteria.
Pathway 2: Post Australian Study (PAS)
The Post Australian Study pathway is for graduates that have completed an Australian Bachelor degree or higher and would like a skill assessment for migration purposes in general. Relevant ICT employment or completion of an ACS Professional Year program is required.
- You will require an Australian Bachelor’s degree or higher with a major in ICT which is closely related to the nominated occupation (ANZSCO) plus one of the following requirements for a suitable skills assessment:
- 1 year of relevant work experience completed after the completion date of the relevant Australian degree, or
- Completion of an ACS Professional Year Program.
Pathway 3: General Skills Assessment
General skills assessment is suitable for applicants with tertiary ICT qualifications and ICT employment.
1. Bachelor degree or higher
- ICT Major closely related to your nominated occupation: You will require 2 years relevant work experience completed within the past 10 years or 4 years relevant work experience completed anytime in your past work history (whichever provides the earliest skill date) to meet the suitability criteria.
- ICT Major NOT closely related to your nominated occupation: You will require 4 years relevant work experience completed anytime in your past work history to meet the suitability criteria.
- ICT Minor closely related to your nominated occupation: You will require 5 years relevant work experience completed in the past 10 years or 6 years relevant work experience completed anytime in your past work history (whichever provides the earliest skill date) to meet the suitability criteria.
- ICT Minor NOT closely related to your nominated occupation: You will require 6 years relevant work experience completed anytime in your past work history to meet the suitability criteria.
2. Diploma Advanced / Diploma Associate Degree
- ICT Major closely related to your nominated occupation: You will require 5 years relevant work experience completed within the past 10 years or 6 years relevant work experience completed anytime in your past work history (whichever provides the earliest skill date) to meet the suitability criteria.
- ICT Major NOT closely related to your nominated occupation: You will require 6 years relevant work experience completed anytime in your past work history to meet the suitability criteria.
Pathway 4: Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
The RPL application pathway is for applicants who hold tertiary qualifications with insufficient or no ICT content, or applicants who do not hold any recognised tertiary qualifications.
- If your qualification is assessed as AQF Diploma or higher and with insufficient ICT content, you will require 6 years relevant work experience completed anytime in your past work history, plus a suitable Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) application to meet the suitability criteria.
- If you have no recognised tertiary educational qualification you will require 8 years relevant work experience plus a suitable Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) application to meet the suitability criteria.
You are required to demonstrate how you acquired your ICT knowledge and submit 2 Project Reports within an RPL application.
Our recommendation is to do an immigration assessment before you do a skills assessment. Skills assessments are expensive! If you do a skills assessment but then don't qualify for a work visa, you would've wasted a lot of money.
Most people assume that there is one way to emigrate. This is not entirely correct. The general process is the same, yes, but the individual parts differ from one person to the next.
Let us explain:
You might have to do an English test because it's not your first language and you don't meet the exemption criteria. Your neighbour, however, may meet the exemption criteria and thus won't have to do an English test.
Here's another example - you might want to immigrate with your family while your colleague is immigrating on their own or only with a partner. Again, your immigration journeys are going to be different.
The secret to getting it right? Getting a tailored immigration plan from a licensed advisor to know which steps to take and when to do so. This approach maximizes your chances of success and reduces unnecessary costs.
How do you do this? By completing an immigration assessment that assess your education, skills, experience, and unique situation against the immigration criteria set out by Australia.
We have a team of licensed immigration advisors supported by an experienced administrator.
Our licensed advisors:
- assess your eligibility,
- discuss your visa options with you,
- explain the immigration process to you,
- put together a tailored immigration plan for you and any family members,
- and guide and assist you throughout your visa application.
Our administrator:
- works with you to compile all the necessary documents at the right time,
- and acts as extra support during your immigration.
The first step is a consultation call with one of our licensed advisors. Upon booking your call, you'll get a short questionnaire to complete. The information you submit will enable our advisor to assess your eligibility to immigrate to Australia.
Once your assessment is done, our advisor will contact you to discuss your visa options and the best way forward. You'll also learn more about the immigration process and find out what costs are involved.
The outcome of the call?
- You'll know if you qualify to live and work in Australia.
- You'll know what visa you qualify for.
- And you'll know exactly what to expect from the road ahead.
Ready to get started with your immigration? Click below to book your consultation call.