The following residents of the ACT draw to the attention of the Assembly that, on 1 July 2017, the ACT Government widened its criteria for nomination for a 190 (skilled nominated) visa. It then advertised these changes, encouraging migrants to move to the ACT and complete a Certificate III or higher to qualify for this nomination.
This resulted in a large number of interstate international students who trusted the ACT Government’s implied offer of nomination for a 190 visa under the new criteria and therefore relocated to Canberra.
By April 2018, the Government knew it couldn’t meet the demand it had helped create for territory-sponsored visas.
The ACT Government nonetheless continued to promote its Skilled Migration program, encouraging international students to move to Canberra in order to qualify for sponsorship. As late as 13 June 2018, the Government told migration agents that there would be no changes to the application and assessment processes.
The ACT Government then abruptly closed the program to most applicants on 29 June, dashing the legitimate expectations of thousands of international students who had chosen to relocate to Canberra.
Your petitioners, therefore, request the Assembly to call upon the ACT Government to honour its implicit promise to international students who were enrolled in an ACT educational institution on or before 29 June 2018, the day of the program closure, allowing these individuals to apply for ACT nomination for a 190 visa under the policy in place before 29 June.