The Northern Territory has released its State Migration Plan (SMP). The Northern Territory SMP includes 52 skills that are not on the new SOL, including a range of trade skills. 

Click here to view the NT State Migration Plan.

The Northern Territory has one of the lowest unemployment rates in Australia. This is directly reflected in the Northern Territory’s extensive list of occupations that are in demand which include professional engineers, construction trades, accountants and auditors, IT professionals, HR professionals, cooks, hotel managers, registered nurses, allied health professionals, welfare and social workers, automotive trades and hairdressers.

Work Experience Requirements
Most occupations require at least 3 years of experience in the occupation, with some professions requiring at least 5 years. Applicants who are already living and working in the Northern Territory and can demonstrate positive future employment prospects may be exempted from these requirements for some occupations. It should also be noted that some occupations (e.g. HR Professionals and Accountants) require the work experience to be in a system similar to Australia's.

How Do the SMP's Work
Prior to submitting a visa application for a subclass 176, 475, 487, 886 with the Department of Immigration & Citizenship an applicant is required to have State or Territory sponsorship. Each State and Territory has a list of occupations that they have identified as in shortage. If sponsorship is needed to submit a visa application then an application for sponsorship can be made to a State or Territory that has the applicants skill identified as in shortage.

The SMP is designed to encourage migrants with the right skills set to live and work in the State or Territory that needs them most. In return for sponsorship for the visa application, the relevant State or Territory want the applicant to make a commitment to live and work in that State or Territory for the first two years that they are a permanent resident.

An applicant is a permanent resident as soon as their visa is granted with the rights and entitlements that provides. However, the new permanent resident still has a commitment to live and work in the State or Territory that offered them sponsorship for the first two years they are in Australia.

The SMP is to make the General Skilled Migration system more efficient in that it is matching the migrant and their skills set with the area that will provide them with the most opportunity but also assist the Australian economy to fill a critical skill shortage.


Processing Times
There is one additional important point to add about having sponsorship from a State or Territory under a State Migration plan. An applicant with sponsorship under a SMP will have their visa application processed by the Department of Immigration & Citizenship within 12 months from the date of lodgement. Priority processing Group 2 is reserved for these applications and is the fastest processing category under General Skilled Migration.


Are you eligible?
AMVL can advise if you are eligible to make an application Northern Territory state sponsorship. There are a restricted number of sponsorships available for each occupation so we do encourage you to contact our professional Migration team as soon as possible.

Click here to contact Australian Migration & Visa Lawyers to assess your eligibility.