On 14 December 2024, the Australian Government amended legislation to provide clarity on how caveats apply to eligible occupations for the Core Skills Stream of the Skills in Demand 482 Visa.  This included the removal of Caveat 14 from 10 occupations (such as Chef and Corporate General Manager), which ensures that the use of these occupations is not limited only to circumstances where International Trade Obligations apply. Read on to understand more.

How Caveats Apply | Legislative Amendments

The Government has now provided clarity on how caveats will apply to certain occupations on the Core Skilled Occupation List (CSOL).

The CSOL currently has 16 caveats that apply to specific occupations. Some caveats limit the use of a particular occupation under certain work circumstances. Others, such as Caveat 14, were originally included to limit the use of that occupation to circumstances where an ‘International Trade Agreement’ obligation applied.

Caveat 14 was included on the CSOL with the intention of limiting some occupations that were required to be included on the list due to Australia’s trade agreement obligations. However, its application caused confusion about whether these occupations are genuinely in shortage based on labour market analysis.

To clarify this, legislative amendments have now removed Caveat 14 from the following 10 occupations on the Core Skills Occupation List for the Core Skills Stream of the Skills in Demand 482 Visa and the 186 Permanent Residence Visa (Direct Entry Stream):

• Chief Executive or Managing Director
• Corporate General Manager
• Sales and Marketing Manager
• Advertising Manager
• Corporate Services Manager
• Finance Manager
• Human Resource Manager
• Supply and Distribution Manager
• Chief Information Officer
• Chef

As a result, the above occupations are no longer restricted to circumstances where an ITO applies. Applicants of all nationalities can apply under these occupations (despite any relevant ITO’s).

However, Caveat 14 still applies to the below three occupations, limiting their use to nationals from countries with a relevant ITO in place:

• Private Tutors and Teachers nec
• Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner
• Other Sports Coach or Instructor

Caveat 14 continues to apply to these occupations because their inclusion on the CSOL was not supported by labour market analysis or did not meet the required skill level.

Other legislative amendments to caveats are included below.

Occupation List for the Subclass 494 Regional Visa:

• Caveat added to Hospitality, Retail and Service Managers nec (not elsewhere classified) which excludes the specification of brothel keepers
• Caveat added to Dancer or Choreographer to exclude Exotic Dancers

Occupation List for a Subclass 407 Training Visa: 

•  Caveat aded to Dancer or Choreographer to exclude exotic dancers

Occupation List for Subclass 189, 491, 485 and 190 Visas (Graduate/Skilled Independent): 

• Caveat added to Dancer or Choreographer to exclude exotic dancers