An economy that has been recording slow yet steady growth, a society that is open-minded and a place that has no dearth for scenic beauty, Australia is increasingly becoming a much sought-after destination for immigration. Recently, some changes have been introduced by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship to the policy of immigration to Australia. It is of great importance to have a clear idea about these changes when you are applying for migrating to Australia. A major part of these modifications have been made with regard to the General Skills Migration Program that forms the key to helping skilled employees to obtain an Australian visa that can permit them to migrate to Australia and work in the country. 

Basically there are several categories of people who may want to immigrate to Australia. Out of them the most common are:

1. People who possess professional skills and training and want to immigrate to Australia in search of business or work prospects
2. People who want to immigrate to Australia on a permanent basis
3. Those who want to immigrate to Australia in search of educational opportunities and may others.
4. Those who want to immigrate to Australia under humanitarian considerations

The most common category under which people try to immigrate to Australia is the Skilled and business migration category. In this category the General Skills Program, as we all know, stands as the primary tool enabling skilled workers from all around the world to nurture their dream of migrating to Australia. The fundamental guidelines of this Program say that candidates who have acquired specialized training in any of the occupations that may be a part of the Skilled Occupations List are eligible to apply to immigrate to Australia. These applications will be thoroughly scanned and selection is done based on the appropriate age, qualification, previous or current work experience, proficiency of English language and skill competency levels. It is imperative that candidates wishing to immigrate to Australia must score a minimum pass mark in the Points based evaluation system. Last year changes have been introduced in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) that have changed the threshold levels of scoring in the tests for two categories of applicants –those who have nominated a trade occupation and those who have applied under the GSM category.

In February 2010 the policy of Australian immigration witnessed an important change when the inferences of the review of the Migration occupations in Demand List (MODL) were announced by the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship. This review felt the need to replace the current MODL by a new target-oriented occupations list that was more equipped to adhere to the growing labor requirements of the Australian market. Subsequently some important changes have occurred in the Australian immigration policy. 

One significant change that has been made in the Skilled Migration Program with regard to Australian immigration is the introduction of a Critical Skills List (CSL) that stresses on providing work opportunities to Information Technology Professionals, engineering and medical experts.

The government of Australia has effected certain modifications in its Immigration Policy with the main aim of improving the entire process of selecting the best and most deserving candidates for Australian immigration that would be of great help to the development of the Australian economy.