Pharmacists now eligible for priority skilled migration to AU

Skilled Occupation List

Pharmacists now eligible for priority skilled migration to AU

Australia has added three new pharmacist occupations to the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL) for skilled migration to Australia.

Applicants belonging to the three new pharmacist occupations across the hospital, industrial, and retail sectors will now be able to have their visas be fast-tracked by the Australian federal government for priority skilled migration to Australia.

The three new occupations added to Australia’s PMSOL are:

  • Hospital Pharmacist (251511);
  • Industrial Pharmacist (251512); and
  • Retail Pharmacist (251513).

The decision to add these pharmacist occupations to the PMSOL for priority skilled migration to Australia has been taken to aid the country’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout, Immigration Minister Alex Hawke announced.

According to Mr Hawke, the decision to include the three new pharmacist occupations for priority skilled migration to Australia comes after thousands of pharmacies across the country signed up to join and accelerate Australia’s vaccine rollout program.

Australia has faced delays in vaccinating its population, mainly due to limited availability of the Pfizer vaccine doses and changes in medical advice regarding the AstraZeneca vaccine.

At present, around 16 per cent of Australians have been fully vaccinated, with 11 million doses administered to Australian residents.

According to the Australian government, thousands of Australian pharmacies have been invited to join the vaccination program as the demand for vaccinations grows, partly due to the new, highly contagious Delta variant.

Having more pharmacies take part in the vaccine rollout shows the Morrison administration’s continued support to pharmacies across Australia with skilled migration, as the supply of COVID-19 vaccines is set to increase in the coming weeks, Mr Hawke said.

Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt said that the number of community pharmacies providing vaccines throughout Australia will increase to 470 from only 118 by the end of the month.

In addition, more than 3,900 pharmacies across Australia’s regional and metropolitan areas have expressed interest in joining the vaccine rollout program.

All of these pharmacies have been invited to join the vaccination program, with the addition of the three new pharmacy occupations in the hospital, industrial, and retail sectors for priority skilled migration set to provide increased support with the arrival of new skilled migrants.

Last month, Australia added 22 new occupations to its critical skills list for fast-tracking skilled visas for migrants belonging to occupations deemed crucial for Australia’s economic recovery.

With the three new pharmacist occupations, Australia’s PMSOL now consists of 44 occupations for priority skilled migration to Australia.