RSMS – Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme to be removed in West Australia
The Premier of West Australia, Mark McGowan, has asked the Australian Prime Minister to remove Perth from the subclass 187 Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme [RSMS].
The actual effect of this would be to remove Perth as a regional area for the Subclass 187 Visa.
The new WA Premier has said that his first move on Immigration would make it easier for locals to find work, because it would remove a pathway for overseas workers to obtain a visa.
He said he would also be reviewing the State’s migration occupation list which fast-tracks overseas workers into jobs, to make it relevant to the current market.
There were 12,269 places Regional Skilled Migration Scheme (RSMS) outcomes in 2015–16, for the whole of Australia.  WA gets about 12% of all Migrants, so that would be about 1,400 RSMS places, if that same percentage applies to the 187 visa.
On the 13th March 2017 DIBP stated that all new applications to certify positions for the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme are temporarily suspended.