As of 6 December 2024, the National Innovation visa (Subclass 858) has replaced the Global Talent visa. Please visit our National Innovation (subclass 858) blog here for more information.
On 29 November 2024, the Department closed the GTI program and are no longer accepting new Expressions of Interest (EOI). Interest applicants should review the criteria for the new National Innovation visa.
The Global Talent Independent (GTI) program is designed to attract highly skilled and talent individuals in 10 target sectors, offering them a streamlined pathway to Australian permanent residency.
You can read more about this program here.
What are the 10 target sectors?
The 10 target sectors are
- Resources;
- Agri-food and AgTech
- Energy
- Health Industries
- Defence, Advanced Manufacturing and Space
- Circular economy
- Digitech
- Infrastructure and tourism
- Financial services and Fintech
- Education
How did I know if I fall within the 10 target sectors?
The Department offer some limited guidance as to what skill sets fit within these 10 target sectors. Examples of relevant skill sets to the target sectors include the following:
Resources
Engineering, Geology, Metallurgy, Waste Management, Energy Saving Technology, Extraction and Processing. Under Departmental policy, for the purposes of prioritisation, the Department will give consideration as to candidate’s specialisations per below:
- Advanced visualisation technologies, e.g. sensors;
- Artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies;
- Beneficiation technologies (improving the economic value of a resource such as ore.);
- Expertise in energy saving technologies for extracting and processing ores, such as ore body mapping, geophysical tools and drilling, mineral refinement, automated trucks and robotic equipment or grinding and processing technologies; and
- Resource waste management.
Agri-food and AgTech
Seed technology, nanomaterials, biofuels, supply chain and packaging, wearable technologies. Under Departmental policy, for the purposes of prioritisation, the Department will give consideration as to candidate’s specialisations per below:
- Agricultural big data analytics;
- Commercialisation experience within the industry;
- Future proteins for human and animal consumption;
- Food and beverage technology;
- Individual technologies or a combination of technologies related to farm equipment, weather, seed optimisation, fertiliser and crop inputs, and irrigation;
- Precision measurement and/or application of farm inputs such as nitrogen and pesticides, gene editing, nanomaterials and synthetic biology;
- Predictive technologies around planting times, climatic forecasting and crop cycles; and
- Wearable technology, including ear-tag trackers for animal management.
Energy
Clean energy, resource robotics, computational metallurgy, geostatistics, beneficiation, battery / energy storage. Under Departmental policy, for the purposes of prioritisation, the Department will give consideration as to candidate’s specialisations per below:
- Advanced visualisation technology (e.g. sensors);
- Artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies;
- Automation and robotics (e.g. smart sorting technologies for recycling);
- Beneficiation technologies (i.e. improving the economic value of ore);
- Recycling technology (e.g. feedstock recycling or E-waste processing);
- Traceability technologies, e.g. experience with sophisticated material trading systems that make material sources more transparent to consumers; and
- Expertise with the following fields:
- Hydrogen technology;
- Clean technologies, renewables and hybrids (including solar and wind power);
- Battery/energy storage design (specialised, grid-scale and precursors for batteries);
- Bioenergy and biofuels;
- Micro-grid design; and
- Supporting the transition to net zero carbon emissions.
Health Industries
Medical and biomedical technology, pharmaceutical and vaccine research and development, IT biochemistry, digital health, implantables and wearable devices, genomics. Under Departmental policy, for the purposes of prioritisation, the Department will give consideration as to candidate’s specialisations per below:
- Antimicrobial resistance;
- Biochemistry and cell biology;
- Biostatistician;
- Biotechnology;
- Biomedicine and Bioengineering;
- Cell and gene therapies – genomics;
- Clinical trials;
- Digital health;
- Health economists;
- Implantable and wearable devices (e.g. 3D printed custom devices, bionics and prosthetics);
- Infectious disease;
- Medical devices;
- Medical physicist;
- Microbiology and immunology;
- Nanotechnology and genomics;
- Neuroscience and neurology;
- Pharmaceuticals;
- Precision medicine;
- Point of care diagnostics; and
- Regenerative medicine.
Defence, Advanced Manufacturing and Space
Astrodynamics, satellite systems, rocket and avionics systems, urban mobility, military equipment acquisition and sustainment, automation and robotics, nano-manufacturing, sustainable manufacturing and life-cycle engineering. Under Departmental policy, for the purposes of prioritisation, the Department will give consideration as to candidate’s specialisations per below:
- Defence:
- Augmented and virtual reality;
- Cyber Security;
- Expertise in military equipment acquisition, sustainment and evaluation;
- Robotics and automation; and
- Sensors and analytics
- Advanced Manufacturing:
- Advanced materials;
- Additive manufacturing (3D printing), materials resilience and repair;
- Artificial intelligence and machine learning;
- Automation & Robotics;
- Bio-manufacturing and biological integration;
- Biotechnologies;
- Digital design and rapid prototyping;
- Digitisation and automation;
- Nano-manufacturing and micro-manufacturing;
- Characterisation (Technologies in advanced microscopy and microanalysis that underpin modern science, medicine, engineering and industrial innovation);
- Precision manufacturing; and
- Space:
- Aviation in space
- Experience that would be of benefit to the National Civil Space Priority Areas: (a) Position, navigation and timing (PNT) infrastructure (global navigation satellite systems);
- Earth observation technology and services (b) Communications technologies and services (lasers for data communication, quantum technologies for secure communication, and hybrid radio and optical communications) (c) Space situational awareness and debris monitoring (including space traffic management) (d) Leapfrog R&D, which includes new rocket technology, high-tech materials, space medicine, synthetic biology, quantum communications, in-orbit servicing and optical wireless communication technologies (e) Robotics and automation on Earth and in space;
- Access to space, which includes international space missions and launch activity;
Circular Economy
Bioenergy, sustainable production, recycling, waste treatment, waste to energy technology, emissions technology, ecologically sustainable manufacturing. Under Departmental policy, for the purposes of prioritisation, the Department will give consideration as to candidate’s specialisations per below:
- Artificial Intelligence and digital technologies;
- Bioenergy generation;
- Bio-methane production;
- Commercialisation experience within the industry;
- Development of sustainable production and supply chain practices that reduce atmospheric land and marine pollution;
- Energy infrastructure;
- Recycling and responsible manufacturing to support industries (plastics, paper, glass, tyre components, e-waste and lithium batteries);
- Reducing emissions and increasing efficient use of natural resources (including energy, water and materials);
- Waste treatment (management and reuse) and emissions technology; and
- Waste to Energy (WtE) technology (the ability to generate reliable baseload electricity that is also capable of diverting waste away from landfill and reducing carbon emissions).
DigiTech
Quantum computing, cyber sciences, cyber security, artificial intelligence, blockchain, IoT, big data, disruptive technologies, smart cities, machine learning, network engineering, cloud computing. Under Departmental policy, for the purposes of prioritisation, the Department will give consideration as to candidate’s specialisations per below:
- Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning;
- Automation;
- Big data;
- Blockchain technology;
- Cloud computing;
- Cyber security detection, prevention and response services;
- Data and eResearch infrastructure;
- Data management and analysis;
- Data science;
- Disruptive technologies;
- Front-end development;
- Internet of Things;
- IT integrated with control systems for plant and machinery;
- Machine learning engineering;
- Network engineer/architect;
- Quantum information and computing;
- Robotics;
- Senior experience in developing and producing digital games and immersive technology;
- Smart cities;
- Smart tech;
- Software and product management/development;
- Start-ups and Entrepreneurs in the industry;
- Systems integration; and
- 3D printing
Infrastructure
Water infrastructure, Energy infrastructure, regional development. Under Departmental policy, for the purposes of prioritisation, the Department will give consideration as to candidate’s specialisations per below:
- Potential or ability to drive economic development in regional communities;
- Potential or ability to develop gateways to support Australia’s international competitiveness;
- Potential or ability to improve and expand Australia’s energy infrastructure; and
- Potential or ability to improve water security across Australia
Tourism
Travel and tourism infrastructure. Under Departmental policy, for the purposes of prioritisation, the Department will give consideration as to candidate’s specialisations per below:
- Potential or ability to increase the economic benefits to Australia from tourism;
- Potential or ability to target high value travellers in the markets and tourism segments that deliver the greatest returns; and
- Potential or ability to foster a sustainable and innovative tourism industry.
Financial Services and FinTech
Neobanking, payment systems, wealth and regtech, blockchain. Under Departmental policy, for the purposes of prioritisation, the Department will give consideration as to candidate’s specialisations per below:
- Automated and predictive financial advice;
- Blockchain technology;
- Commercialisation experience within the industry;
- Digital wallets;
- Financial advice (e.g. automated and digital);
- Financial data analytics, compliance and ‘RegTech’;
- Micro-savings;
- Next generation lending, investment and wealth management;
- Online banking; and
- Platform banking and payments (e.g. contactless).
Education
Cutting edge skills in emerging fields of the industry, developing advanced educational systems and curricula, improving the education infrastructure in Australia, digital data and eResearch platforms. Under Departmental policy, for the purposes of prioritisation, the Department will give consideration as to candidate’s specialisations per below:
- Cutting edge innovation within the Education sector
- Research and education infrastructure planning;
- Digital Data and eResearch Platforms; and
- Platforms for Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.
The above are just examples listed by the Department are relevant specialisations. These sectors are quite broad, and we’ve assisted numerous individuals with skills sets other than those listed above.
Conclusion
Hannan Tew Lawyers have assisted a significant number of individuals under the GTI program, including across all the stated sectors above.
With significant experience with this visa, we have the knowledge and experience to understand your profile and convey the importance of your achievements, research, experience, and skill sets to the Department to improve your prospects of receiving the visa itself.
Please feel free to contact us by email at [email protected] or phone +61 3 9016 0484 if you have further comments or queries or would like some guidance.
Hi, I have applied for GTI under health sector, in Feb 2022, still waiting for the invitation.
How can PhD graduates in a non-Education field apply for the global talent visa under the “education sector”? The requirements say:
“Researchers and academics with demonstrable and innovative achievements in the field of education, including:
o characterisation (technologies in advanced microscopy and microanalysis that underpin modern science, medicine, engineering and industrial innovation)”
Does this mean someone who does a PhD in engineering or in advanced microscopy can apply under “education sector”?
Hi Maryam,
It depends on your area of study essentially, but to fit under the education sector your research usually would need to have some connection to education (e.g. if your advanced microscopy PhD is being used to build instruments that will redefine the educational ability of universities). In short, it’s a case by case assessment as the guidelines also say that: “researchers and academics at Australian academic levels A to C or their international equivalents, in fields other than education or pedagogy”.
Feel free to contact us at [email protected] if you’d like to discuss this further.
Kind regards,
Hannan Tew