For many months now the AOTP committee, wearing an array of different professional hats,
have been working hard to achieve a situation where overseas trained Anaesthesia Technicians or equivalent can gain permanent residency in Australia. Inclusion on the national immigration skills list didn’t eventuate. All seemed lost.

Good News 1
However, at a recent meeting with representatives of the Federal Minister of Immigration, Chris Evans, an alternative solution was proposed to assist in permanent residency being made available to overseas applicants, seeking equivalency to the Anaesthesia Technician grade. This being a state “labour agreement”.

A labour agreement can be negotiated for the entry of overseas workers to work in Australia where the business can demonstrate that there is a labour market need, and there are no appropriately qualified Australian workers readily available.

Employers seeking access to a labour agreement need to provide a comprehensive submission to the Australian Government, represented by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC). The merits of each submission are considered by DIAC on a case-by-case basis.  This may appear an onerous task for each hospital to take on, however the department of immigration are happy to keep the initial application received, and offer it as a template for other hospitals to use. Subsequent applications would then merely have to change personal details applicable to their individual application.

Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) - this is a permanent residence pathway for people who are prepared to work in the regional parts of WA. The whole state is considered Regional with the exception of the Perth metropolitan area. This means that Bunbury, Mandurah, Geraldton, etc are regional areas which qualify for the RSMS.

Good News 2 – Skilled Occupation List (SOL) Update
AOTP executive members and interested parties have been involved with the Western Australian Department of Health in supporting, and pushing the issue of adding Anaesthesia Technicians to the recently published “Skilled Occupation List” (SOL).

The Department of Health has compiled a “Whole of Health” submission for the Department of Immigration requesting the profession of Anaesthesia Technician is added to the SOL. This offers us the best opportunity so far to have our overseas colleagues, with equivalent qualifications, the chance to permanently settle in our country.

If the whole of health submission fails then we will have the fallback position of the state labour agreement, at least in the short term.

I would like to thank all concerned with the negotiations above for their hard work and time. It has been an educational, interesting and thankfully now, a satisfying journey through government red tape and bureaucracy.

Now for the hard sell.  The AOTP executive have worked tirelessly for the 457 Visa holders cause, in their own time, and have achieved a good local result on their behalf, with possibly a better one on the horizon.

It is time for the 457 visa holders to repay the effort, by ensuring they are all members of our society.

The negotiating strength of our society is in its membership numbers. We have a strong, capable committee, committed to helping our members as we have shown. 

It is of great importance that we are able to show the Federal Government that AOTP/ASAPO, are well supported by Anaesthesia Technicians country wide.

I ask you all that have not done so already, to join or renew your membership and show our solid commitment to national registration.

The next two years are going to be crucial for Anaesthesia Technicians Australiawide and the most important years of AOTP/ASAPO’s life.

We have to show that Anaesthesia Technicians are united in the quest for professional recognition, and with it registration. Sign up now.

Support us with your membership.

CLICK HERE for Membership form

I will inform you all of any further developments as soon as I hear myself. The  major focus for our association now is national registration. We can now give this our undivided attention. There are many aspects of the registration process which need to be addressed.

Together with the Australasian Society of Anaesthesia Paramedical Officers (ASAPO) we will be endeavouring to meet the criteria set out by Federal Government to successfully gain national registration for Anaesthesia Technicians.

An important part of the fact collecting process, is to know how many Anaesthesia Technicians are currently practicing in Australia.

We would appreciate it if you took the time to answer a few simple questions on this topic.

Complete our Regulation Survey - it'll only take a minute.

CLICK HERE for the National regulation Survey

Roy Wyatt
President AOTP