Almost two-thirds of large Australian companies are considering recruiting staff from overseas to overcome skills shortages, a national salary survey has found.

The report, released by the Australian Institute of Management, indicates many companies are experiencing difficulty recruiting construction and engineering, sales and marketing and manufacturing and trade professionals.

Nursing staff also continue to be in short supply according to the federal government’s recent skills shortage list.

For more information about living and working in South Australia please visit the Immigration SA website.

People applying to work in Australia on a 457 visa are set to receive a bigger pay packet.

The temporary skilled migration pay threshold (TSMIT) will increase by 3.9 percent to bring it in line with the average weekly pay in Australia.

The TMSIT will rise from $47,480 to $49,330 a year, to ensure salaries for 457 visa holders keep pace with the annual wage growth for all Australians.

The increase is only available to new nominations, with those already working under a subclass 457 visa unaffected by the new salary unless they change employer and require a new nomination.

Click here for more information on the 457 visa.

The State Sponsored Migration List (SSML) for South Australia for 2011/2012 is now available on the Immigration SA website.

This year’s list contains 28 additional occupations while some occupations have been moved to the off-list due to a reduction in demand for those particular skills

The revisions to the SSML are in response to local labour market requirements and this year’s list is therefore a targeted list of occupations aimed at addressing South Australia’s current skills shortages.

There have also been changes to the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) levels for some occupations. Please check our website  for specific IELTS requirements.

Immigration SA is always striving to improve its services.

In order to keep track of how new migrants are settling in to life in South Australia, Immigration SA has launched a new migrant survey.

As part of migration sponsorship, new migrants need to complete five short surveys during their first two years in South Australia.

Migrants are contacted by email to complete the surveys after three months, six months, one year, 18 months and at two years.

The surveys will provide Immigration SA with information on new migrants employment status.

The information gathered will also help meet national migration reporting requirements and assist Immigration SA to improve its services for future migrants.