While it's a relief that the new Australian SOL has been announced, there still remain a few unanswered questions, many of which stem from the fact that the new list of occupations is drawn from the ANZSCO as opposed to the ASCO.
For example, while the ANZSCO is very similar to the ASCO in some respects, it still doesn't match up exactly in terms of the names and classifications of the occupations. Therefore, even though we can make a fairly informed prediction for most of the occupations on the new SOL, it's still unknown as to how many points will be allocated to each occupation. Additionally, while we can make assumptions, we still don't know exactly which Australian body will be responsible for assessing which ANZSCO occupations.
It's also currently unknown what will happen to applicants who have already obtained a positive skills assessment. Potential solutions are that that the assessing bodies will simply transfer an applicant's positive assessment in the ASCO occupation to the corresponding ANZSCO occupation (if possible) or that the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) will accept old skills assessments for a time. However, it's also possible that these applicants will need to obtain a new skills assessment, particularly if their previous ASCO occupation only has a partial ANZSCO match on the new SOL.
Another factor that makes the transition confusing is that the skill level requirements (i.e. the level of degree, trade certificate or years experience required) for the ANZSCO is different than the ASCO in some instances. Therefore, even though an applicant might have a valid skills assessment and perform the ANZSCO-listed associated tasks for that occupation, they will still need to meet the skill criteria for DIAC.
As a result, further clarification will be needed from DIAC before we can be sure how to proceed in advising our clients going forward. However, it's still useful to finally have the new Skills Occupation List and have some idea of what Australian skilled migration will look like going forward, even though many questions remain unanswered.