Policy Advice In Response To Minute - Policy Interpretation Of Visa Condition 8579 Relevant To Skilled Regional Visas And Remote Working, Signed 26 May 2023 ​

Written by Claude Haiku 4.5 from the extracted text on 28 Feb 2026. It can miss or misread redacted and scanned pages. Check the source before relying on it.

The Department of Home Affairs released policy advice clarifying that skilled regional visa holders (subclass 489, 491, and 494) employed in the transport industry may substantially comply with regional residency conditions (8579, 8539, and 8549) while travelling outside designated or specified regional areas (DRA/SRA) as part of their regular work duties, such as passenger or goods delivery driving. This exception recognizes that transport workers living in a DRA/SRA necessarily travel beyond these areas during employment. The policy identifies acceptable evidence for compliance, including residential documentation (rental agreements, utility bills, mortgage documents), employment contracts, employer letters, payslips, and Australian Taxation Office notices of assessment. This treatment represents a unique interpretation under existing policy that otherwise excludes routine metropolitan work by skilled regional provisional visa holders.