On 8 February 2010, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, announced the following changes to the General Skilled Migration program:
the outcomes of a review of the Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL)the replacement of the current Skilled Occupation List (SOL) in the second half of 2010offshore GSM visas made before 1 September 2007 would be capped and ceasedpriority processing arrangementsskills assessment requirements for GSM applicants nominating a trade occupation.