You'd need to check with an Aussie ... but I believe the fact that "pilot" is on the WA list just means that employers over there can sponsor you for a (non permanent) work visa, after they've advertised locally and had no suitable applicants.
The Force is strong in you Luke but Yoda needs to do a bit more to get it spot on.
Rather than a sponsorship visa they are talking about an Independent Skilled Migration Visa. This does lead to permanent residency and does not require sponsorship. After four years, these visa holders are able to apply for citizenship.
The first stage of the application involves applying to CASA for assessment of your licence and their judgement on whether or not you reach the 'skilled' criteria. In short you're going to need an ATPL from decent authority and this will then need to be converted to a CASA licence; so CPL & ATPL Air Law, command IREX etc. Having jumped through all those hoops you'll be given a tick in the box from CASA, saying you're skilled and then the rest of the process begins. At ANY time pilot drops off the list, you lose your ability to apply on that basis. I know one guy who had done his visa medicals, which are the very last part of the process before Adelaide stick the visa in your passport and pilot disappeared from the list. His visa application was rejected, along with the 1000s of $s and >1.5 years of his time.
It amazes me that WA has it on the list but the rest of Oz doesn't (I'll admit I haven't actually looked but I'm going on what was written above). I thought the Skilled Visa was an Australia-wide visa with, in some cases, extra points given to people who were going to take their skill to remote areas. Once you've got the
PR visa there's absolutely no reason why you can't move anywhere you want in Oz and work, so it makes no sense that it should be a state-by-state points system. I think I'll go and have a look for myself.........
Edited to add: Mmmm, lots of changes. It seems they've introduced a new system whereby a state needs to sponsor applicants, so that makes the whole WA-specific thing make sense. The points system is still similar and CASA still has to assess the pilot skills but it looks like WA needs more pilots, as the there's so many GA slots in the North and all those empty airliners on the ramp in Perth (yes, that was sarcasm). How a state-sponsored skilled migrant can move around after he's come to Oz I have no idea but I'm sure our government will have it all sorted out because, after all, they have a fantastic record of immigration control
