News

NSW releases new occupation lists; 51 occupations removed   New South Wales has released its new occupation lists for 2017-2018 (sc190 and sc489). The list for Skilled (Nominated) 190 visas has shrunk to 130 occupations, with 51 occupations removed and 10 others added. You can access the new lists here.

US musician on tour in Australia deported over tourist visa An American musician booked for an Australian tour has been kicked out of the country after arriving in Melbourne on a tourist visa, 9News reported. Los Angeles-based indie performer Colleen Green was questioned by the Immigration officials over her visa and her plans while in Australia, and not satisfied with her response, she was detained overnight and then deported earlier this week. Taking a tour (or any other work-related commitments) on a tourist visa is illegal. Ms Green was on an Electronic Travel Authority, and according to the Immigration Department website, “you must not work in Australia on this (ETA) visa”.

Labor calls for urgent action on “systemic abuse” of foreign worker visas The Labor Party has expressed its concern over the “systemic abuse” of subclass 400 visas and has called on the Immigration Minister Peter Dutton to urgently safeguard it. Labor Party says this little-known visa is being used as a “backdoor” to undermine the government’s foreign labour crackdown. The three-month 400 visa was introduced by the former Labor government in early 2013.

Make immigration to SA easier: SACES Overseas migrants to South Australia should be enticed by offering an easier path to citizenship and opening up job visas for more occupations, a recent report by the SA Centre for Economic Studies (SACES) has recommended. The think-tank has proposed that SA must boost the population in the country towns and small cities with foreigners who want the jobs that locals refuse. More South Australians have moved interstate than people from other states have moved to SA since at least 1981. Keeping this in mind, the SACES report altogether made 14 recommendations to create a regionally focused migration program to boost the population across the state. Some of the most important recommendations were: removing caveats from skill lists for employers in regional areas; improving post-study work rights for vocational education and training graduates working in regional areas; creating a start-up visa for those in the country temporarily on other grounds such as student visas, 457 visas, or working holiday; and targeting Business Innovation and Investment visas; among others.

Myanmar asylum-seeker jailed for marrying child-bride In what is believed to be the nation’s first prosecution of this nature, a Myanmar asylum-seeker has been sentenced to 18 months in jail for marrying an underage girl in Australia. According to Times Live, the 34-year-old wedded the child, a 14-year-old, at an Islamic mosque in the Melbourne suburb of Noble Park last year. This comes under forced marriages which were outlawed in Australia in 2013.

Australia to increase outsourcing in visa approval process In an attempt to transform the country’s visa system, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) has turned to the market and is seeking a provider to design, implement, and operate a new visa business. According to the request for expression of interest (REOI) that was published at the weekend, the new visa business will be outsourced to another party that will be charged with processing visa applications. Currently, only 20 percent of the country’s visa service is outsourced. According to DIBP figures, 8.78 million visas were applied for in 2016-17. The government expects this number to reach 13 million by 2026-27.

Fair Work wants international students to report exploitation Observing and expressing its concern over a “disproportionately low” number of complaints from foreign students, Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James has urged international students to seek the agency’s help if they are exploited at work. Ms. James wrote an “open letter” addressing the international students. “If there’s a problem with your pay or if other issues arise at your work, I encourage you to speak to us,” the letter says. “We’ve seen cases where employers have threatened international students with deportation for working more than the number of hours permitted under their visa when they have raised questions about their entitlements. In some cases these same employers have altered pay slips and underpaid hourly rates in order to disguise the number of hours the student has worked,” she wrote. Last year, one-third of workers’ exploitation cases reported to the Fair Work involved international students.

Yet again, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal has saved a “dangerous” apex gang member who was supposed to be kicked out from Australia. The AAT overturned a decision on Friday. The Department had cancelled his visa after evidence from the police that the man, aged 20, was on a seven-year crime spree of a “violent and anti-social nature”. The accused had been staying in a detention, awaiting deportation to New Zealand, since his visa was cancelled by the Department in February. The AAT revoked the visa cancellation saying they did not want to separate him from his Melbourne-based family and are observing his mental condition. They were told that he has been treated for mental illness since 2013 and was diagnosed as bipolar in 2014.

The Australian Education Union that has been tussling with the government over a new agreement for almost a year has withdrawn from negotiations saying the State government was proposing unfair changes. What the Union has been most vocal about is its claim that the government wants to increase the workload of TAFE teachers by up to 20 per cent — from an average of 741 hours to 900. Among other concerns are the government’s proposed deal of cutting penalty rates, increasing attendance requirements from 42 weeks to 46 weeks a year and the pay gap between Victorian and NSW TAFE teachers, which it says is an average of $10,000. The state government, on the other hand, claims to have saved TAFE by voicing against the former government’s slashing of funding to TAFE.

International travellers into and out of Australia are being reminded of the need to declare any cash they are carrying in excess of AUD $10,000 or more, to help make travel at airports smoother. A joint media release from the Australian Border Force (ABF), Australian Federal Police (AFP) and AUSTRAC was issued on Monday reminding travellers that AFP and ABF were continuing to observe international travellers with undeclared currency, particularly at Sydney International Airport. It says that under Australian law, travellers can carry an unlimited amount of cash into and out of Australia – however, amounts of $10,000 or more Australian dollars (or foreign currency equivalent) must be declared first by completing an online form.