News

As the situation for Rohingya Muslims worsens in Myanmar, Greens have called on the government to take in 20,000 refugees fleeing bloodshed. The political party has suggested Australia organises an emergency intake similar to the Syria program launched two years ago. According to United Nations, at least 300,000 people have fled Myanmar to Bangladesh in recent weeks.As the situation for Rohingya Muslims worsens in Myanmar, Greens have called on the government to take in 20,000 refugees fleeing bloodshed. The political party has suggested Australia organises an emergency intake similar to the Syria program launched two years ago. According to United Nations, at least 300,000 people have fled Myanmar to Bangladesh in recent weeks.

If you are applying for skills assessment with Engineers Australia (EA), there are a few recent announcements you may find useful. Last week, EA announced that they will now accept PTE (Academic) test results, with effect from 1 November 2017. The minimum score for an applicant to be considered is 50 in each of the 4 modules. In June 2017, Pakistan became a full signatory of the Washington Accord. Thus applicants holding a qualification accredited/acknowledged by the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) under the Washington Accord list completed on or after 2017 can now apply via the accredited qualifications pathways. EA now wants applicants, who have been practising in a country where Engineering is a regulated profession, to include evidence of registration in the application.

Some uniformity please! Immigration minister Peter Dutton prides himself on being tough when it comes to immigration laws and how he exercises his discretion in intervening in cases that are rejected by the DIBP. All this very much behoves a person holding the position of immigration minister in a country which attracts millions of visa applicants each year. But there’s something amiss which is also very important: Uniformity. Last month, UK-born Kelly Webb was allowed to stay in the country despite having several domestic violence and violent crimes cases registered against her. She was being deported but has now been allowed to stay, and cannot apply for citizenship for next 3 years. A mild rap on the knuckles if you consider the case of a 92-year-old British war veteran who was asked to leave the country and harassed for weeks—with his Medicare card blocked—but was eventually allowed to stay. Bear in mind he had no criminal case against him. Or the case of a Brisbane grandmother who was deported after having spent 50 years in Australia. Minister Dutton has repeatedly said that there would be zero tolerance against “foreigners” found violating the law. No sane person will argue against that. But why can’t there be a policy—approved by the judiciary, of course—for such cases so that it lays down the guiding principles once and for all? I don’t think it is such a big ask. It will also help his own workload too, considering he will have a set template to follow.

India in the spot for March migration figures The latest migration figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show that India was the biggest source of Australian migration in March, with a total of 2,250 new migrants arriving in the country. China, with 1,720 migrants, was the second highest. Iraq, New Zealand and the Philippines rounded out the top 5, while United Kingdom, South Africa, Vietnam, Malaysia and Sri Lanka followed to complete the top 10 list. 11,590 people migrated to Australia in March. This is down slightly from February’s 11,830 but higher than January’s 9,610. The total migration for March 2016 was only slightly higher than this year, at 12,070. The March statistics are the most recent release of figures since the government revealed major changes to the 457 work visa program on 18 April. Its replacement, the temporary skills shortage visa (TSS), will have two streams for short and medium-term employment and stricter eligibility requirements. Read original report here and ABS report here.

Slump in Kiwis becoming Aussie citizens following recent law change A recent research shows there has been a slump in the number of Kiwis becoming Australian citizens since a law change in 2001. Data shows out of 146,000 New Zealand-born migrants who arrived in Australia between 2002 and 2011, only 8.4 per cent of them were citizens by 2016. The numbers are even lower for New Zealand-born Maori, with less than 3 per cent becoming Australian citizens, according to research from Victoria University’s school of Maori studies. Meanwhile, New Zealanders who arrived in Australian between 1985 and 2000 had citizenship uptake rates of nearly 50 per cent by 2016. The research, by Te Kawa a Maui’s Paul Hamer, finds the low numbers are due to restrictions imposed in 2001 that removed the eligibility of Kiwis from applying directly for citizenship unless they had a skills-based permanent visa.

International student numbers plunge at WA’s colleges Foreign students are abandoning Western Australia’s billion dollar education sector with new figures showing a massive slump in applications to study in the west. Department of Immigration and Border Protection figures for Western Australia show a drop in international students from 2,997 to 2,309 in June – a 23 per cent reduction compared to the previous year, following a 32 per cent drop in April and 11 per cent in May. According to WA Today, the state’s small colleges and training institutes are being hit hardest, with the Western Australian Private Education and Training Industry Association reporting up to 40 per cent reductions in student numbers at colleges in Perth teaching English.

Greens seek to overturn new visa for asylum seekers The Greens have vowed to try and use parliament to stop the federal government booting asylum seekers off welfare and out of taxpayer-funded accommodation. Leader Richard Di Natale said on Sunday the minor party was seeking advice on whether the use of a new “final departure Bridging E Visa” – expected to be issued to asylum seekers from this week  – can be overturned when the Senate returns in a week’s time.

Government to cut income support for asylum seekers under new visa The Turnbull government is set to cut income support for Australia-based asylum seekers and give them just three weeks to find new homes under a new visa – the “final departure Bridging E Visa”. After the three weeks, government reports have confirmed, asylum seekers who have been transferred to Australia for medical treatment will be sent back to detention facilities on Nauru or Manus Island, or back to their country of origin. Under the new visa, income support of about $200 a fortnight will also end.

ACT closes offshore program for current year The ACT Migration Program is now closed to overseas applicants effective from 23 August 2017. However, applicants who are living overseas but have close ties (either family or genuine job offer) in Canberra or have completed a PhD at an ACT university can still apply for ACT nomination if they meet the criteria. Those applications that were submitted before 23 August 2017 and service fee was also paid before this date, will be processed in queue order. Canberra residents can apply for ACT 190 nomination if they meet the nomination criteria.