Migration Centre of Australia

News

  • April 1, 2020

Australia Top Ten for education and work opportunities in Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Australia is in the top ten worldwide when it comes to attracting global talent according to the latest 2020 Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GCTI). Cities in the top tiers have demonstrated a readiness to undertake activities that promote and develop AI hubs. Sydney ranks eleven; Melbourne twenty one; Brisbane forty three. The 2020 GCTI report is focussed on Global Talent in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. AI is now the game changer in every industry and sector in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The index also identifies competitiveness for global talent in other areas including innovation and leadership as well as academic researchers, scientists and engineers. Current education and skills acquisition and formal and informal learning structures will need to evolve in order to meet the needs created by an AI world.  Australia is recognised as a leader in formal education as well as in attracting global talent. The federal government has introduced a new skilled migration stream that will fast track visas for 5000 of the world’s best and brightest every year with the aim of establishing innovative and cutting edge high tech industries in Australia. Immigration Minister David Coleman launched the Global Talent Independent Program in November 2019. The program offers a priority visa pathway for highly skilled individuals to work and live permanently in Australia. At Migration Centre of Australia we are experienced in handling highly complex matters. You can make an appointment with our immigration agents in Sydney by calling 0246261002 or email info@migrationcentreofaustralia.com.au.
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  • July 12, 2019

Pilot visa scheme for Refugees

A new Community Support Program (CSP) was launched in May 2019 which allows more opportunities for organisations to support refugees in resettling in Australia. The Australian government has allowed businesses, individuals and families to work with a small number of “approved proposing organisations” to put forward someone outside Australia who is in need of humanitarian assistance or may fall under Australia’s complementary protection obligations for a visa. This model learns from Canada’s effective and successful private sponsorship program, which has been running for over forty years. One aspect of their program is that Sponsorship Agreement Holders use partnerships with businesses and connections with refugee communities to bring over those in need of humanitarian aid. The CSP focuses on refugees who are “job ready”, which is positive for Australia’s economy, but potentially is at odds with the overarching aims of the refugee and humanitarian program: it prioritises those with skills who are willing to move to regional areas as opposed to those who are most desperately in need of protection. This project puts the onus on an individual’s ability to contribute financially to the country, and thereby infuses the humanitarian program, whose focus is goodwill and genuine need, with aspects of the skilled worker visa regime already in place in Australia. This is important because it is not an addition to the Government’s visa program, but is a way of filling the quota already in place for a refugee and humanitarian intake. Despite some drawbacks, this scheme is an important one because of its ability to reframe the conversation around refugees as positive additions to the community. It empowers business to have a positive impact in the community and assist people on an individual level by using labour mobility schemes to increase opportunities for refugees worldwide.
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How to satisfy GTE

The requirement to prove that you genuinely only intend to stay in Australia temporarily (Genuine Temporary Entrant or GTE) is a requirement accompanying certain Australian visas, including the sc 500 Student Visa. It’s important to remember though, that the GTE requirement doesn’t intend to exclude people who go on to develop skills which are needed in Australia, continue to secure employment after their study and then apply to stay in Australia permanently. Ministerial Direction 69 sets out some considerations the Department will consider when assessing GTE. It’s not supposed to be a foolproof checklist but provides some helpful pointers. Circumstances in your home country Ties to your home country Your travel and immigration history Your ties to Australia How important the course is for your future If you’re a minor and applying for a student visa, the Department will also consider what intentions the parent/guardian accompanying you has. Proving GTE status is about providing the relevant documentary evidence, making sure you don’t have inconsistencies in the information you have provided, and putting forward a convincing case to support the fact that you only intend on staying in Australia temporarily. At Migration Centre of Australia, we are well-trained to handle highly complex matters. Book one of our agents for professional advice by calling 02 4626 1002 or email us to book in a time at info@migrationcentreofaustralia.com.au. We also speak fluent Hindi, Nepalese, Punjabi, Turkish, Tamil, Portuguese and Marathi. If one of these isn’t your language, we can also help you arrange an interpreter.
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  • April 26, 2019

Training Benchmarks are still valid

Training Benchmarks were abolished from 12 August 2018 with the introduction of the Skilling Australia Fund (SAF) levy. However, sponsoring employers may still need to meet Training Benchmark obligations. This means that: Please note that Training Benchmarks still apply to all sc457 Sponsors who have or had sc457 visa holders working for them. The Skilling Australia Fund (SAF) Levy applies to new nominations made after 12th August 2018 only on sc482,  sc186 and sc187 visas. sc457 sponsor companies who wish to nominate workers on sc482 and sc186/ sc187 visas will need to provide evidence of having met their Training Benchmark obligations. Please also note that sc482 sponsors who had nominated workers after the implementation of sc482 but before the implementation of SAF on 12th August 2018 also will need to meet their Training Benchmark obligations.
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  • April 26, 2019

April 2019 SkillSelect

The April 2019 SkillSelect invitation round information has been released by the Department of Home Affairs (Home Affairs). Invitation quotas have dropped significantly in a lead up to the May 2019 Federal Election and the end of the financial year. The figures provided by Home Affairs indicate that since the last round information: The number of invitations for the Subclass 189 (Skilled Independent) visa has been substantially reduced from 1,490 to 100. The minimum points score for a 189 visa invitation is currently 80 points, with a one month processing time Expression of Interest (EOI) at this score. The number of invitations for the Subclass 489 Skilled Regional (Provisional) remained the same at 10, requiring a minimum point score of 80. Processing times are around 5 months from lodgement of an EOI. The minimum points score for pro-rata occupations, or those classified as occupations for which there is more demand for places, are as follows: Accountants: 90 Auditors, Company Secretaries and Corporate Treasurers: 85 Electronics Engineer: 80 Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers: 80 Other Engineering Professionals: 80 ICT Business and System Analyst: 85 Software and Applications Programmers: 80 Computer Network Professionals: 80
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  • April 23, 2019

Subclass 417 (Working Holiday) visa

Please note changes to electronic application form introduced on 17th April 2019. You may need to start a new application for an incomplete application. A new electronic application form was introduced for the Working Holiday visa on 17 April 2019. Any partially completed, ‘saved’ or, ‘in progress’ Working Holiday visa application forms that were not submitted by 16 April 2019 will be set to a status of ‘discontinued’ within ImmiAccount. Applicants will need to start a new Working Holiday visa application form to continue the visa application process.
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  • April 23, 2019

Subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) and Subclass 494 Skilled Employer Sponsored visas

The Subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) and Subclass 494 Skilled Employer Sponsored visas will be introduced from 16 November 2019. These are points tested skilled assessment migration visa which requires either employer or state government nomination, or sponsorship by an eligible family member who is settled in a designated regional area. The validity period for either visa is five years. Holders of either visa will be work in a nominated position within any designated regional area. Condition 8579 will be imposed on both visas to enforce the government’s intention that that visa holders live, work and study only in regional areas and, if employer sponsored, only in the nominated position. A new permanent visa, the Subclass 191 Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa will be introduced in November 2022. To meet the requirements of the permanent visa, applicants must have held a subclass 491 or 494 visa for at least 3 years, have complied with the conditions on that visa and have met minimum taxable income requirements. The Subclass 187 (Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme) Visa and the Subclass 489 (Skilled Regional (Provisional)) Visa (subclass 489) will close to new applicants from 16 November 2019. Transitional arrangements will be put in place for applications which have been lodged and are undecided at that time. New points test thresholds for both the subclass 489 and 491 visas are: 15 points for nomination by a State or Territory government agency or sponsorship by a family member residing in regional Australia, to live and work in regional Australia; 10 points for a skilled spouse or de facto partner; 10 points for certain Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics qualifications; 5 points for a spouse or de facto partner with ‘competent English’; and 10 points for applicants without a spouse or de facto partner.
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  • April 23, 2019

Update to the Queensland Business and Skilled Migration Program

Business and Skilled Migration Queensland has received additional quota for the skilled program and is re-opening the ‘Working in Queensland, ‘Masters’ and ‘PhD’ Queensland Skilled Occupation Lists (the Lists) from 18 April 2019. Once this quota has been filled the program will close again until July 2019. The Lists have recently been amended with occupations added and removed so will need to reviewed by the applicant before lodgment of an EOI. The Lists are available at: https://migration.qld.gov.au/skilled-occupation-lists/ Only EOI’s submitted from 18 April 2019 will be picked up via Skill Select. This means that if an applicant has lodged an EOI prior to this date and not received an invitation a new EOI will need to be submitted. Applicants must be onshore only and meet the onshore criteria for working in Queensland, including being employed for 6 months in the nominated occupation before submitting an EOI and have an ongoing job offer for at least a year. Queensland Masters graduates must be currently working in the nominated occupation and have continual ongoing employment for at least 12 months. PhD graduates are not required to have a job, however there is an exception for the occupation of University Lecturer. PhD applicants applying under the occupation of University Lecturer (ANZSCO code 242111), must meet working in Queensland criteria including having been employed for six months in their nominated occupation and have continual ongoing employment for at least 12 months. Invitations to suitable candidates will commence from 24 April 2019.
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  • April 23, 2019

Australian Working Holiday Maker International Promotion

The Federal Government is launching a new tourism campaign aimed at backpackers from the United Kingdom, France and Germany to lure more working holiday makers and boost the Australian economy. The number of backpackers arriving in the country has stagnated. A campaign video launched on 20 April 2019 will run in the United Kingdom, France and Germany and will re-engage young foreigners on the benefits of working while holidaying in Australia. Quarterly figures from the Department of Home Affairs shows there were 145,479 working holiday makers as at December 2018, compared to 146,431 in the same period last year, December 2017. However, the numbers dropped substantially between March 2017 and September 2017 when it went from 150,059 to 136,925, during which the backpacker tax came into effect. This is one of a range of measures introduced to promote the working holiday visas. The Government last year also announced it would ease time limit restrictions on working holiday makers allowing them to spend more time in Australia. The changes allow backpackers to stay with one employer for up to a year, rather than six months as well as being allowed to renew their visas for a second year, and sometimes a third.
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  • November 22, 2018

Not all “migration agents” are migration agents

In the past few days we have seen an increase in clients coming to us seeking help with their visa applications because some “migration agents” didn’t do their job properly. When we ask them about their visa grant letter, or refusal letter, or any other sort of communication, they have nothing to show us because they simply have never been given anything by their “agents”. Check if they are officially registered! In Australia, it is illegal to provide migration advice if you are not a registered migration agent. To find out if the person you are speaking to is officially registered as a migration agent, we urge you to follow this link: https://www.mara.gov.au/search-the-register-of-migration-agents/. Put in that person’s name to see if he/she shows up at all. If they don’t, then stay away from that person and do not – by all means – pay them any money. There are enough fake agents out there, such as is the case with Eddie Kang for example, who are making money from you, selling you the opportunity of getting a visa or even better, they have a “sponsor” for you. No agent, registered or not, can give you a visa, no matter how much money you pay them. Only the Department of Home Affairs will be making a decision on your visa. The job of a migration agent consists of helping you prepare a strong visa application, telling you what documents you need, informing you about everything along the way and communicating with you and the Department on your behalf. Check if they have lost their registration! On the official website of the Office of Migration Agents (MARA) you will also find a list of all those people who have been registered as agents before but have now been permitted to practice as an agent: https://www.mara.gov.au/news-and-publications/public-notices/disciplinary-decisions/. There are currently 92 (!) agents who are either suspended, cancelled or barred from practicing. Checklist: Check the name of your agent through the link provided above Check their official migration agent number (MARA number – If they have one, they will be happy to give it to you). Ask for a services agreement. Ask for a receipt of payment. You can find our migration agents and their registration in our About Us section.
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Migration Centre of Australia (MCA) Your trusted partner for Australian immigration. We simplify visas, skilled migration, sponsorships, and more—so you can focus on your future.

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