Guest Steven O'Neil Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Hiya For those interested the latest copy of our newsletter on Visa issues is here .. www.iscah.com/Iscahnewsletter116.pdf ------------------------------------------------------------ Those who wish to just read a text version, it appears below .. ------------------------------------------------------------ ISCAH Migration Newsletter (Copyright 2008) Edition Number 116 Monday 18th February 2008 Hi everyone and welcome to edition number 116 of our monthly newsletter. (Note: If you want to email us please don’t reply back to the mailing address that you receive this newsletter from. Instead email us at newsletter@iscah.com) This newsletter keeps you up to date with all the changes to Australia’s immigration laws that we know about. If you want backcopies, want to subscribe permanently (it is free) or wish to unsubscribe, please drop us an email to newsletter@iscah.com. So the footy season has finally kicked off and Fremantle started off with a low key win by 7 goals yesterday against our local rivals. It is a good game to get the cobwebs out of the system and winning allows you to avoid some practice games in some obscure parts of the country. I was away for a couple of days and so my absence was obviously the key to the success L. The season proper starts in around 4 weeks and if you are a regular subscriber to this newsletter you will be getting ready for the roller coaster, pleasure and pain of the purple army journey. Come on Freo !! On to the newsletter .. 1) Trades Recognition Australia (TRA) and suspension of Pathway D 2) Suspension of the $100,000 in investment for skilled applications 3) Firms may be forced to consult unions on 457 visas 4) ISCAH Services 5) Possible new Procedures for UK police clearances 6) Allocation times for General Skilled Applications 7) Immigration Minister announces increased Migrant intake Australian Migration numbers in the future 1) Trades Recognition Australia (TRA) and suspension of Pathway D The MIA is continuing to liaise with Trades Recognition Australia (TRA) and the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations in relation to Pathway D that, before its suspension, allowed the work experience skills of tradespeople to be assessed for migrant entry purposes. Progress has been slow but TRA has indicated that they have put submissions to Minister Gillard and will be consulting with the MIA about a replacement for "Pathway D". TRA has indicated that it is committed to introduction of the replacement pathway by 1 July at latest and is prepared to discuss possible interim measures with the MIA within the next month or two. In short, progress has been slower than hoped but TRA is still talking to the MIA and all indications are that there will be a replacement pathway made available in coming months even if requirements are likely to be more stringent. (Source : Migration Institute of Australia) 2) Suspension of the $100,000 in investment for skilled applications The last response we had from DIAC on this issue was on the 5th February as follows .. ’….Unfortunately, I have no further news for you at this point in time. As you may appreciate, the Minister is new to the portfolio and it is to be expected that decisions by him may take a reasonable amount of time while he and his staff are familiarising themselves with the subject matter….’ (Source: DIAC) 3) Firms may be forced to consult unions on 457 visas An article in the West Australian newspaper last week stated as follows .. “Businesses including non-unionised workplaces, will be forced to seek approval from unions and other stakeholders before they import skilled workers under the 457 visa program. The West Australian (newspaper) has learnt that under the new protocol, employers applying for a labour agreement must consult a range of stakeholders, including unions, peak employer bodies and professional associations. Any objections would be considered by the Immigration Department when determining the application…” “… Immigration Minister Chris Evans said the new measure would improve the transparency and accountability of the skilled migration program..”. (Source: West Australian Newspaper) Iscah comment – Note this article mentions “labour agreements” only. If it is only restricted to this then many businesses employing small number of skilled people will not be affected. More news as we receive it. 4) ISCAH Services Just a reminder that as well as writing this newsletter once every month for the last 10 years we also provide management of visa applications in any of the 151 possible visa subclasses. See graph here www.iscah.com/index_files/Page427.htm If you want a free assessment of your chances of migrating to Australia you are welcome to email us your details at migration@iscah.com or have a look at our website at www.iscah.com 5) Possible new Procedures for UK police clearances Some information below for UK visa applicants. DIAC are looking at whether they will adopt changes to their police checking procedures and if so form 47P will be updated… Police Certificates The ACPO Criminal Records Office is piloting an initiative to provide Police Certificates for Visa purposes. The four countries involved in the pilot are Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States of America. The attached application form and associated guidance should be used when applying for a Police Certificate, which will provide the results of a criminal record check. Link: http://www.acpo.police.uk/certificates.asp (Source: ACPO – UK) 6) Allocation times for General Skilled Applications As of 12 February the ASPC Admin Section is processing applications as follows: Onshore Applications: receipting and acknowledging applications received on 8 February 2008. Offshore Applications received after 1 September 2007: receipting and acknowledging applications received on 8 February 2008. Offshore Applications received prior to 1 September 2007: All applications with a valid payment have now been receipted. The ASPC is acknowledging offshore applications received on 23 August 2007. Please note that any delay in acknowledging an application does not affect the date on which a valid application is recorded as having been received and does not delay processing of the application. Once an application has been acknowledged it will be allocated to a case officer for further assessment as soon as possible, however, the ASPC receives a large number of applications and you will not be contacted immediately. PROCESSING AND ALLOCATION INFORMATION - For the week of 12 February 2008 Applications lodged on or before the dates shown below have been allocated to case officers for further processing. Onshore Skilled visas (permanent and provisional) Student/Graduate applications - Class DD and DE visas Paper based applications: 26 July 2007 (subclass 880), 28 August 2007 (subclass 881) and 28 August 2007 (subclass 882) E-lodged (on-line) applications: 25 July 2007 (subclass 880) and 29 August 2007 (subclass 881) and 29 August 2007 (subclass 882) Onshore Skilled Independent Regional (Provisional) (SIR) – Class UX visas All applications: all applications are now allocated to case officers New Zealand Citizen (Residence) - Class DB visas All applications: all applications are now allocated to case officers Skilled Migration visas - All paper based applications for Class BN, BQ, BR, UX and UZ visas (Subclasses 134, 136, 137, 138, 139, 495 and 496): 28 February 2007 e-lodged Skilled Independent Regional (Provisional) applications: 17 August 2007 General Skilled Migration visas– Class VE, VF,VB and VC visas (subclasses 175, 176, 475, 476, 885, 886, 887, 485 and 487) E-lodged (on-line) applications: 16 October 2007 Paper based applications: 11 September 2007 (Source: DIAC) 7) Immigration Minister announces increased Migrant intake The following was announced by the new Immigration Minister, Chris Evans, yesterday. He must have been in a happy mood that his beloved Fremantle Dockers (yep, is cursed by the same tragic spell as me) were beating our local rivals yesterday … Immigration package to ease skills shortage Sunday, 17 February 2008 The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, today unveiled a package of migration measures designed to address Australia’s skills and labour shortages. Senator Evans said the package had the potential to provide thousands of additional workers in the short term, especially for the labour-strapped mining and construction industries. An External Reference Group made up of industry experts will also examine how selected temporary skilled migration measures can help ease labour shortages in the medium to long term. Senator Evans said the package would complement the Rudd Government's move to fast-track the establishment of Skills Australia in order to help lift the productive capacity of the Australian economy and fight inflation. The Minister said that concerns had been raised by the states and a number of industries regarding their ability to rapidly start up new and significant projects because of skilled labour shortages. 'Skills and labour shortages are also a major cause of inflationary pressures in the economy,' Senator Evans said. As an immediate measure, the Skilled Migration program will be increased by 6000 places in 2007-08. The increase will be made up of permanent employer sponsored visas and General Skilled Migration visas. 'Employer sponsored visas are the highest priority because they put a migrant worker directly into a skilled job,' Senator Evans said. The General Skilled Migration program selects people with the right skills and qualifications to work in industries where labour is in demand. The additional 6000 places will bring to 108 500 the total number of permanent visas granted under the Skill Stream of the migration program in 2007-08. Senator Evans said that negotiations were also underway with other countries to expand the reciprocal Working Holiday visa program for young people. 'The tourism and primary industry sectors in particular will benefit as the pool of young people coming to Australia on working holidays continues to grow,' Senator Evans said. The number of people on Working Holiday visas has grown from 85 200 in 2001-02 to 126 600 in 2006-07. To specifically assist the construction industry, changes to the Working Holiday visa program will enable people who undertake at least three months work in the construction sector in regional Australia to extend their 12 month working holiday visa by another year. This provision is already available to people who work in primary industry in regional Australia, which includes the agriculture, forestry, fishing and mining industries. Senator Evans said that the number of people who had extended their working holiday visa by another year under the scheme had almost trebled from 2690 in 2005-06 to 7,990 in 2006-07 and was expected to increase by 51 per cent this financial year to more than 10 000. 'It is estimated that extending this working holiday visa concession to work in the construction industry in regional Australia could attract a further 5000 workers to that industry alone,' Senator Evans said. 'Addressing Australia's long-term skills shortages is vital to tackling the inflationary pressures left behind by the Howard-Costello government.' Senator Evans said the construction, major infrastructure, tourism and the resources sectors would be the focus of the External Reference Group. 'The group will provide me with specific advice on ways to ensure the temporary work visa system, also known as the subclass 457 visa program, operates as effectively as possible in contributing to the supply of skilled labour,' Senator Evans said. The Temporary Business (Long Stay) visa (subclass 457) allows businesses to recruit skilled labour from overseas for temporary entry to Australia for between three months and four years. In addition, the reference group will advise the Minister on current and anticipated future employment trends and the need for overseas recruitment in the identified sectors. The reference group will provide an interim report to the Minister by 14 March with a final report due in April. (Source: DIAC) Australian Migration numbers in the future Here is a report from a major Australian Newspaper 2 weeks ago .. Immigration, already at a record high, will need to almost double to 316,000 by 2051 to meet labour market needs, but the country is ill prepared to deal with the increase, according to a new report. 'It is the inevitable story of Australian history,' said Peter McDonald, co-author of Population And Australia's Future Labour Force. 'Migration is driven by labour demand.' The report, published by the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, estimates migration will rise from 160,000 in 2006 (when the population was 20.6 million) to 316,000 in 2051 (when the population is expected to reach 36.2 million). Professor McDonald and his co-author, Professor Glen Withers, are calling for an independent inquiry to determine the best planning and policy to meet the country's future labour needs. 'It needs to be done precisely, not just the total, but the types of skills, and then the capacity of the domestic population to meet that demand,' Professor McDonald said. 'Strong demand for labour will be driven by rising living standards, the growth of the healthy aged population, the resources boom, construction of new infrastructure and changes in the way we live our lives because of environmental and technological demands.' He added: 'We are feeling the impact now, businesses across the country can't find the labour it wants. The current inflationary pressures are driven by labour shortages leading to wage rises.' (Source: Sydney Morning Herald) Okay folks, that is it for another month. See you all on Monday 17th March. Cheers Steven O’Neil Iscah Migration newsletter@iscah.com www.iscah.com _________________ ex-DIMA/DIAC officer Webpage www.iscah.com E-mail steven@iscah.com Iscah Australia Migration Consultants RMA 9687267 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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