Guest Jamie Smith Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Jamie, A quick note to say that the age of the main skilled applicant is frozen at the date the visa application is delivered to the ASPC. See you on Weds. Best regards. Yes, I meant ALL applicants. :wubclub: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jamie Smith Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Alan Collett and I are both travelling to Adelaide on the red-eye flight this Wednesday, as tacked on the end of a Business Skills forum (with top 2 agents and DIAC Business Skills staff doing presentations) is a further presentation by the manager of DIAC ASPC, about GSM and the new processing direction. :tongue: I think he's the same chappie that presented at the MIA conference workshop from where our original figures came. so it will be interesting to hear the current numbers and status, DIAC internal attitude, application number inflow, and if we can get it on or off the record, possible changes in the wind as a result of feedback. No promises, other than to do our best to see what we can find out and report back here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramot Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 First of all a very big thank you to you Gill, for organising the meeting. I leave it to the experts as to how to approach it, but do want to emphasise that it is almost impossible to get any decent job without PR, even if qualified. There seems to be a total reluctance on employers to consider you. Should you be lucky enough to get a job, then, as an onshore PR applicant, should your employer wish to sponser you for an Ens(?), to help speed up the long wait, you would have to go overseas for it to be granted. If I'm right this is crazy. Also please consider mentioning that on bridging visa A, you are not allowed the freedom to leave Australia without almost begging for permission, pleading extenuating circumstances!!!! So a virtual prisoner here for years. I'm sure bridging visa A was really originally only intended as a short term measure, not for up to 2 years as now may be the case since 23rd. Sept. Again a very big thank you for all your hard work on all our behalf, and good luck on the 30th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramot Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Further to the above, I think that the problem for applying for an ENS visa, is that bridging visa A is not a substansive visa, therefor you can only apply for an offshore one, with all the extra costs of travel involved to set it up. That is if you are very very lucky to find an employer in the first place. Only been 9 months so far, so goodness knows how any ex students are ever going to be lucky enough to find the work experience needed for the 485 visa for their extra points, if they have gone the academic route and aren't on the CSL list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McKlaut Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 We are not asking you to tell us things and offer more information that is not already in the public domain, we know plenty about what is going on and certainly more than you appear to give us credit for. We will not attend the meeting if you are just diplomatically encouraging us to turn up, drink the usual cup of tea to be poured with free platitiudes and blow off some steam. I assure you we can blow off more steam than Australia House air conditioning can handle! And more steam again when we are on the pavement with the tv cameras rolling. We would be pleased to meet with you if you are prepared to take us seriously and represent our views to the Minister and DIAC management after you hear them. Nice letter Jamie, The last part I like most of all. I think it's very important to make them feel that games are over now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Collett Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Alan Collett and I are both travelling to Adelaide on the red-eye flight this Wednesday, as tacked on the end of a Business Skills forum (with top 2 agents and DIAC Business Skills staff doing presentations) is a further presentation by the manager of DIAC ASPC, about GSM and the new processing direction. :tongue: I think he's the same chappie that presented at the MIA conference workshop from where our original figures came. so it will be interesting to hear the current numbers and status, DIAC internal attitude, application number inflow, and if we can get it on or off the record, possible changes in the wind as a result of feedback. No promises, other than to do our best to see what we can find out and report back here. Jamie, You may want to send some questions in advance through the local MIA State Exec - no excuses then from said ASPC Director as to not having the stats to hand. Just a thought ... See you at Tullamarine on Weds morning. Best regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jamie Smith Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 mmmmmmmm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest floater Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Hi Gill. Anything I can do in preperation for monday, please let me know. Richie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gollywobbler Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Hi All I have just come off the phone after a lengthy chat with David Wilden at Australia House. He has asked me to say that his e-mail address is david.wilden[at]dfat.gov.au He needs to know the real names of people who will be attending the meeting next Monday so that the reception staff can get security passes ready with our names on them etc. He confirms that if we arrange to be in the foyer by about 11.30 am this will give sufficent time for the security people to make us walk through the archways or whatever and then the meeting will start at 12 noon. Please e-mail Mr Wilden direct to confirm your attendance. That way, you need not reveal your real names and e-mail addys to me unless you want to. DIAC/Dfat will treat your details in strict confidence, so please help Mr Wilden with this one. Mr Wilden promises that he will tell us as much as he knows but that he may not know the answers to all the questions that people want to ask or grouses that they may want to raise. I have agreed with him that I think the main meeting will take about 45 to 60 minutes. Mr Wilden will then make himself available to talk with applicants individually, to hear your particular predicaments and to see what he can suggest by way of solutions, I hope. The issues which he and I dealt with this morning are: Refunds: Mr W says that DIAC are conscious that the GSM visa program has blown out, meaning that many thousands of applicants must be wishing that they had never even considered Australia. One of the options is to offer those people refunds if they decide that they want to abandon their thoughts of moving to Oz. DIAC have given the Minister a range of options to consider, which include the possibility of ensuring that nobody is left out of pocket if they decide to abandon Australia. (I should think not.) Mr Wilden does not know how long it will take for the Minister to consider the options and make a decision about this. Whether he will have any answers about this depends on what happens in the Minister's office - which Mr W cannot control. Why did the Government allow the GSM program to blow out in the way that is has? Surely it was obvious last December that encouraging people to rush to secure State Sponsorship was going to achieve nothing other than de-railing the Minister's Plans A & B, leaving everyone lumbered with nothing except the rump of the original idea via Plan C, announced out of the blue on 23rd September 2009? Mr Wilden admitted that he is in the UK as part of Australia's diplomatic mission to the UK and that he holds a diplomatic visa for the UK. For the rest, I got flannel about how the Aussie Govt has been monitoring the economic crisis closely, has supposedly acted very swiftly to minimise the harm to Australia and to visa applicants alike etc. Pure waffle, in other words, but diplomats are genetically programmed to trot that out till the cows come home unfortunately. Employer sponsorship is not a viable option for most GSM visa applicants: Mr Wilden says that DIAC know this and that they agree. Which is why they have invited the Minister to consider offering refunds because they are well aware that most employers in Oz will not get involved with the hassle and red tape of trying to sponsor workers for visas. Why is Australia fussing about 80 hostage takers on a boat? That cuts no ice in the UK where the Government welcomes all comers, visas or not. Mr Wilden says that the Press in Australia have become feral about the "irregular boat arrivals" or whatever the Government cares to call them. Because of the fury being whipped up by the Press, the boat people are occupying a vast amount of the Minister's time..... ("Blame the Press," I suspect!) Some States, notably WA, are going to suffer real pain as a result of the skills shortage caused by Plan C, which is likely to continue indefinitely. This is all a question of "balance" according to Mr Wilden. With only 3 million souls in West Australia, WA's needs have to be balanced against the fact that the other 19 million Aussies elswhere (mainly Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane) are suffering from an over-supply of the sorts of skills that WA needs. WA will just have to suffer unless workers already in other parts of Oz choose to go to WA to help out. The Govt believes that Gorgon and comparable WA projects will offer the financial incentives to get them to do so. I have to go out in a minute but I will add more to this post later. Cheers for now Gill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Collett Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Hi All I have just come off the phone after a lengthy chat with David Wilden at Australia House. <snip> Some States, notably WA, are going to suffer real pain as a result of the skills shortage caused by Plan C, which is likely to continue indefinitely. This is all a question of "balance" according to Mr Wilden. With only 3 million souls in West Australia, WA's needs have to be balanced against the fact that the other 19 million Aussies elswhere (mainly Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane) are suffering from an over-supply of the sorts of skills that WA needs. WA will just have to suffer unless workers already in other parts of Oz choose to go to WA to help out. The Govt believes that Gorgon and comparable WA projects will offer the financial incentives to get them to do so. I have to go out in a minute but I will add more to this post later. Cheers for now Gill I s'pose it is no coincidence that WA is the only Coalition controlled State in Australia ... sayeth AC, ever cynical about the motives of politicians? Best regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kazzarazza Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 I s'pose it is no coincidence that WA is the only Coalition controlled State in Australia ... sayeth AC, ever cynical about the motives of politicians? Best regards. Given Mike Rann's recent performance - I would guess SA will be joining them in March 2010:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr luvpants Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Are you short on numbers Gill or do you need me to bump up the numbers? JOHN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McKlaut Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Some States, notably WA, are going to suffer real pain as a result of the skills shortage caused by Plan C, which is likely to continue indefinitely. This is all a question of "balance" according to Mr Wilden. With only 3 million souls in West Australia, WA's needs have to be balanced against the fact that the other 19 million Aussies elswhere (mainly Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane) are suffering from an over-supply of the sorts of skills that WA needs. WA will just have to suffer unless workers already in other parts of Oz choose to go to WA to help out. The Govt believes that Gorgon and comparable WA projects will offer the financial incentives to get them to do so. I think there is no need to explain why migrants cost less than workers from other Aus states. Moreover, WA has always been less populated than other parts and they could not radically change this trend except from attracting migrants. So, why do the government thinks they can now? Looks similar to the minister's migration plans A and B. After couple of years of inviting locals to move to WA they will decide that migrants is a better and cheaper option. Finally, did the minister ask WA's opinion to the topic? Or does again he think he is the most intelligent man in Australia? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gollywobbler Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Are you short on numbers Gill or do you need me to bump up the numbers? JOHN H John It woluld be immensely useful if you could join us, please, because you have a very good understanding of all the issues. Please see above about e-mailing David Wilden with your real name for your security pass. Many thanks Gill:notworthy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr luvpants Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Ok I will check with the boss when she gets in to make sure that we are clear and let you know. JOHN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraceyT Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Hi Gill, I am sorry I can't make the meeting next Mon. I really wanted to attend, but cost and staffing have made it impossible. If you wanted to use my story, re: child being too old by 2010, I will send you a PM with more data; it was the one Peter Mares used in his write up. I will be sending huge positive thoughts your way and look forward to reading the outcome. Tracey xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Petere Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Hi Gill and everybody who is involved in the protest! The protest is a great idea! Unfortunatelly, I can´t join the meeting next Monday personally because I am living in Czech Republic and I am Czech Republic citizen. Anyway, I would like to join your/our protest virtually. Please mention also my support next Monday. Just from now your support isn´t only on a national stage, but also on an international stage as well. If you or others people want, you can use also my story in case to achive our goals. Thanks, Petere My story: I am PhDr. in education with 4,5 years of experience. Anyway, it is strange, but true story- it is not the best profession to pass all Australian immigration requirements for PR visa-with is my life priority. So I have decided to change my professional pathway and I started to be an electrician in focus to apply for PR-visa as the best choice. Just now I am a professional general electrician passed 5,5 years of regulated apprenticeship plus 6 years full time professional work experiences in this field. TRA-general electrician-passed 9/6/09, IELTS passed, 176 MODL ( non CSL)-WA SS granted 27/9/09-now waiting until 2012/13?-TERRIBLE!!! IT IS NOT FAIR PLAY! Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WJK Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Gill Being a current priority 5 since 23/9 prior to that date our medicals/pc had been requested by Case Officer and all met We then looked at our options so thought right ENS We have found a company that has agreed to sponsor me under ENS that is until we mentioned the minimum wage of AU$45,220 (Hairdresser) he stated he pays his staff in accordance with department of consumer and employment protection award for hairdressing The wages Fall below the ENS requirement and to pay above this would be unfair on his current employees which I understand I was happy with his wage offer but because of the rules we are back to a long wait role on 2013 Can you bring this up there are skill shortages in WA and the papers are full every week but the minimum wage under ENS is making the ENS an unviable option for Employers to fill their skill shortages without paying over the industry’s wage structure and without changes to the current priority processing the skill shortgaes will only get worse as 2013 is a long way off Thanks WJK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Collett Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 GillBeing a current priority 5 since 23/9 prior to that date our medicals/pc had been requested by Case Officer and all met We then looked at our options so thought right ENS We have found a company that has agreed to sponsor me under ENS that is until we mentioned the minimum wage of AU$45,220 (Hairdresser) he stated he pays his staff in accordance with department of consumer and employment protection award for hairdressing The wages Fall below the ENS requirement and to pay above this would be unfair on his current employees which I understand I was happy with his wage offer but because of the rules we are back to a long wait role on 2013 Can you bring this up there are skill shortages in WA and the papers are full every week but the minimum wage under ENS is making the ENS an unviable option for Employers to fill their skill shortages without paying over the industry’s wage structure and without changes to the current priority processing the skill shortgaes will only get worse as 2013 is a long way off Thanks WJK Where is the employer located? Maybe a visa pathway is available under the RSMS? See: Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (Subclass 119/857) Best regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ruthandjames Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 well done gill, I can see your putting great time and work into nov 30th meeting, i would honestly love to be there and give support to you and so many of us in this visa mess but im irish and live in ireland, I would like to add please remember the irish that are affected aswell the london offices are our branch as they(australian embassy) was pulled out of dubllin and we have to get all our info from the london branch. Im sure there is more irish on poms in oz because it is a great help and what you and other are doing and going to do on the 30th I think is fantastic and im with ye 100% really sorry i cant make it over to far to travel :sad:, i'd love any info or help if i can best of luck :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gollywobbler Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Hi All One of the things which David Wilden offered on the phone yesterday is that if anyone can't attend the meeting on Monday but has a particular problem as a result of the delays announced on 23rd September, please contact Mr Wilden direct. His e-mail address is david.wilden[at]dfat.gov.au Mr Wilden is in his mid-40s he told me and is based in London so he is in the same time zone as a lot of applicants who are caught up in the processing delays debacle. Please e-mail him direct with all the details of the visa application you are involved with, so that he can identify you or your loved ones on the DIAC database. In your e-mails, please make SURE that you authorise him to respond to you by e-mail as well as by phone. DIAC & DFAT (Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade) do not use e-mail unless you give them specific, written authority to do so. Then explain the particular problem and don't spare the shovel. I mentioned Kazza's daughter on the phone yesterday. Kazza, Mr Wilden has invited you to contact him specifically and I will PM you with his direct dial number but please e-mail him first so that he has all the facts. Apparently Mr Wilden is the senior DIAC representative in Europe. He uses the dfat e-mail address because he is based in London, he said. He is a very nice man who is willing to do what he can to help people. It is good that he and Mr Dauth, the High Commissioner, accept that it is not adequate or appropriate to leave applicants with serious problems to depend on nothing but the junior call centre staff at the ASPC. The senior people may be able to do something to help so it is definitely worth contacting Mr Wilden yourself I think, Kazza. Please will others be kind enough to resist whingeing to Mr Wilden simply because delays are inconvenient for - but not fatal to - your own plans? However where there are real problems, please don't hesitate to use the route which Mr Wilden is offering. The senior staff need the names and details of the applicants who are seriously disadvantaged by the delays because they do have the power to ignore the general rules on compelling and compassionate grounds, so it is worth a go. The junior call centre staff do not have authority to use any discretion of their own, obviously. Many thanks Gill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n111kkx Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Gill - thank you for all your support and great work. I have to see a heart specialist on that date or would gladly join you. My OH is also a General Electrician with SS. Under the new rules it is really not possible to get an employer to sponsor him as he still has to do 1 years training when in Oz? so Victoria want him, he is prepared to go back to school and get the additional qualifications and put up with crap money for a year but not sure it is now worth the 3 year or maybe longer wait? Best of luck N111kkx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gollywobbler Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Dear David Thank you very much for your letter of 17th November and for your time on the phone yesterday. I confirm that a group of no more than 15 of us will assemble in the foyer at Australia House from 11.30 onwards next Monday, 30th November, ready for a meeting with you beginning at noon. Since the attendees will all be Poms in Oz members and most of us have never met one another except via the internet forum, I will wait till everyone has arrived before asking your receptionists to let you know. If you need to contact me at any time, please do not hesitate to use e-mail. I have asked the attendees to e-mail you direct with their real names so that if they want to protect their e-mail addresses they will not have to trust me with them. Most people use pseudonyms on Poms in Oz so as to protect their privacy and only the two site admin guys are able to access personal information such as e-mail addresses that people do not choose to divulge on the public message boards. I am not involved with site admin. I have started a new thread on the subject, which is quite short so I would ask you to read it, please: http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/migration-issues/73109-protest-visit-australia-house-update.html Alan Collett is a Registered Migration Agent. His firm is called Go Matilda. They are one of the main firms of migration agents in the UK, with offices in Australia as well. Alan is in Australia at the moment, otherwise I would have asked him to come with us on Monday. The points which Alan has made in his post #12 on Page 2 of the thread should be addressed during the meeting, please. I think he has encompassed the main grievances about the 23rd September 2009 debacle, with people who were expecting visas soon suddenly being told that DIAC now expects them to wait till at least 2013 before any further processing will take place. For ease, Alan’s post is reproduced below: Said individual may not be able to say anything that is not in the public domain already, but he can certainly take points of importance relating to persons affected, and report back to you after taking instructions from Canberra. Many are known already, but I suggest for starters: 1. Why State and Territory sponsorships are now being downplayed in importance - after the Minister has in the past made great play of the delegation of skilled migration initiatives to regional areas/State Government his downgrading of s/c 176 and 475 apps without a CSL occupation is a reversal of past policy. How can State and Territory Governments manage their identified local skills shortages when such applications will be taking some 3 years to process to a decision? 2. The finalisation of non CSL applications where meds and penals have been requested by DIAC and paid for by applicants is a matter requiring urgent clarification. Failing to progress these applications to a decision without appropriate financial compensation is at odds with natural justice and fair play. 3. Time delay is inherent in the skilled program. Decisions made today will have far reaching consequences in terms of meeting Australia's skills needs for several years hence. The Minister cannot expect to flick the switch on and off, expecting skilled individuals to respond - he is in a position of trust, and intending migrants with families and financial commitments expect transparency and consistency so they can make informed decisions. Good luck to all attending. Don't expect too much concrete on the day; use the opportunity to make coherent points (I'm sure Gill will ensure this is done), and ask the AHC person if he can please report back by (say) 21/12/2009 - with no spin and commentary on how Australia must choose numbers based on economic circumstances. We know all of this already. Best regards. __________________ Managing Director, Go Matilda, http://www.gomatilda.com Registered Migration Agent Number 0102534 and Chartered Accountant (England & Wales, and Australia) Offices in the UK and in Australia Jamie Smith’s draft letter to you at post #22 on Page 3 of the thread is significant as well because Jamie has done more than anyone else has to get the issues arising from the 23rd September changes aired publicly, as they should be. It is not right that over 100,000 skilled visa applicants, all of whom have spent a lot of money and time on lodging visa applications in the proper manner, should be eclipsed by 80 Tamils holding an Australian Customs vessel to ransom. It is equally wrong that the Minister should be devoting an inordinate amount of his own time to the Tamils - who have paid DIAC and the other Australian authorities (eg Vetassess) nothing - whilst dragging his feet about whether and if so how to compensate the disadvantaged 100,000 or so regular skilled applicants now that the Minister has suddenly shifted the goalposts on the much larger, fee-paying, group for the third time within the space of 10 months. It pays to be a refugee, evidently. No matter how feral the Press are about the Tamils, the Minister has his priorities wrong, I contend. Instead of the Tamils he should be worrying about the 100,000+ people whom he misled for almost 10 months and then suddenly shafted, I strongly suggest. Also significant are the two Peter Mares interviews on ABC Radio, the first with Mark Webster of the Migration Institute of Australia and a disadvantaged onshore applicant member of the 100,000+ strong group and the second with the Minister for Immigration. The links to the transcripts of the interviews are below: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/nationalinterest/stories/2009/2729104.htm#transcript http://www.abc.net.au/rn/nationalinterest/stories/2009/2742507.htm#transcript The Minister’s arrogance and his lack of understanding of the problems which his cack-handed, dithering, self-contradictory attempts to manage the migration program have caused in this last year are breathtaking, bluntly. He has enticed people to entrust their money and their affairs to DIAC in good faith, promising them swift visa processing in return. It is up to him to demonstrate his own good faith now – and to do so promptly - because he cannot expect to help himself to a fees windfall at the discovery that people are not prepared to wait indefinitely for visas for Australia and not prepared to put up with his dithering and his constantly chopping and changing his mind about his wishes. The migration program is not governed by Australia’s lottery laws but the Minister seems to think that over 100,000 skilled visa applicants can be treated as if they were reckless gamblers in a casino – in which scenario the house always wins because the gaming machines are always set to pay out 70/30 in favour of the house. He absolutely does NOT have a right to encourage people to waste money on applying to migrate to Australia and then waste anything up to another £1,500 GBP on the medicals for a family of four, only then to tell the applicants that that is their bad luck and that they will just have to pay another set of meds fees if & when he ever decides to stop mucking them around. The very least that Minister Evans should be doing – and be seen to be doing – is expressing his sincere apologies to the huge number of people whom he has treated so abominably whilst he has been busy rolling out the red carpet for a handful of refugees. It is notable that he was keen to make public announcements when he bragged – as recently as 31st August – that his revised Plan B of 16th March 2009 had been working brilliantly in succession to his earlier (failed) plan A but just 3 short weeks later he hid below the parapet and left DIAC to admit – by omission – that Plan B was a dismal failure as well so the Minister now wishes to experiment with Plan C instead. I recommend that he stops bragging and instead gets on with clearing up the mess he has caused in over 100,000 other people’s lives, bluntly. Plans A & B both having failed, the Minister has trashed all 8 of the State and Territory Governments and he has trashed every single GSM visa applicant whose occupation does not happen to be on his pet Critical Skills List. I think the first thing that would be valuable is if you could please get some accurate, reliable figures from your colleagues in Canberra about how many of the applications sitting waiting at the ASPC and BSPC respectively represent people on the CSL and how many of them involve skilled workers – whom Australia, via the SOL, claims to need – who have now been relegated to Category 5 and a prolonged and indefinite wait. The categories are listed in DIAC’s FAQ of 23rd September, which is here: http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/pdf/faq-priority-processing.pdf I recommend that you do not try to persuade the Category 5 attendees next Monday that the Australian Government has supposedly been managing the global financial crisis brilliantly when that Government is using these applicants’ money and is disrupting their lives (and wrecking their futures for many of them) in the attempt. Australia should be paying its own bills. You have no right to expect potential migrants to pay them for you. DIAC’s idea of the differences in the timescales suggest that about 1/3 of the backlogged 145,000 GSM applications are on the CSL, another 1/3 are applications for onshore GSM visas (subclasses 885,886 and 487 as I understand this) which are not on the CSL and the remaining 1/3 represent applicants for the subclass 175, 176 and 475 visas. In the two non-CSL groups, many of the applicants are State sponsored and therefore now in Category 5. However an accurate breakdown of the figures would undoubtedly help. The projected delays are not minor ones. Many British families will decline to migrate if they ever receive invitations to do so because by the time DIAC eventually get round to processing their applications (if ever) their children will be over 18 and no longer eligible to migrate with their parents. I don’t think many Britons will agree to permanent splits in their families because it is all too often the case that the adult children are not eligible for a Remaining Relative visa instead. Why should their parents go rushing to help Australia to solve a future skills shortage in circumstances like these? DIAC have said that there are no plans to amend the legislation so as to “freeze” the ages of children who are currently under 18. Splendid. So - having swindled fees out of the skilled applicants on the false promise of fast track visa processing, DIAC now expect to shaft them some years later on by claiming, “Your child is no longer dependent on you so we will refuse your visa application unless you withdraw your child from it,” do they? An intelligent approach to solving the problems allegedly caused by the global financial crisis (but actually caused by the Minister’s political persuasions in my opinion, given that no other country has found it necessary to disrupt its skilled immigration program solely because of the alleged global financial crisis) would be to alter the legislation so as to avoid excluding the by-then adult children. It is not rocket science to write a provision to the effect that if the GSM application was submitted on or before [1st January 2008] but is not processed until several years later, the ages of the dependent children will be deemed to have been “frozen” on the dates when the applications were lodged, in exactly the same way as the age of the main applicant. Migration to another country is a two way street, David. You expect the visa applicants to be honest and transparent with you but your Minister sees no need for reciprocity in this regard and neither does his Department, evidently. The figures only emerged because senior DIAC staff attended the recent MIA Annual Conference in Melbourne, including Peter Speldewinde. MIA members are not stupid. They got the DIAC team into a good mood and got the figures out of them. Peter Speldewinde and the other officials revealed the truth about the size of the GSM problem. They also admitted that they knew in 2007 that the GSM program would blow out around now unless steps were taken to prevent it from happening. The necessary steps were not taken so the program has now blown out, which fact is common ground between you and I. Given that the skilled migration program is now in a chaotic state due to the current Minister’s bungled mismanagement of it hitherto, the issue between you and I is how best to minimise the harm to the honest, fees-paid visa applicants whose occupations are on the SOL but which do not happen to be on the Minister’s pet CS List as well. The SOL underpins both the MODL and the CSL, does it not? I think DIAC can do better than to continue to treat the non-CSL applicants for GSM visas like mushrooms, don’t you? The Minister can tear himself away from his beloved refugees for long enough to deal with the fall-out from his latest U-turn as well if he tries. Best wishes Gill Hi All Above is the e-mail I sent to Mr W ten minutes ago in preparation for the meeting on Monday. Cheers Gill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ashlondongal Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Thats absolute fantastic.:notworthy: Grt work done!! Wish you all good luck... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Off to the Sun Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Thats brilliant Gill, thanks very much. I'm also Irish and I can't get to London on the 30th but I'm writing to Mr Wilden now, I'd be no use anyway I'd end up getting upset at the man and that wouldn't help our cause at all, however my unnatural spamming abilities are always at your command!!:notworthy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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