Sol2Oz Posted November 26, 2011 Share Posted November 26, 2011 Hey George - do you think that the DIAC wants to start off the 2012 year with a "clean slate" and that's why they're processing these applications now, and the others at decent speeds? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Lombard Posted November 26, 2011 Author Share Posted November 26, 2011 Hi Sol, What DIAC wants and what they can achieve are different animals. In fact the evidence of the past decade is that perhaps sometimes when they get what they want it comes with disastrous consequences. The fact that they can start working on the backlog doesn't in itself prove anything, I wouldn't expect that more than 5,000 of the 30,000 backlog are going to get attention, but fingers crossed. Cheers, George Lombard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jamie Smith Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 On another topic, DIAC has finally announced that they will be processing priority 5 applications, see http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/gsm-priority5-processing.htm . Most likely the volume of applications won't satisfy everyone but hopefully it will diminish the waiting for those who have been in the queue for the longest time. George, it feels more like DIAC are moving down the priority list only due to reducing inflow of higher priority cases, which eases the numbers in backlog. I know some State Govts have been asking around the industry if people know why they (state) are getting fewer applications (of higher priority cases). NZ's lesson in this is that the EOI system will make for even fewer applications in the medium to longer term. The early days will be filled up / oversubscibed by people claiming eligibility by mistake and dodgy overseas agents lodging cases under EOI that no longer fit under the old system ( and also won't fit under the new but the agent stuffed it in so they could get a progress payment at least). EOI in NZ now only attracts those who are known to have enough points and hence provides an artificial narrowing of occupations in applicants. Watch for a boom in 457s as the EOI chokes inflow going down the the immigration neck even further. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Yog Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 I applied for SA state sponsorship and before I got it I was diagnosed with lymph node TB which is inactive I'have been under medication for 3 months now meanwhile I got the sponsorship from SA and have applied for the 176 visa and have also been allotted a case who has asked for medicals ...will my illness have any effect on my Visa??? My doctor says it won't as i cannot commute it ...I very worried ..can u help me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sol2Oz Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 Hi Sol, What DIAC wants and what they can achieve are different animals. In fact the evidence of the past decade is that perhaps sometimes when they get what they want it comes with disastrous consequences. The fact that they can start working on the backlog doesn't in itself prove anything, I wouldn't expect that more than 5,000 of the 30,000 backlog are going to get attention, but fingers crossed. Cheers, George Lombard Those numbers are amazing and staggering. I wonder why DIAC continues to allow applications although they are backlogged. I know they say that it's up to the economic needs of the country, but it still seems a bit disorganised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Lombard Posted November 28, 2011 Author Share Posted November 28, 2011 @Jamie - don't get me started but yes there's massive insecurity among potential GSM applicants, and from July next year the only ones applying for skills assessment will be ones who think they're lucky since no-one will be able to give anyone a guarantee except for shyster agents; this in turn will damage the quality of applicants, and my guess is that this downturn will be used as a justification to reduce program numbers. The 457 and ENS programs are not immune from manipulation by the shysters you mention. @Yog - yes TB can be a significant problem. You need to go through the medicals and hope that your strain is not one of the bad ones. @Sol - if you did a survey of DIAC officials half of them would choose the national anthem as their ringtone and stand for it every time the phone rang. The problem is that not everyone in DIAC can agree what the economic needs of the country are. Cheers, George Lombard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olga Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Nurses and midwifes are a protected species when it comes to migration. George, are Secondary School Teachers protected species, too? :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Lombard Posted November 29, 2011 Author Share Posted November 29, 2011 Hi Olga, No I wouldn't have thought so, they're reasonably cheap to train and the forward demand isn't quite as obvious as it is for nurses, given declining birth rates, age cohort profiles, technological developments in education, etc. Get your application in quickly. Cheers, George Lombard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olga Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Hi Olga, No I wouldn't have thought so, they're reasonably cheap to train and the forward demand isn't quite as obvious as it is for nurses, given declining birth rates, age cohort profiles, technological developments in education, etc. Get your application in quickly. Cheers, George Lombard Morning George! Thank you very much for the quick response What do you mean by "technological developments in education"? Computers instead of teachers in secondary classrooms? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Lombard Posted November 29, 2011 Author Share Posted November 29, 2011 Hi Olga, We're all subject to technology driven obsolescence; they'll replace teachers before nurses. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khan_Academy for example. Interesting to speculate when, in a sophisticated civilisation of the future, immigration officials are no longer required. Cheers, George Lombard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sol2Oz Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Hi Olga, We're all subject to technology driven obsolescence; they'll replace teachers before nurses. George Lombard Yes, but we'll need systems analysts, developer programmers, bio-technologists and lord knows what else to get them implemented, ey, George? :biglaugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Lombard Posted November 30, 2011 Author Share Posted November 30, 2011 Sol, where in the DIAC world did you get that idea? Once we have the technology then all those guys will have to go home. Or, by Ford, just leave, period. Cheers, George Lombard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olga Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Hi Olga, We're all subject to technology driven obsolescence; they'll replace teachers before nurses. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khan_Academy for example. Interesting to speculate when, in a sophisticated civilisation of the future, immigration officials are no longer required. Cheers, George Lombard Ohhh, it is a veeeeryyyy distant future Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dono Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Haha. If we go on what George says, then there will be no jobs anywhere at all. In fact, the entire human race, being every single job and profession, is going to be done by a computer in future. Good to know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olga Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Haha. If we go on what George says, then there will be no jobs anywhere at all. In fact, the entire human race, being every single job and profession, is going to be done by a computer in future. Good to know! It will definitely solve the problem of skills shortages in Australia ...in approx. 23rd century Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Lombard Posted December 1, 2011 Author Share Posted December 1, 2011 Jokes aside, I'm sure that Skills Australia factors technology and legislative change into its estimation of future needs. Not every technological shift is as obvious as the demise of the printing industry occupations such as typesetters, and graphic pre-press tradespersons. Even the world-wide need for radiologists has decreased since it has become possible to centralise the skills using high speed transmission of radiological images, see http://www.virtualrad.com/. To the extent that Skills Australia is taking a medium to long-term view of future needs I'm sure that they're looking at technology - and regulation, Dono. My memory is that the original inclusion of accountants in our central skills lists was justified at the time because of the introduction of the GST - we must be up to speed on that now. Cheers, George Lombard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest IrishMiss Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Thank You for this info as I was actually wondering was there anyway to know what occupations may get removed from the SOL in future. Is that the complete list of flagged occupations? How accurate have these lists been in the past? Does anyone have any information regarding whether Early Childhood Teacher is in danger of being removed from the SOL soon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Izzy66 Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Hi I have a question for George (very nice of you to share your knowledge) I have been a legal secretary since leaving school (29 years ago) I have worked in almost every area and have a wide knowledge of law. I started ILEX exams in 2007 and completed 3 years obtaining Level 3 and Level 6 qualifications (sadly I didnt complete the final year). I undertook training for approximately two years as a para legal/legal exec from one of the partners, I was interviewing clients, taking statements, researching case law, attended an inquest behind counsel, even settled a couple of PI cases, one which appeared in the Gazette. I left to gain a greater understanding of medical knowledge by undertaking the medical terminology exam (merit) 2010 and took a job as a float medical secretary working in many departments. After all that my question is do you think I could try for Schedule 2 Judicial and Other legal professionals nec (legal officer)....or don't I stand a chance? This is the closest I can get on the skills list. Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest smigs Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Hi all, I am seeking advice about whether I would qualify for employer sponsored migration. I am a qualified auto electrician. I have an Australian employer willing to sponsor me. I am 55 years old. Am I wasting my time because of my age even though my occupation is on the list? Is there any one out there that has been accepted that is over 50? The policy is 'in exeptional circumstances' or words to that effect. What does that mean exactly? Many thanks for any advice, Regards, Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Lombard Posted December 2, 2011 Author Share Posted December 2, 2011 @ Irish Miss: Skills Australia is a new organisation and the flagged occupations is a new initiative. Most likely the need for early childhood teachers here depends on the birthrate - demographic analysis and the baby boom's shadow effect, etc. The main issue for early childhood teachers is being accepted by AITSL - http://www.aitsl.edu.au/assessment-for-migration.html . @Izzy: I could use you in my office lol! The bottom line for GSM is that you have to have qualifications which are acceptable to the assessing body. In the case of the legal admission boards this can't work without acceptable legal qualifications, in the case of Vetassess you'd just need a degree qualification or equivalent. @Pete: Exceptional circumstances for 55+ tradesmen is always a challenge, not to be tried without experienced migration agent/lawyer support. Cheers, George Lombard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest London9years Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Thanks for all the advice George. :notworthy: Reading through their proposal around changes that will happen in middle of next year – flagged SOL roles, Skillselect and changes to employer sponsored visas... (http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/whats-new-esw.htm#19aug) I'm trying to get my head around how it all might change and affect my family. Im currently on a 457, like a lot of other people, but my skill is currently not on the SOL or ENSOL but only on the 457 list - ICT project manager (most of my roles has been higher, but did not exist on the ANZSCO - Programme Director / Program manager in the Telco world). So, Im not on the ENSOL, so cant get PR through the company as well. Although great being over here, being on a 457 is painful and a bit scary due to lack of security for my family with school and buying a house etc. So want a PR of course if possible in the future. I’m thinking of the odds that my occupation might get added to SOL so I can go through the EOI route, but just seeing flagged occupations and not possible ones that might be added? Guess the odds or terrible considering mine is not on ENSOL. Sorry for the ranting on... Back to my questions: 1. A lot of people, like myself, get on a 457 first… any views / wild guesses on how the changes might affect us that aren't on the ENSOL at the moment? Looks like there are views to merge 457 and ENSOL in some ways? (Im particularly interested in the ICT project manager occuption ;-) ) 2. If (1) is unfavourable, any ways to find out potential occupations that might be added to SOL and not only the flagged ones? I checked Skills Australia website… but struggled to find any useful information (unless if I had been in the resources industry that had a good paper included on the site). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Izzy66 Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Many thanks for replying George, Iv liked your FB page. Well surely this is good news then, as level 6 is equivalent to degree level (over here and if VETASSESS agree this as equivalent qualification) I just need to complete my ILEX (1 year) and find an Aus employer to sponsor me on 457 visa. My previous 6s are in Law of Tort and Civil Lit. I could do a unit in Immigration which may aid me in going through this process although it looks very indepth and is an area in which I have not worked previously and may be difficult to pass. The other would probably be Family Law. Any further advice would be greatly appreciated. Izzy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sol2Oz Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Hi George - I have another question - If an occupation is flagged, when can we expect to see it removed from the SOL? On the same fiscal year, or the upcoming - i.e. July 2012? Thanks for your answers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Lombard Posted December 3, 2011 Author Share Posted December 3, 2011 @London - your 457 occupation isn't necessarily a life sentence, an ENS application can be lodged in an alternative occupation if it's possible to nail the definition. @Izzy - first step would be to read the Vetassess website very carefully about how they treat work experience gained before qualification and then engage professional assistance. Migration law is a bit of a shrinking field at the moment. @Sol - 1 July is the date we expect any changes to be announced, but this is not fixed and during the years of the MODL the announcements depended on the Minister's whim. Cheers, George Lombard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jowill Posted December 5, 2011 Share Posted December 5, 2011 Hi George.. Curious what your thoughts are... If the gov't decides to take an occupation off the SOL, say in July 2012 (or even earlier), what would happen to those applicants who have already made an application prior to the change? I think when the new SOL came out in July 2011, everyone who wasn't on the new SOL got moved to Category 5 (neverending wait ). Could that happen again in 2012? Or would they just "kill off" those applications and make them apply for a new visa? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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