FIVE years ago, double the amount of young people turned apprentices. The drop, tradies say, is because they don’t like to work hard. AUSTRALIA is on the verge of an apprenticeship drought — and some tradies are claiming it’s all down to the younger generation being a...
Minister u-turns on parent visa change
The Turnbull government has scrapped a controversial new rule that forced poorer migrant families to earn more if they wished to financially support visa applications for relatives. Social Services Minister Dan Tehan, in early April made the change to the assurance of...
Increased income requirements for Parent visa sponsors
The Amendment On 26 March 2018, the Minister for Social Service Dan Tehan introduced a legislative instrument to amend the financial criteria for Assurance of Support in which all Australian citizens and permanent residents who wish to sponsor their overseas parents...
Australia needs more local IT interns (as well as the new visa scheme)
We have to shift our focus from short-term approaches to filling job vacancies and start investing in the next generation of local talent. Supplied by Brett Adam By 2022 Australia's IT sector will need to fill an additional 81,000 jobs, according to Australia's...
More flexible visa for migrant workers for the Australian tech industry.
The Australian tech industry has largely welcomed a new visa scheme which could give migrant workers permanent residency in Australia after just three years. On the face of it, the new visa, issued through the Global Talent Scheme on a trial basis, allays some of the...
Cutting immigration risks economic growth, business leader says
Designer Karla Spetic, originally from Croatia: ‘We all come from somewhere — that’s the beauty of being Australian’. Picture: John Feder The head of a leading business group has hit back at calls to cut immigration, warning skills shortages are emerging in sectors...
Turnbull government to exclude 457 visa applicants excluded from new restrictions
The Turnbull government has walked back its hard-line position on 457 visas, announcing visa applications in the pipeline will not to be subject to new restrictions on permanent residency set to come into effect in March. But migration agents are treating the...
Immigration SA priority processing trial for Business nominations.
Immigration SA have advised MIA of the following changes to processing priority for subclass 132 and 188 state nomination applications: • Effective for applications submitted from 25 January 2018, priority processing will be given to those applicants that have...
Partner Visas
Proposed changes to Partner Visa were expected in 2017 but it has been deferred to 2018. This is because the Migration Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Bill 2016(Cth) (“the Bill”) is still before the Senate and has not been enacted. If the Bill is...
Temporary sponsored parent visa
In the 2017-18 federal budget, a new temporary sponsored parent visa was announced - to be available from November 2017. However, the new visa which will allow migrants’ parents to stay in the country for extended periods has been delayed. The Bill enabling the new...