Asylum seekers in Perth will have access to concession fares on public transport under a new Asylum Seeker Hub (ASH) concession, improving asylum seeker access to health, education, community services and job interviews, if they are deemed eligible to work. It is expected that up to 800 asylum seekers may be eligible for an ASH concession – and discounted public transport in Perth. To be eligible to apply for an ASH concession SmartRider, asylum seekers will need to live in Western Australia, not be in full-time education, not be in full-time employment and be holding or currently applying for a bridging visa as an asylum seeker, or appealing a determination of status as an asylum seeker. To mark Refugee Week the Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Interest Mr Papalia, announced that the McGowan Government has introduced access to concession fares on public transport for asylum seekers in Perth. “By working together with asylum seeker support services to deliver this initiative we are providing practical help during what is often a challenging time.”
The next invitation round will be held on or before 5 July 2019. Invitation date: 11 June 2019 Number of Invitations Issued: 652 Matrix score range: All Matrix submitted with 145 to 65 points 60 point matrix submitted on or before 31 March 2019 The ACT Government changed over to Canberra Matrix to avoid confusion with Home Affairs Expression of Interest. Either once or twice a month (to be decided) the ACT Government will determine which Canberra Matrix applicants, based on the Matrix points test (has no relationship or impact on Home Affairs points test) will be issued an invitation to apply for ACT Government 190 nomination. Before applying for Australian Capital Territory (ACT) nomination of a Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) visa, you must complete the Department of Home Affairs (Home Affairs) SKILLSELECT and meet the Home Affairs points test for a subclass 190 visa. Applying for ACT 190 nomination is a two stage process. You must formally express an interest in applying for ACT 190 nomination by completing a score-based ‘Canberra Matrix’ where you are allocated points against demonstrated economic contribution or benefit and/or a genuine commitment to be part of the ACT community. Scores of 20 points and above will be ranked. The highest ranked candidates under the scoring system will then be selected and invited to apply for ACT 190 nomination. If you are invited to apply for ACT 190 nomination, you must complete and submit the online application (and pay the service fee) within 14 days.
The federal government will set a new course for the nation’s refugee program by putting a higher priority on migrants from South America amid a humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. Immigration officials have been told to open the door to more refugees from South America in a formal directive that is likely to change the make-up of the annual 18,750 humanitarian intake from next month. Australia accepted 4630 refugees from Iraq and 3227 from Syria in the year to June 2018, with another 2043 from Myanmar, 1355 from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and 1130 from Afghanistan. This followed a one-off intake of 12,000 refugees from Iraq and Syria, announced by former Prime Minister in 2015. While there is no public target on the intake from South America, it is expected to amount to several hundred people and could mean Venezuela joins the list of top 10 countries of birth for humanitarian visas in the year ahead. This is a significant departure from decades of practice in which almost all the humanitarian intake came from Africa, Asia and the Middle East. No Latin American country has been named on the list of the top 10 countries of birth for the Australian humanitarian intake in the years since the 2016 agreement. In the year to June 2017, the 10th nation on the list was Somalia with 162 refugees. The 10th nation on the list last year was Tibet with 200. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees has called this “the largest exodus in the recent history of Latin America” and warned of a 4000 per cent increase in Venezuelans seeking refugee status since 2014.
A 93-year-old great-grandmother who was given 28 days to leave the country – her home of 11 years – will not be immediately deported, after the family received a surprise phone call from the home affairs office. The Australian government will not be deporting a great-grandmother who has lived in Australia for more than a decade and was given just 28 days to leave the country. Mollie Manley, from Somerset in England, has lived in Perth for 11 years alongside her three grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren – who are all Australian citizens. The 93-year-old was facing a return to her home country, after failing Australia’s permanent visa requirements on health grounds. Her family feared the bed-ridden great-grandmother would not survive the plane journey alone, nor would she have had any family there to look after her. But Ms Manley’s son-in-law has received a phone call from the Department of Home Affairs saying she would not be deported back to the UK. He said he was relieved but her future still remained uncertain. Ms Manley’s family can now apply for a medical treatment visa – granting Ms Manley another twelve months in Australia – or appeal the decision.
The Fair Work Ombudsman told SBS News in a statement that in 2017-18 they assisted 2,158 workers in workplace disputes involving a visa holder. That equates to 20 per cent of the total number of disputes dealt with. Mr Singh was offered a full-time job as a chef at a Gold Coast Indian restaurant. The father-of-one migrated from Punjab in India to Australia in 2007 to study hospitality management. But after working at the restaurant for more than three years, his life was turned upside down when his employer requested that he work without pay. He said his boss initially promised him it would only be for a few weeks. Mr Singh was working on a 457 visa and his employer promised to sponsor him for permanent residency under the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186 visa). Carina Garland, assistant secretary of the Victorian Trades Hall Council said those on temporary visas are particularly vulnerable to exploitation, especially when their employer is their sponsor. Eventually, Mr Singh left his job and has since lodged a complaint about his former employer to the Fair Work Ombudsman to try and recover $25,000 in wages he says he is owed. The Ombudsman is in the initial stages of assessing his case. During the eight months he worked without pay, he said he his wife was forced to work longer hours as a cleaner and he needed to borrow money from friends to put food on the table. The Fair Work Ombudsman said those seeking assistance shouldn’t be afraid of losing their visas. “Visa holders should be aware that, in line with an agreement with the Department of Home Affairs, they can seek assistance from the Fair Work Ombudsman without fear of their visa being cancelled,” the spokeswoman from the Fair Work Ombudsman said. Mr Singh’s visa application was cancelled by his former employer when he left, but he is now on a bridging visa while he challenges the visa decision in the courts, separately to his Fair Work claim against his former employer. He said he has chosen to speak up to educate other migrants about the risks of exploitation in the workplace. He also has big hopes for his future in Australia.
Immigration SA has announced that they have met their Federal quota of Subclass 188 and 132 business nomination approvals for the 2018/19 financial year. Subclass 188 and 132 business nomination applications that have already been submitted but not processed, will be processed from July 1 2019, when the Federal quota for South Australia resets. The online application system will remain open, and continue to accept business nomination applications. Note: Subclass 892/893/888 and 132 review applications will continue to be processed, as they do not count towards the Federal quota given to South Australia.
The Australian Government may not be pursuing changes to the Australian citizenship law – that would make permanent residents wait longer and require evidence of their English proficiency before they can apply. Reports that the Federal Government will backflip on its plans to harden Australian citizenship tests, which it had initially said would promote Australian values, have been applauded by community leaders. Under the initial changes, the government wanted migrants to prove competent English proficiency by securing at least six bands on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam in order to be eligible for Australian citizenship. The government then scaled down the English requirement to ‘moderate’, or five bands on IELTS. The changes would have seen the government ban people taking the test for two years if they failed three times. Migrants would have also been required to sit an English test and would be asked questions on “Australian values”. The Courier-Mail said the government would not be going ahead with these changes. The Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA) said it applaud the decision by the government to not go through with the changes.
The twelve-month pilot of a Global Talent Scheme for tech-focused visas will be continued past its looming finish date as the federal government conducts a review of the scheme’s effectiveness. The Global Talent Scheme was launched in July last year in an effort to placate an irate tech sector following the shock scrapping of the 457 visa in 2017. The scheme, which sits under the Temporary Skills Shortage visa class, provides visas for “highly skilled and specialised positions that can’t be filled by Australian workers”. Under the GTS, Australian businesses can get access to fast-tracked four year visas with a pathway to permanent residency. It is split into two streams, one for established businesses with annual turnover of more than $4 million, and a specialised startup stream. The scheme was launched by the federal government as a 12-month pilot which will come to an end at the start of July. The Department of Home Affairs (DOHA) confirmed to InnovationAus.com that it would conduct a review of the scheme once it is completed in two weeks, and that the scheme would continue while this review takes place. According to DOHA – “The Australian government continues to be committed to attracting talent to fill skills needs in our economy,”. “The department’s goal remains to provide businesses, including Australian startups, with a streamlined process to sponsor overseas workers with cutting-edge skills, where there are no suitable Australians available.” The GTS got off to a slow start, and was delayed by the political turmoil in Canberra late last year. It took until October for the first company – Queensland-based SafetyCulture – to be approved under the scheme, while the first under the startup stream wasn’t approved until March this year. Fourteen companies have now qualified for the GTS and can access the fast-tracked visas, with four of these under the startup stream. Other large, non-tech companies have also taken advantage of the GTS, including Rio Tinto and Coles. The GTS was widely welcomed by the tech and startup sectors, which regularly raise concerns over the skills gap in Australia and access to talent. It is hoped that it would be extended and refined to meet some of the issues that have prevented wider uptake, especially with the costs associated with issuing a visa. Under the current scheme, businesses accessing the GTS have to pay a government fee along with the Skilling Australia Fund levy, which is an upfront cost of $1200 per year for each year the visa is running. A four year visa for a small startup could cost up to $7,575 for an individual, and more if they are bringing a partner or children. The federal government formed an Industry Advisory Group to support the pilot of the Global Talent Scheme, with members including StartupAus, the Australian Information Industry Association and Innovation and Science Australia. While the future of the scheme is unclear, all companies that have already been accredited for the GTS will be able to access the fast-tracked TSS visas for five years after they were approved. Business Migration Program reaches quota for the 2018/19 financial year
Agents are required to re-register with the OMARA on an annual basis. Repeat registration applicants who submit their application and pay the application charge before their current registration expires will automatically continue to be registered and may continue to provide immigration assistance until a decision is made on the application. This is the effect of section 300 of the Migration Act 1958 (the Act) – Automatic Continuation of registration. It usually takes around four weeks for the OMARA to process a repeat application for registration as a migration agent, however processing times may increase during peak periods. If you submit your repeat registration application before your registration expires, you can continue to provide immigration assistance while we process your application. However, if you submit your application after your registration expires, section 280 of the Act prevents you from providing immigration assistance until such time as we have approved your application.
A Chinese father has stopped taking the medication that controls his hepatitis B in a last-ditch bid to keep him and his family in Australia. Paul*, who wishes to remain anonymous, has lived in Sydney since 2012 when he moved with his wife and young children on a student visa. His children have received most of their education in Australia and speak English as their primary language. Paul later began teaching and applied for an employer-sponsored visa (subclass 186) that would allow him and his family to remain in the country permanently. But last year he found out he had failed the government’s migration health requirementbecause he has hepatitis – and it was deemed his healthcare would cost the taxpayer too much. The government’s immigration health criteria dictates that an applicant for Australian residency must be free from a disease or condition which “would be likely to require health care or community services” that would “result in a significant cost to the Australian community”. Currently the “significant cost threshold” sits at $40,000. After failing the health requirement, Paul has stopped taking the antiviral medication he had been taking since 2006, believing its cost is what stopped him pass the health requirement. He is now waiting for the results of medical tests, which hopefully will show his liver is functioning normally without medication, in the hope it will lead to the medical officer overturning their original decision. The Department of Home Affairs (DOHA) spokesperson said there had been no changes to the health requirement that would increase the number of visa applicants failing the test. Chronic viral infections, such as hepatitis B, are considered a disability under both Australian law and international conventions. In Australia, laws dealing with migration are exempt from anti-discrimination law, which prohibits discrimination against people on the basis of their disability. According to DOHA, a specific medical condition alone does not mean someone will fail to meet the health requirement. The DOHA spokesperson said they do not comment on individual cases, but do not support individuals ceasing medication without consulting a health professional. *Name has been changed