You want to come to Australia on a visa to work, study, or live perhaps permanently and have absolutely no idea how to do it? With thousands of migrants applying for visas to Australia each year, it is important to ensure your application is perfect because there are so many people trying to get the same thing! This is where migration agents are incredibly useful to have, you may think you don’t meet the visas criteria or you just have no idea where to start, but with them doing all the work, you would be surprised of the results. But how can you make sure that you are choosing the perfect migration company or consultant for yourself and are not getting robbed of your money by a dodgy agent? So to ensure you have a great migration agent on your side, here are our top 10 tips on how to choose the best migration agent for your trip to Australia!   TIP 1 – Watch out for sale/commission driven agents! This is a huge signal to avoid! When a migration company or agent is trying to make you sign something or puts you under pressure to commit with them, it is best to look choose a different migration agent. There are some companies that use sale representatives to gather more business flow and will have them working on commission, so they will tell you whatever you want to hear just so you sign or start with them. There have been cases heard of where these clients unknowingly didn’t even have the requirements for meeting the visa criteria for which they have had already paid for. There is a huge difference with applying for a visa and meeting the criteria for that visa. You can apply for any visa you wish to apply for but if you don’t meet the visa criteria for that specific visa type, you will not be granted your visa.  A good migration checks your circumstances and will inform you about whether or not you are eligible to apply for a certain visa. Visa applicants who don’t qualify for a visa at the time of the agreement are not bound by any contracts as that is basically theft and is wrong for the migration agent to convince their client into paying money for something that the migration agent is aware they won’t receive. Migration agents in Australia MUST be registered with MARA (Migration Agents Registration Authority) so as to regulate the services provided to potential clients. Migration agents that are NOT registered have their own terms and conditions and nobody to report to, which means that you can’t prosecute them for doing the wrong thing… so it is always better to go with an Australian registered migration agent for your Australian visa. Registered migration agents must adhere to the Code of Conduct and if there are any issues, you can report these and the agent to the Migration Agents Registration Authority.   TIP 2 – Choose a migration agent with experience It’s not hard to see why this is such a crucial requirement for a migration agent as experience is such a large part of the profession. It is always best to choose a migration agent, who has been in the field for a solid amount of time as they will know from experience exactly what is looked into by Home affairs case workers and what is acceptable to submit in an application. With legislation and areas in migration continually changing, it is better to trust someone who has experience and is keeping up with the latest immigration changes, than someone freshly graduated still starting out in the business. Look for a migration agent with at least 5 years of practical experience in the industry. They generally speaking have a better understanding of interpreting the legal requirements in your favour, which will strengthen your visa application. Granted a more experienced agent will sometimes cost more than an inexperienced one. Depending on your budget you may need to go with someone with slightly less experience, but make sure that they are not charging you the same price a more experienced agent would.   TIP 3 – Look into their customer feedback           This is an absolutely brilliant way to see the success a migration agent has had in the past, go onto the company media pages, website testimonials or their reviews on google to see what previous clients have to say about their services. Another good way of looking into your migration service is to check in with MARA (Migration Agents Registration Authority)and see if there is any information of value on the company you are interested in.   TIP 4 – Make sure your migration agent is registered An absolute must to choosing your migration agent is always and we can’t stress this enough to make sure the migration agent is registered! The difference between a registered and an unregistered agent is UNREGISTERED Unregulated No CPD (Continuing Professional Development) No authority to report to  REGISTERED Regulated Mandatory annual CPD (Continuing Professional Development) A relevant authority to report to Continual observation and consequences to their actions  How to check if your migration agent is registered? Follow this link to search the register of registered migration agents. Type in either your migration agent’s name or MARA number. If they are registered you will be taken to their profile. For example, if you type in “Goyal” under “Agent’s Last Name” you will see both our agents show up in the registry (see Praveen Goyal’s registration and Abhinav Goyal’s registration). Once again checking the MARA (Migration Agents Registration Authority)will confirm for you if they are registered.   TIP 5 – Make sure you’re not being charged too much Often a confusing part of choosing your migration agent, fees are quite varied depending on the visa, circumstance and the experience of the migration agent themselves. There are a number of factors contributing to what you would be charged such as: Consultation charges To start the initial contact in discussing your visa and options available, it is common to be charged a

It has finally come to pass after over a year of deliberation… The new Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) which will officially replace the training Benchmark A and Benchmark B for all visas officially passed in the Senate on 5th May 2018 and now just recently been given the Royal Assent on the 22nd of May 2018. Businesses involved in the training benchmarks will still be required to follow the current training requirements until the implementation date of the new SAF.   “So what does this mean for businesses in migration?” The Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) is a new training levy that supports the training and education of Australians and will when in effect replace Benchmark A and Benchmark B in a much simpler (but more expensive) process for businesses to follow. When the SAF training levy starts officially, businesses will be required to contribute a certain amount (depending on their businesses turnover) to the SAF on a one off or annual basis depending on the visa their nominee is on. There will be some exemptions for the SAF such as religions and other circumstances but in general the mandatory visa requirement will be:   • TSS (482 Visa) 1- Businesses with a turnover of less than $10 million each year will be required to make a full payment of $1,200 per overseas employee each year on the 482 visa 2- Businesses with a turnover of more than $10 million each year will be required to make a full payment of $1,800 per overseas employee each year on the 482 visa   • ENS (189 Visa) 1- Businesses with a turnover of less than $10 million each year will be required to make a one off payment of $3,000 per overseas employee on the 189 visa 2- Businesses with a turnover of more than $10 million each year will be required to make a one off payment of $5,000 per overseas employee on the 189 visa   • RSMS (187 Visa) 1- Businesses with a turnover of less than $10 million each year will be required to make a one off payment of $3,000 per overseas employee on the 187 visa 2- Businesses with a turnover of more than $10 million each year will be required to make a one off payment of $5,000 per overseas employee on the 187 visa Contact us for more information

Having been a paper-based English test for almost three decades, we can finally welcome the computer-based IELTS to the digital world. While the PTE (one of IELTS biggest competitors) has always been a computer-based test, IELTS has started offering its computer-based version a few months ago as well. Even though it’s already been a few months, it still seems as if not many people have heard of this option to take the IELTS. That might also have to do with the fact that so far, you can take the computer-based IELTS only in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney (Perth is “coming soon”).   Computer-based IELTS – What has changed? #Speaking – Nothing has changed here. This part of the test is still the same, whether that’s good or bad news. You will still be sitting in a room with an examiner, who will judge your English skills. While IELTS lists some of the benefits of this speaking test component as being “we hear your accent” or “we won’t time out on you”, I am not sure how great of a benefit that is as there is obviously always a time limit on the speaking component. It’s also interesting how “we hear your accent” is listed as a benefit considering that many test takers fear their accent might be an issue.   #Writing  – Papers vs Computer It goes without saying that the writing part will now be done by typing rather than the old-fashioned paper and pen. Sure, there’s a handful of people that still feel more comfortable with using paper and pen over typing on a computer. However, the majority of us isn’t even used to that type of writing anymore and prefers being able to quickly type down our ideas and thoughts onto paper and even better deleting that very same idea by pressing a key.  Typing is also a great benefit for those of us worry about whether or not the examiner will be able to decipher our handwriting. Marking: The Writing as well as the Speaking part will still be marked by an IELTS examiner. Again, this is something people will have different opinions about. While I understand that IELTS believe a human examiner will bring a higher level of accuracy and fairness to the test, I personally believe that as humans we will always have our own opinions and understandings of what is fair and accurate no matter how professional we are.   #Reading – Marked by computer The content itself remains the same but this part will be marked 100% by a computer. It will still involve the well-known components such as, multiple choice, matching information, matching features, summary completion etc.   #Listening – Headphones You will hear the listening through your headphones as compared to through loudspeakers. This is not only useful in that you won’t depend on everyone being quiet and the volume being loud enough for you to hear, but it’s also good to have your headphones as you can use them during your reading or writing part too in case you need it perfectly quiet.   #Test Formats: General and Academic Both test formats can be taken sitting the computer-based IELTS.   #Test Results for Migration The Test Results will be delivered in 5-7 days. If you’re not sure what English test results you need for the visa you are applying for, then have a look here.

Life is too short to spend your days being unhappy at work. Now before you start coming up with excuses about how you can’t just leave your job and start something new, read the next few paragraphs first. If you then still are not convinced that it’s not too late to change your career, then that’s the choice you make. Why it’s not too late Even if you think it might be too late to start from the beginning, it’s not always necessary to start from the beginning. You most likely already possess skills that can be transferred to other professional fields. Look at your transferable skills and assess the gaps between your current skills and the skills required for your career change. For example skills such as administrative tasks or computer skills are easily transferable to industries such as marketing or even finance. How to change careers You have already gained skills: In Australia, you can even get the skills you have earned through work experience officially recognised through RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning) which can help you tremendously in applying for jobs in a new occupational field. You want a big change: If you feel like changing your field completely and you can’t seem to find good transferable skills, you can simply study an online course and get experience and qualification through that. The good thing about online studies is that you can do it from the comfort of your own home and while still working and getting paid in your “old” job. You have some skills but want work experience:  If you already have some work experience in your desired new profession (either through qualification or simply because you had the opportunity to do some tasks of that new position in your current job), then you can do further training to enhance those skills. Australia even has a special visa that offers you that opportunity no matter how old you are or where you are in your life right now. The Training Visa offers people the opportunity to enhance their skills through workplace-based (paid) training. To do this kind of training in Australia, your occupation needs to be on the list of eligible occupations for this visa type. As you can see, there are plenty of ways to start changing your life today and make the best out of it.  

Dear Colleagues, McKkr’s is approved as a CPD and PRP provider under Regulation 9N of the Migration Agents Regulations – the new CPD Framework effective from 1st Jan 2018. It’s that time of the year when we’ve got excellent news for RMAs, lawyers and other industry members; and the end of the year and the beginning of the new one couldn’t get any better. I feel immensely pleased to inform you all that McKkr’s has been approved as a Professional Development Provider for the migration industry by the Office of MARA and will be offering CPD and PRP courses Australia-wide and overseas under the new framework effective from 1st January 2018. I welcome the decision of the OMARA to provide an opportunity to McKkr’s to offer PRP (Practice Ready Program) for the new RMAs in the first year of their registration. While welcoming new RMAs into the ever-growing and ever-changing industry, I would also like to assure them that McKkr’s will also be offering PRP courses in 2018 in all major cities in Australia. McKkr’s has been recognised as one of the top CPD providers in the industry with clear focus on learning and raising industry standards. We currently have one of the largest number of approved CPD Papers which have been regularly updated with legislative changes to maintain currency. Our CPD Workshops have been rated as the best in the industry by hundreds of RMAs and we are quite focussed in developing and delivering Professional Development Courses (CPD and PRP) reflecting highest possible quality to gain clear leadership in the industry. While writing to you, I would like to highlight the major change in meeting your CPD requirements in 2018 under the new framework. RMAs will need to get minimum 5 of the 10 (or all 10) required CPD points by attending Workshops. Though completing a programme of education in migration law at a tertiary level (AQF Level 8 and above) can be used in place of Workshops but this may not be a suitable option for most RMAs. This means that all required 10 CPD points cannot be claimed through Private Study, Seminars or Conferences. It is our members’ confidence in us and the quality of our workshops that our positive ratings continue to stand at 100%; and under the new framework, McKkr’s will only reciprocate this trust by offering one of the best CPD and PRP courses throughout 2018 and beyond. I would also like to take the opportunity to thank you for your tremendous support throughout 2017 and wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2018. Good luck and please do not hesitate to write to me whenever you are in doubt and need to discuss your clients’ cases to firm up your opinion. I assure you of my commitment of continuing support to you as my colleagues to help raise industry standards in terms of knowledge, ethics and professionalism. Sincerely, Praveen Goyal

The Office of the MARA has sanctioned 15 migration agents since 1 January 2017 so far, as a result of 26 complaints. Of these, five registrations were cancelled, seven suspended temporarily, two barred and one cautioned. Details of Disciplinary Decisions can be found at The Office of the MARA’s website, here. Most of these sanctions were due to the violation of the Registered Migration Agents’ Code of Conduct. It is probably a good idea to have a look at the amended version.

Invitation rounds are held twice a month. The last invitation round results were announced on the 18th of October 2017 and while applicants and agents are eagerly waiting for the November roundup results, the Department has yet to announce them. However, we know one thing for sure (thanks to the DIBP website) that the maximum numbers of invitations to be issued in the November 2017 invitation rounds are as follows 9 November 2017 Visa subclass Maximum number Skilled – Independent (subclass 189) 700 Skilled – Regional Provisional (subclass 489) 5   22 November 2017 Visa subclass Maximum number Skilled – Independent (subclass 189) 700 Skilled – Regional Provisional (subclass 489) 5

The Victorian government has announced 14 new projects worth $337,000 to help the state’s international students through the International Student Welfare Program. One of the key projects is a $75,000 grant for Inner Melbourne Community Legal to provide legal support for international students studying at universities, TAFEs and private education providers. The funding will go towards delivering legal education that will help nearly 600 newly arrived international students with important issues like practical legal knowledge, personal safety and common legal issues.