Iscah Migration NewsLetter (Copyright 2010) MONDAY 18TH JANUARY 2010 ISSUE 139 Hiya everyone Well here we go for another year 2010. Sounds like some sort of outer space odyssey. I have two hopes for this year, arguably both equally unachievable. One is for the Fremantle Dockers in their 16 th season to finally be premiers of the Aussie Rules Footy competition over here. Wow, think I would dye my hair purple for that! And secondly for there to be some clear direction and consistency in Australia s migration program. At the moment it is just a complete shambles with application queues mounting up all over the place, prospective migrants not knowing if they will ever receive a visa, and a total shemozzle that is the assessment of trades people especially who want to migrate to Australia. There is more chance of my 4 year son beating me at checkers oh hang on he did! Contents 1) Assessment of Trades People 2) TRA Provisional Assessment 3) Temporary Skilled Migration Halved 4) Possible changes to Skilled Migration 5) Update your 457 Salary rates from 1st January 6) Article About student Migration 7) Skilled visa allocation times Anyhow on to the first (smallish) newsletter of the year.. 1) Assessment of Trades People Trades people who wish to apply for permanent visas for Australia have to normally be assessed through Trades Recognition Australia, or Vetassess. The Vetassess process for selected trades is very very slow, cumbersome and expensive and there are many months between trade tests, as much as June 2010 for the next UK test we believe. Whilst the TRA process has nowhere near enough detail and the migration industry is unable to advise on the simplest of details to prospective applicants. As a result the Migration Institute of Australia (MIA) will meet with the TRA on 22 nd January to thrash out the following issues..
Page 2 JANUARY 2010 Concerns 1) TRA office closed on 24 December 2009 without notifying that couriered skills assessments will not be accepted during the holiday period until after the new changes are introduced on 1 January 2010. We understand that TRA will return applications arriving at TRA after 24 December 2009 but before 1 Jan 2010. With no notice given of the extent of the changes, we request that such applications be accepted. 2) Insufficient definition of how many hours total a week of fulltime work. 3) None of the forms that will be used by employers are ready yet. 4) Agents cannot advise how a working holiday maker on a 417 visa now meets the skills assessment for a 487 visa, as the job ready test does not work for their visa duration. 5) Agents do not know how to advise 485 visa holders with less than 12 months left on their visas - how can they meet this job ready test? 6) Agents do not know how highly skilled and relevant trades work that has taken place before 1 January 2010 will be counted for onshore GSM applicants given it was not filled out on one of the TRA recording sheets or they did not register within one month of starting. 7) Disadvantages students already on 485 Visas - they are now unable to gain sufficient work experience to complete the job ready program. 8) The 12 months work experience requirement is likely to be very difficult to achieve because: a. Part time work does not appear to be something which can be counted. If this is the case, students will not be able to count work experience obtained whilst studying. b. 485 visas are valid for only 18 months. This gives a very tight timeframe to obtain a suitable job offer as the skills assessment process must be finalised prior to the expiry of the 485 visa for lodgement of a permanent or provisional skilled visa. 9) Our understanding is that many employers may be unwilling to submit to the required level of oversight by TRA Stage 4 - Job Ready Final Assessment. The changes are particularly tough for 487 (Regional Sponsored) applicants: a. Sponsorship is required prior to visa application and can take several months. This means an even tighter timeframe. b. Working holiday makers who would otherwise be able to apply for a 487 do not have sufficient time to undertake the job ready program as their visas are valid for 12 months only. 10) We have very little detail on what the workplace assessment will involve. Until such details are released, there is a possibility that students will undertake the process with no idea whether they are likely to meet the required level of skill to pass the assessment. 11) We are concerned about possible waiting times for the various stages of the process meaning that clients have even less time to meet the requirements. 12) The criteria for offshore applicants are still significantly tougher than onshore applicants (ie Cert III plus 4 years of full-time work experience versus Cert III plus approx 18 months of work experience).
Page 3 JANUARY 2010 The MIA is seeking to obtain clarity on: 1. If an applicant already has a TRA assessment under the pre 1 Jan 2010 criteria, are they exempt from any of the new process (eg Stage 1)? 2. For the first stage of the process, how much work experience is required? Website information suggests six months, but other indications are that the criteria are similar to the pre 1 Jan 2010 criteria (900 hours)? What level of skill must be exercised at each stage? At which point must the applicant be employed as a fully qualified tradesperson? 3. When will the employer documentation (template contract of employment and registration) be available? 4. What arrangements will be made for appeals for each stage of the process? 5. How much of the process will be required for other permanent visa applicants (eg ENS)? 6. Does TRA plan to make any transitional arrangements for applicants already on 485 visas? (Source: MIA and Iscah comment) 2) TRA Provisional Assessment There is some detail on the TRA website and one important piece is the clarification of what work can count for Provisional Skills Assessment. TRA requires evidence from applicants that during the two years that they have been in Australia on a student visa, they have undertaken work experience relevant to their qualification, in an established commercial operation in Australia 1 using current industry standard equipment and industry endorsed processes. The evidence supplied by applicants will need to show that the applicant has demonstrated skills in a range of tasks and duties required for their occupation, as detailed in the respective Training Package. The period of this work experience should be equivalent to two days work a week for a minimum six month period. It may indeed have been completed more intensely in a shorter period of time. Work experience completed as part of an Australian qualification can be included where it meets the criteria above. 1 An established commercial operation in Australia is deemed to be a business registered in Australia which has had a positive revenue history for at least 12 months. Exceptional circumstances will be managed on a case by case basis.
Page 4 JANUARY 2010 The New TRA cost structure The total cost of participating in the Job Ready Program is AUD $4550.00. Payment is required at different stages of the Job Ready Program as set out below: Step 1 Provisional Skills Assessment AUD $300.00 Step 2 Job Ready Employment AUD $750.00 Additional Training AUS $1,200.00* Step 3 Job Ready Workplace Assessment AUD $2,000.00 Step 4 Job Ready Final Assessment AUD $300.00 * Estimated cost of Australian Workplace English and Workplace Culture training modules delivered by TRA approved RTOs. 3) Temporary Skilled Migration Halved Article from an Australian newspaper.. TEMPORARY skilled workers migrating to Australia have halved since this time a year ago, after more stringent workplace laws came into force. Immigration figures released yesterday show applications for category-457 visas plummeted 49 per cent in the five months to November, after the laws required employers to pay equal wages and lift conditions for foreign workers. Across the country, the average salary of those on 457 visas jumped to $85,300, up from $74,700 in the same period a year earlier. More than a fifth of the country's temporary skilled migrants work in Victoria. Immigration Minister Chris Evans said the report was evidence the changes were having their intended effect. Applications began picking up through October and November as employers became familiar with the rules enforced in September, the report said. ''Registered nurses, general medical practitioners and medical practitioners in training top the list of occupations, along with computing professionals,'' Senator Evans said. ''Almost 90 per cent of primary visas granted were to managers and administrators, professionals or associated professionals.'' The Government tightened rules for employers to protect workers from exploitation last year after an inquiry headed by industrial relations expert Barbara Deegan. The inquiry heard employers had underpaid staff, threatened workers with deportation and sacked them for becoming sick or pregnant. A misconception the visa would automatically lead to permanent residency had to be
Page 5 JANUARY 2010 A change requiring employers to pay market salary rates addressed fears that foreign labour would undercut local jobs. That fear was heightened in the wake of the financial crisis as job losses increased. Senator Evans said there was still a need to recruit skilled workers in selected industries. ''In the current economic climate, the Rudd Government recognises the need for industry to access temporary skilled overseas labour where there are demonstrated skills shortages,'' Senator Evans said. However, overseas workers would not be employed ahead of local workers or be used to undermine Australian wages and conditions, he said. Tougher sanctions for employers breaching their obligations seem to have had an effect. The report found that 41 employers had mistreated workers, a third less than in the previous year. More than a quarter of Australia's 73,000 temporary skilled workers were now from Britain, 14 per cent were from India and 8 per cent from the US. However, in Victoria, the biggest source of workers was India. Most of the state's temporary workers were employed in health care, social assistance and real estate, though demand in all of these sectors slumped from a year earlier. No labourers, clerks or transport workers were granted temporary work visas in the state this financial year. Successful applicants were concentrated among professionals and managers, the report said. (Source: The Age Newspaper) 4) Possible changes to Skilled Migration This is a repeat of the December Iscah update : DIAC have just presented a document to state governments around Australia on possible changes to the General Skilled Migration Program. As well as some 457 info. They have raised some interesting proposed directions as per follows applicants with the wrong skills and abilities to a demand driven program This may result in: a reduction in unsponsored general skilled migrants an increase in employer and state/territory nominated skilled migrants more opportunities for 457 visa holders to become permanent onshore some overall adjustment in permanent program
Page 6 JANUARY 2010 Proposed micro changes : Occupational targeting mechanisms; points test changes English language skill assessments Possibly our entire selection model MODL changes Proposed Program changes : Targets applicants (including in the Independent category) with skills of high economic value and in the numbers required by the labour market; Selects skilled migrants on the basis of those who score the highest rather than those who simply meet the prescribed pass mark; Changes the relationship between the lodgement of an application and the legal obligation to grant a visa, thereby eliminating long and costly visa application pipelines; Is agile and responsive to decisions to increase or decrease the size of the permanent migration program; and Complements the `demand-driven employer sponsored visa categories. This suggests worryingly that a number of visa applicants may apply having actually met the current requirements, yet still not ever be granted a visa. Details of this hopefully will follow should DIAC decide to implement this. (Source: DIAC) 5) Update your 457 Salary rates from 1st January A reminder to companies employing 457 visa holders that the transitional arrangements regards salaries finished on 31/12/2009. From 1 January 2010, sponsors must pay these visa holders the market salary rate unless it is less than the applicable prescribed salary level. In other words, sponsors must pay these Subclass 457 visa holders the greater of either the market salary rate or the prescribed salary level for the duration of their visa. There are five such prescribed salary levels or base rates of pay : $81 040 for Subclass 457 visa holders who benefited from the English language exemption $55 725 for Subclass 457 visa holders working in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) occupations who were granted their visa under certified regional employment arrangements $61 920 for all other Subclass 457 visa holders working in ICT occupations $40 705 for all other Subclass 457 visa holders who were granted visas under certified regional employment arrangements $45 220 for all other Subclass 457 visa holders (Source: DIAC)
Page 7 JANUARY 2010 6) Article About student Migration A THRIVING international education industry is one of our greatest assets in facing the most significant national challenges of our generation: the global financial crisis, rising demand for skilled labour and improving Australia's diplomatic ties in an increasingly globalised world. It is also an industry of tremendous complexity, a complexity that is often little understood and easily misrepresented for the sake of political expediency. I am alarmed when I read assertions that seek simplistic solutions to these complex challenges. The most alarming of these is the assertion that we need to decouple the link between education and migration. Certainly the way this link has been fashioned in recent years has attracted unscrupulous operators and led to poor practice in some areas of this vital export industry. Federal and state governments, educational institutions, industry bodies such as the Australian Council for Private Education and Training, and many others acknowledge this and are working hard to strengthen the sector through a broad legislative review, rapid regulatory audits, better information for students and extensive student research. But although the link between education and migration must be improved, to suggest, as MP Kelvin Thomson did in The Australian last week, that these problems could be fixed overnight by breaking the link altogether is absurd, unrealistic and, frankly, reckless in its naivety. Ours is a globally competitive industry, with many nations - including the US, Britain and Canada - eager to attract the students we might send home to cool off. Such a move wouldn't fix the international education industry overnight. It would cripple it. The existence of unscrupulous operators in our industry is unacceptable, but contrary to recent media reporting, they are in a minority. Every industry has its rogues and it is the job of the regulatory authorities to police an industry and take action against people who do the wrong thing. I do not want to join a chorus of commentators in oversimplifying this issue, but it has to be said that chief among the challenges we face has been the failure of government agencies to effectively and consistently enforce the robust set of rules governing our industry. And yet, instead of tackling the challenge of improving regulatory practice and enforcing appropriate standards head-on, Thomson would take the easy option of shutting down a pathway that is so fundamental to our prosperity. Where our industry fails to meet the standards set for it, we ought to take action. Where there are problems with educational quality or social and cultural integration, we should address them. But we should never be embarrassed by, or seek to decouple, the link between education and immigration. Andrew Smith is chief executive of the Australian Council for Private Education and Training (Source: The Australian Newspaper)
Page 8 JANUARY 2010 7) Skilled visa allocation times The majority of the delay time in processing of a skilled visa application is the time taken to allocate it to a case officer. Here are the latest allocation times available from the two processing centres of Adelaide and Brisbane.. ADELAIDE and Brisbane GSM Processing: as of 11 th January 2010 All General Skilled Migration (GSM) visas are subject to the new Ministerial direction, except for: Skilled Recognised Graduate (Subclass 476); Skilled Designated Area Sponsored (Subclass 883); Skilled Regional (Subclass 887). The direction gives the following processing priorities (with highest priority listed first) to GSM applications: 1. applications from persons who are employer sponsored under the Employer Nominated Scheme and the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme 2. applications from persons who are nominated by a State/Territory government and have nominated an occupation on the Critical Skills List (CSL); 3. applications from persons who are sponsored by family and who have nominated an occupation on the CSL; 4. applications from persons who are neither nominated nor sponsored but who have nominated an occupation on the CSL; 5. applications from persons who are nominated by a State/Territory government and have not nominated an occupation on the CSL; 3 years 6. (i) applications from persons who have nominated an occupation on the Migration Occupation in Demand List (MODL); and (ii) applications from persons who are sponsored by family and have not nominated an occupation on the CSL; 7. all other applications are to be processed in the order in which they are received; The direction also gives the following processing priority to Skilled-Graduate (Subclass 485) visa applicants (with highest priority listed first): 1. applications from persons who have completed an Australian Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at an Australian educational institution in Australia; 2. applications from persons who have nominated an occupation on the CSL; 3. applications from persons who have completed an Australian Bachelor degree and Australian Masters degree at an Australian educational institution in Australia; 4. applications from persons who have completed an Australian Bachelor degree and Australian Honours degree (at least upper second class level) at an Australian educational institution in Australia; 5. applications from persons who have completed either an Australian Bachelor degree or an Australian Masters degree at an Australian educationalinstitution in Australia; 6. all other valid applications are to be processed in the order in which they are received. The complete list of occupations on the CSL is available on the department s website: http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/pdf/critical-skills-list.pdf
Page 9 JANUARY 2010 Application Processing Times If your nominated occupation is on the Critical Skills List (CSL) and you have applied or will apply for an onshore or offshore GSM visa before the end of 2009, it is estimated that your visa application will be finalised within 12 months from your lodgement date. If your nominated occupation is not on the Critical Skills List (CSL) and you have applied for an offshore GSM visa or intend to apply for an offshore GSM visa later in 2009, it is unlikely that your visa application will be finalised before the end of 2012. If your nominated occupation is not on the CSL and you applied for an onshore GSM visa or intend to apply for an onshore GSM visa later in 2009, it is unlikely that your visa application will be finalised before the end of 2011. Your nominated occupation' is the occupation you nominated at the time you lodged your application and cannot be changed. These application processing times are indicative only and are based on the current visa application rate, the Priority Processing Direction (in effect from 23 September 2009), and the availability of places in the Migration Program. Please do not contact the Department to request your application be exempted from the Minister s Priority Processing Direction. Departmental officers must adhere to the Minister s Direction and you will be contacted by the Department when your application is allocated to a case officer. Processing priorities are subject to change. Any changes to these priorities or processing times will be updated on the Department s website at: http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/whats-new.htm As explained above the Department is processing applications according to Ministerial Direction No. 42 - Order of consideration - certain Skilled Migration visas. The Department anticipates that a small number of applications from persons who are nominated by a State/Territory government and have not nominated an occupation on the CSL will be finalised this program year. Finalisations will focus on applications where health and character checks have been requested by the case officer. Priority Processing Exemptions Visa Subclasses 476 and 887 are exempt from the priority processing changes. Applications under these subclasses will continue to be processed in the order in which they were received by the Department the following subclass by application lodgement date identifies cases currently being considered: Visa Subclass Month/Year Lodgement VF 476 (paper): 29 November 2009 VF 476 (e-lodged): 29 November 2009 VB 887 (paper): 11 November 2009 Applications lodged up to 8 December 2009
Page 10 JANUARY 2010 VC- 485 (Group 1 and 2 - PhD qualifications and CSL Only) Applications lodged up to 16 December 2009 VC- 485 (Group 3 and 4 and 5 - Bachelor & Masters or Bachelor and Australian Honours degree (at least upper second class level) or Bachelor or Masters) Applications lodged up to 7 August 2009 VB - 886 (CSL Only) Applications lodged up to 16 December 2009 VB - 885 (CSL Only) Applications lodged up to 8 December 2009 VB - 887 Applications lodged up to 27 December 2009 * Please note that whilst your case may have been allocated to a case officer, assessment may not commence for up to 10 working days. Okay folks, all done again. Have a good month and see you all on Monday 15 th February 2010. Cheers Steven O'Neil (Iscah Manager) 08 9353 3344 / www.iscah.com / MARN 9687267 Latest newsletter www.iscah.com/iscahnewsletterlatest.pdf Facebook using facebook@iscah.com Twitter using www.twitter.com/iscahmigration Iscah Migration Suite 22 (Kewdale Business Park) 133 Kewdale Road, Kewdale Perth Western Australia, 6105 PO Box 75 Welshpool BC 6986 Phone: 61-8-9353 3344 Fax: 61-8-9353 3350 E-mail: newsletter@iscah.com Website: www.iscah.com Registered Migration Agent 9687267