Webinar: Australian Immigration Update 28 April 2023
The post Australian Immigration Update 28 April 2023 first appeared on Ajuria Lawyers – Leaders in Immigration.
Skilled Refugees: an untapped talent pool Webinar presented by Ajuria lawyers & Talent Beyond Boundaries
There are millions of skilled refugees and displaced persons around the world who are looking for an opportunity to find a permanent home. This is a largely untapped source of willing and deserving people.
TBB connects these skilled individuals with employers and assists to facilitate recruitment, relocation and visa pathways. Ajuria Lawyers has already helped many refugees and business to help make this happen.
Learn more about this and how your business might become involved in changing lives by tapping into this new and exciting talent pool.
Join our webinar to learn more
Thursday 4th May 2023 , 11 AEST
Register here
The post Skilled Refugees: an untapped talent pool Webinar presented by Ajuria lawyers & Talent Beyond Boundaries first appeared on Ajuria Lawyers – Leaders in Immigration.
Ajuria Lawyers Webinar – Immigration Compliance Readiness
Webinar: Immigration Compliance Readiness
The post Ajuria Lawyers Webinar – Immigration Compliance Readiness first appeared on Ajuria Lawyers – Leaders in Immigration.
New Year Newsletter – January 2023
An update from us
Our team has welcomed the new year with most of us back at work. We are continuing our hybrid model working from home/office.
As we are expecting very high demand in 2023/24, we are recruiting for more experienced Immigration lawyers. We have a great graduate intake starting at the end of this month with 4 new young lawyers joining our team as part of our graduate program. Like all industries we are also feeling the skills crunch as many lawyers leaving the industry when our borders closed, but careful planning and training means we are in a strong position to grow and maintain the highest quality of service.
MobilityDesk
We are rolling out a a new mobility platform MobilityDesk that will provide an enhanced user experience for you, your employees and our staff. The system uses the latest security features and minimizes the amount of data that is transferred and stored. Users enter data only once and can safely and securely transfer documents and data. MobilityDesk processes and tracks applications and visas in any jurisdiction and the platform will be able to integrate all aspects of a move including visas, tax, relocation and travel.
If you are interested in knowing more about MobilityDesk, please reach out to us.
What to expect in 2023
The government’s review to create ‘a migration system for Australia’s future’ is due for release in February 2023 with a view that changes will be implemented around budget time in May 2023.
Our Minister for Immigration has publicly stated that ‘everything is one the table’ and like many other organisations, we have provided submissions. Whilst we can speculate as to the recommendations, the reality is that we have to wait for the changes to be announced. Our feeling is that the changes will be positive and designed to help Australia compete for talent internationally.
In the meantime some updates:
Processing updates
The government seems to be clearing the backlog with around 400,000 visas processed since June with the hope that the backlog of 600,000 will be cleared by April 2023. The Department recruited 400 new assessing officers which are being trained. However figures show that just in the last 7 months there has been 4 million new visa applications.
Current processing updates are estimated as:
|
Accredited Sponsors |
|
|
TSS |
1 to 2 months |
|
PR |
5 to 6 months |
|
Non-Accredited Sponsors |
|
|
TSS |
2 to 5 months |
|
PR |
6 to 12 months plus |
These are subject to constant change and processing is still highly inconsistent depending on the officers and processing centres, as the Department continues to onboard and train staff.
Processing priorities
Late last year the Minister released a new processing Direction (no 100) with a clear commitment for processing priorities given to the health and education sectors.
The Direction:
- Prioritises applications in relation to healthcare and teaching occupations, as well as offshore permanent and provisional applications.
- Helps small businesses seeking to recruit overseas workers. It speeds up processing for all occupations and makes the process less complicated.
- Restores priority for Accredited Sponsors in all sectors who are trusted employers and key businesses.
- Ceases the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL) and critical sectors but sees applications with occupations that were on the PMSOL or in critical sectors will continue to be processed efficiently given the improvements in visa processing since the Government committed additional funding and staff to reduce processing times.
Accredited Sponsors
We have certainly noticed the Department setting a higher bar for sponsors to upgrade their status to accreditation, with a clear indication that the government intends to restore the VIP status for Accredited sponsors to what it was before the pandemic. We will continue to work with clients to achieve accreditation where that is available and to ensure that accredited status is protected for those clients that have it.
Sponsorship Obligations Reminder
As always, a strong reminder on sponsor obligations. We are continuing to see monitoring activities by the Australian Border Force (ABF) with even low-risk and accredited sponsors receiving visits. If you have any concerns or question about obligations and compliance, please contact us to discuss and arrange a self-audit so that you can be prepared if the ABF contact you. If you are contacted by ABF you should speak to us immediately.
We will be conducting a webinar on sponsorship, accreditation and compliance in February and we will be sending out an invitation shortly.
Labour Market Testing Requirements
Despite our low unemployment levels and clear lack of workers in most sectors in the Australian economy, Labour Market Testing continues to be required under legislation and officers have no discretion to depart from these. This means that LMT rules must be strictly followed until any changes are announced (if there are any). We will continue to work with you to ensure proper LMT compliance to ensure that applications are not refused.
Although the India/Australia Trade Agreement has come into force, the Agreement does not provide for any LMT exemption and so LMT will still need to be shown if sponsored candidates/employees are Indian nationals.
Our team will continue to advise on LMT a case-by-case basis.
Working Holiday 6 month relaxation
The government has announced that the relaxation of the 6-month work limitation will be extended until 1 July 2023. This means that working holiday visa holders (or bridging visa holders with the same work condition) can continue to work for any employer or at one location for more than six months without requiring permission. From 1 July 2023, the six-month requirement will be enforced again, however, time spent working with an employer prior to that date will not count. This means that from 1 July 2023 onwards, working holiday visa holders may work for any employer until 31 December 2023 or for six months, whichever is longer, even if they worked for that same employer before 1 July 2023.
Example 1 – employee starts on 1 August 2023 holding WHM visa can work until 31 January 2024 (6 months)
Example 2 – employee starts on 1 March 2023 holding WHM visa can work until 31 December 2023
Global Talent Program Update
Whilst the GTI program was hugely popular during the pandemic we have seen a clear shift in the government’s commitment to this program. Priority processing can no longer be obtained by applicants based in Australia. Those applications are now taking over 18 months to be assessed as applications lodged in May 2021 are now being considered.
Consistent with the priority processing direction mentioned above, applicants who are overseas may still be able to get priority processing (less than 6 months). However, only the highest caliber candidates will be able to access this as the government limits this visa to 5000 spots (including family members). We will continue to assess these applications on a case-by-case basis.
We are looking forward to a big year in the immigration world in 2023 and to continuing our relationships with our clients as our team aims to deliver the best possible service and experience for your employees. We will continue surveying visa applicants and undertaking process improvements in the firm as MobilityDesk helps us provide even better and new services.
The post New Year Newsletter – January 2023 first appeared on Ajuria Lawyers – Leaders in Immigration.
New Zealand Updates To The Green List and Other Immigration Changes Announced This Week
Green List Changes announced
Changes to Tier 1 occupations
The Prime Minister and Minister of Immigration held a joint media announcement earlier this week. In the announcement, several changes were indicated including the addition of three occupations to Tier 1 of the Green List, effective from 15 December. These are Midwives and Registered Nurses (who move from Tier 2 to Tier 1) and all medical doctors that are not currently listed under Tier 1.
A further occupational group, Auditors, will be added in March 2023 to the Tier 1 group.
As a reminder, Tier 1 occupations allow certain migrants with current employment or an offer of employment in that occupation to qualify for the Straight to Residence pathway under the suite of Skilled Migrant Residence visas that came into force in September 2022. Potential applicants must meet any qualification, registration or remuneration thresholds as stipulated for their occupation in order to qualify for residence (in addition to English language, health and character requirements).
Changes to Tier 2 occupations
In addition to the widening of Tier 1 occupations, it was also announced that a further 10 occupational groups will be added to the Tier 2 group from March 2023. These were announced as:
|
Civil Construction Supervisors |
Gasfitters |
|
Drainlayers |
Skilled Crane Operators |
|
Skilled Civil Machine Operators |
Halal Slaughterers |
|
Skilled Motor Mechanics |
Skilled Telecommunications Technicians |
|
Primary School Teachers |
All secondary teachers not already included |
Migrants in these occupations (along with the existing Tier 2 occupations) will be able to apply for residence after working in their skilled occupation for at least 24 months in New Zealand. As with the Tier 1 occupations, potential applicants must meet any qualification, registration or remuneration thresholds as stipulated for their occupation throughout the 24 month period, in addition to meeting English language, health and character requirements.
Extension of Employer Accreditation status
12 month automatic extension
All accredited employers will have their first approval period extended by 12 months, provided they first applied for accreditation status by 4 July 2023. This means that all current accredited employers have had a further 12 month validity added to their status, and those who apply between now and 4 July 2023 will be granted a 24 month period of validity.
We note that currently it is unclear whether this automatic 12 month extension on validity also covers Triangular Employer and Franchisee accreditation status. Employers with these forms of accreditation were intended to only ever receive a maximum of 12 months at each application, compared to Standard and High Volume accreditations that were to be valid for 12 months initially, then 24 months on renewal.
Expansion of accreditation system
The government’s intention during 2023 was to implement a broad requirement for ALL employers of migrants, even those on open work visas (such as partner work visas) to be accredited employers. This intention has now been deferred to 2024 to allow Immigration New Zealand to focus on more pressing priorities.
Post Study Work Visa holders
Those people who held a Post Study Work Visa after studying in New Zealand but were unable to use the visa due to the border closures will be able to apply for a 12 month open work visa if they have not already travelled to New Zealand on another visa.
Critical Purpose Visitor Visa holders
Those critical workers who came to New Zealand on 12 month Critical Purpose Visitor Visas, and who have remained in the same role, will be eligible for a three year Specific Purpose or Event work visa. This will require the holder to still be on their Critical Purpose Visitor Visa, be working in the same role and are being paid at least the same rate as when they applied for their Critical Purpose Visitor Visa.
Many of these visa holders have already changed over to long term work visas or gained residence under the 2021 Resident category, however those who remain on this visa will appreciate the opportunity provided. Changing to the new three year work visa will allow such visa holders to access public health care going forward.
We appreciate that there is a lot of information to digest regarding the latest updates from Immigration New Zealand, so if you have any questions on the updates provided or would like to discuss the new changes further, please do not hesitate to contact us.
We would also like to take this opportunity to wish all of our clients and contacts a wonderful relaxing Christmas and new year with family and friends. Our office will reopen on Monday 9 January 2023.
The post New Zealand Updates To The Green List and Other Immigration Changes Announced This Week first appeared on Ajuria Lawyers – Leaders in Immigration.
Australian Federal Budget – Immigration Update
The Australian Labor Government delivered its first federal budget last night. Minister Clare O’Neil’s released a short portfolio media release and further budget statements will be released over the coming days.
The Minister announced that with a strong focus on the Skill stream, this year’s Migration Program is estimated to have a positive impact of $448 million over four years from 2022-23 on the Budget. An extra $36.1 million over two years announced at the Jobs and Skills Summit will help mean the recruitment of an additional 500 staff to help deal with volume and improve processing times. A further $6.2 million over two years from 2022-23 will fund outreach and communications, including an international marketing campaign to promote migration to Australia.
From an Immigration perspective, there were not many new announcements, but rather confirmation of previous commitments already made. These included:
- Migration program – 195,000 permanent skilled migration places (increased from 160,000 as announced at the Jobs and Skills Summit)
- Student visa conditions – extended relaxation of work restrictions for student visa holders and secondary training visas holders to 30 June 2023 (can work full time)
- Priority processing – of offshore skilled migration applications and on-hand NZ Stream Skilled Independent SC 189 applications.
The 2022-23 skilled permanent migration program will be increased from 79,600 to 142,400 and is broken down as follows:
| Employer sponsored | 35,000 |
| Skilled Independent | 32,100 |
| Regional | 34,000 |
| State & Territory nominated | 31,000 |
| Business Innovation & Investment | 5,000 |
| Global Talent | 5,000 |
| Distinguished Talent | 300 |
New announcements:
- Parent visas – increasing the quota from 4,500 in 2021-22 to 8,500 in 2022-23
- Aged care sector and PALM Scheme – an additional 500 places in the aged care training pathway for Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme participants for 2022-23
- Pacific Engagement Visa – a new Pacific Engagement Visa with up to 3,000 permanent migration places for nationals of Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste, in additionto the existing permanent migration program
- Ukrainian Temporary Humanitarian vis – additional funding for 3-year Temporary Humanitarian Concern Visas (subclass 786) for Ukrainians and extended access to Medicare for a 12-month period for Ukrainians, including their immediate family members, who hold a Bridging Visa E
- Ukrainian funding – $0.6 million in additional funding in 2022–23 for the Ukrainian Community and Settlement Support
- Virtus Oceania Asia Games 2022 – nil visa application charges for international teams, officials and official careers participating in the games.
We have already seen an improvement in visa processing times in the skills streams and hope that the extra funding for more Departmental staff will improve this further as we head into the busy end of year period.
It is important to note this funding is still lower than the previous $875 million previously available.
The post Australian Federal Budget – Immigration Update first appeared on Ajuria Lawyers – Leaders in Immigration.
Australian Immigration Update
Australian immigration is front and centre in most news updates. The skills shortage in Australia is clearly being felt across all industries, including Immigration Law! As we wait for policy changes, we are seeing some small changes being announced. A lot of the changes are still needed, but these would need to go through Australia’s Parliament and the timing of these would depend on the Parliament’s seating agenda. Also worth noting is that the government is about to announce a review of its migration program to be carried out over the coming months after the Jobs and Skills Summit in September 2022. In the meantime:
Processing updates
In a speech at the Migration Institute of Australia National Conference in Hobart this week, the Minister for Immigration, The Hon Andrew Giles revealed the visa backlog now sits at around 880,000 applications.
That’s down from almost 1 million non-humanitarian applications before the Federal election. The Department has also employed more case officers which are being trained. As a result, we are seeing welcomed improvements on processing times with our estimates now being:
400 All – 2-4 weeks
TSS PMSOL (Priority List) – 2-4 weeks
TSS Accredited Sponsor – 1-2 months
TSS Non-Accredited Sponsor
(offshore without work rights) – 3-4 months
186 PR Accredited Sponsor – 6-10 months
186 PR Non-Accredited Sponsor – 12 months +
The above are just estimates and differ on a case-by-case basis and are subject to constant change.
Medical examinations for temporary visa applications made in Australia
In an attempt to streamline the processing of temporary visas, applicants in Australia will not be required to do medical examinations and chest x‐rays, based on their nationality, previous residence and proposed length.
Ajuria Lawyers will advise on this relaxation of rules on a case-by-case basis.
Working Holiday Visa Program – 6 month limit clarification
The Migration Institute of Australia has received confirmation from the Department that the temporary relaxation of condition 8547 (6 month work limitation) will be in place until 31 December 2022, when it will be reviewed by the Government.
After 31 December 2022, a Working Holiday Maker visa holder may work with an employer up to 6 months, despite any period they may have worked for that employer prior to 31 December 2022. This means there is the potential for Working Holiday visa holders to remain with the same employer until 30 June 2023 unless this is further extended.
This is yet to be formally announced and the Department’s website is not yet updated.
Student visa employment hours relaxation
The temporary relaxation of working hours for student visa holders continues and is set to end in 30 June 2023. In the meantime, it means student visa holders can work full-time but must still:
- Maintain their course enrolment
- Ensure satisfactory course attendance, and
- Ensure satisfactory course progress.
NSW Government 491 Regional NSW direct pathway
The NSW Government has announced a new direct pathway for Regional NSW skilled migrants to be nominated by the NSW Government for the Subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional visa. This is a provisional visa for skilled workers who want to live and work in regional Australia and in this case, NSW.
This pathway will allow applicants who are currently living and working in their nominated (or closely related) occupation in a designated regional area of NSW, and have continuously done so for the past 12 months to access a 491 NSW Government nomination with 65 points.
Only 12 months of employment in their skilled (or closely related) occupation are needed, however as stated below a Skills Assessment is still needed. To apply under this pathway, applicants must:
- Determine the general eligibility requirements
- Be currently living and working in their nominated (or closely related) occupation in a designated regional area of NSW, and have continuously done so for the past 12 months for a minimum of 20 hours per week
- Have a Skills Assessment in an occupation within a unit group that appears on the NSW Regional Skills List and is eligible for the visa
- Are paid at least the TSMIT level or $53,900 per annum (full time basis) excluding superannuation
- Provide evidence of where they currently live as well as for the points being claimed through the SkillSelect EOI with their application. They must also provide a copy of their SkillSelect EOI
The pathway is not yet live and is pending changes to their online systems.
Further updates will be provided as they become available.
The post Australian Immigration Update first appeared on Ajuria Lawyers – Leaders in Immigration.
Skilled migration outcomes from the Jobs and Skills Summit
The Jobs and Skills Summit took place at Parliament House over 1-2 September, bringing together Australians, including unions, employers, civil society and governments, to address Australia’s shared economic challenges.
As a result of the consensus reached at the Summit, immediate actions will be taken to build a bigger, better trained, and more productive workforce. The Summit has also laid out priorities for further work and future action.
From an immigration perspective, the Government has agreed to a number of immediate initiatives including:
- Increasing the permanent Migration Program ceiling to 195,000 in 2022-23 to help ease widespread, critical workforce shortages
- Providing $36.1 million in additional funding to accelerate visa processing and resolve the visa backlog
- Increasing the duration of post study work rights by allowing two additional years of stay for recent graduates with select degrees in areas of verified skills shortages to strengthen the pipeline of skilled labour in Australia
- Extending the relaxation of work restrictions for student and training visa holders until 30 June 2023 to help ease skills and labour shortages
Areas identified for further work and action include:
- Assessing the effectiveness of the skilled migration occupation lists
- Expanding pathways to permanent residency for temporary skilled sponsored workers
- Raising the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT). The current $53,900 TSMIT has not increased since 2013. The amount being debated is from $60,000 to $95,000
- Reforming the current labour market testing process following consultation with unions and business
- Examining the potential for industry sponsorship of skilled migrants
Finally, it was announced that an in-depth review of the Australian migration program will take place, led by Professor Brian Schmidt, Vice Chancellor of the ANU. The parameters of the review have not yet been confirmed. It has been indicated that the government will not wait until the review is complete before making changes to the migration program, with some adjustments occurring as the review is progressing.
As a firm, we welcome these initiatives and look forward to sharing more updates as they become available.
The post Skilled migration outcomes from the Jobs and Skills Summit first appeared on Ajuria Lawyers – Leaders in Immigration.
Visa Processing Update – Dealing with delays
As most of our clients would know, the Australian government is struggling with visa processing delays. The Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs has provided an update stating he has directed the Department of Home Affairs to devote more staff to addressing the current visa backlog. The backlog in the processing queue was almost 1 million and the government states that more resources are being allocated to processing and to the training staff members that are being moved from other Government departments.
We are expecting delays will continue for some time as the new Minister states that the processing of visas will continue to be a major priority for this Government – but reducing the backlog of applications can’t happen overnight. The full media release can be found here.
We are in regular contact with the Department and the Minister’s office about the delays and have presented them with data about processing times and with some ideas about how these might be tackled. We are working on a briefing paper to be presented to the Minister’s office shortly.
In the meantime, the new government is also preparing for the ‘Jobs and Skills Summit’ to be held in Canberra in September 2022. The Summit is aimed to bring together Australians, including unions, employers, civil society and governments, to address our shared economic challenges. It is likely to be a long process with submissions being opened over the next 12 months. More information on the Summit can be found here.
We understand the processing delays continue to affect our clients and the uncertainty of providing accurate estimates is difficult to work with. Please be assured your Ajuria Lawyers team is doing everything possible to lodge applications that are ‘decision ready’ so that matters can be finalised once allocated for processing. Despite this, you may continue to experience inconsistent processing times and unusual requests as newly appointed officers settle into their roles and the Department struggles to manage the backlog.
The post Visa Processing Update – Dealing with delays first appeared on Ajuria Lawyers – Leaders in Immigration.
More Immigration Updates for the New Financial Year
In addition to our updates last week (here and here), further immigration changes were announced over the first weekend of July 2022.
New instrument for Labour Market Testing for TSS visa applications
JobActive is no longer active. Sponsors will now be required to post their advertisement on the new Workforce Australia website instead.
An advertisement posted on the Jobactive website (http://www.jobactive.gov.au) before 4 July 2022 can still be used to meet visa requirements. All existing JobActive adverts have been migrated and are available on the new site.
Sponsors can confirm date of posting through their Workforce Australia account but also by searching for the advertisement through the new website.
Vaccination certificates
Anyone entering Australia from 6 July 2022, will no longer need to show a vaccination certificate nor complete a Digital Passenger Declaration.
Please note that:
- If you are transiting through another country, you should check any requirements for that country.
- You should check any airline-specific requirements.
- Quarantine or self-isolation requirements may still apply depending on the Australian state or territory of arrival. You should check these carefully before departure: https://www.australia.gov.au/states
Fair Work High Income Threshold
The Fair Work High Income Threshold (FWHIT) has increased to $162,000. This means:
- Those seeking an age exemption for Permanent Residence under the Employer Nomination Scheme will need to have a guaranteed income of at least that amount going forward.
- The Global Talent Independent and Global Talent Employer Scheme visa guidelines are likely to use this as the new guidance for that visa type.
Superannuation
The compulsory superannuation payment has increased to 10.5% per annum.
The post More Immigration Updates for the New Financial Year first appeared on Ajuria Lawyers – Leaders in Immigration.