Our next webinar on travel restrictions
Below is the latest information about each of the states. We will be discussing these in our webinar today Tuesday, 14 July 2020 at 2pm AEST.  REGISTER HERE

Travel restrictions
Travel restrictions still apply which means only the following can enter Australia:

• Australian citizens/Permanent residents
• Immediate family members of an Australian citizen/permanent resident
• New Zealand citizens usually resident in Australia.

Travel exemptions
All others must apply for travel exemptions through the Australian Border Force Commissioner. This process can take weeks and travellers will not be allowed to travel to Australia unless a waiver is granted. The grounds currently being considered are limited to:

• compassionate or compelling reasons
• people with critical skills (for example, medical specialists, engineers, marine pilots and crews) by exception
• foreign nationals travelling at the invitation of the Australian Commonwealth Government for the purpose of assisting in the COVID-19 response or whose entry would be in the national interest
• critical medical services, including air ambulance and delivery of supplies, that regularly arrive into Australia from international ports
• diplomats accredited to Australia and currently resident in Australia, and their immediate family
• ​case-by-case exceptions for humanitarian or compassionate reasons.

In practice, we are only seeing exemptions being granted individuals with critical skills involved in large scale infrastructure projects such as engineers.

International flight restrictions
Last week the Prime Minister directed airlines to cut the number of flights and available seats to Australia from Monday, 13 July to significantly reduce the number of international arrivals into the country. International flights are suspended into Victoria.

There will be caps on the numbers of passengers coming into Australian airports from overseas. The government has confirmed this

• These measures will be temporary and will be reviewed
• The Government will seek to provide airlines with at least 48 hours’ notice to minimise disruptions
• It’s up to the airlines, not the Government, to decide who it sells tickets to.

States and territories are now charging for quarantine, with NSW announcing their fees over the weekend.

Below is a summary by state/territory:

NSW

International Flights

• 450 international arrivals per day will continue, as announced on 4 July with a view to further reductions in subsequent weeks.

Quarantine from international flights – 14 days
A mandatory quarantine fee will apply to all international travellers flying to NSW from 12:01am Saturday, 18 July.

• $3,000 for 1 adult
• $4,000 for 2 adults
• $4,500 for 2 adults & 1 child
• Additional children: $500 each
• Child under 3 years: no additional cost

Travellers who purchased their flights before 11:59pm 12 July AEST will be excluded from quarantine fees.

Interstate restrictions
NSW has temporary shut its border with Victoria.

Victoria

International Flights
Declaration of State of Emergency until 11.59pm 19 July 2020.
No international flights into Victoria.
https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/victorias-restriction-levels-covid-19

Quarantine from international flights – 14 days
N/A – no international flights into VIC.

Queensland

International Flights
Cap of 500 international arrivals per week.

Quarantine from international flights – 14 days

• $2,800 for 1 adult
• $3,710 for 2 adults
• $4,620 for 2 adults and 2 children

Interstate restrictions
From 10 July 2020, any person travelling from NSW, WA, SA, Tasmania, ACT and NT may enter QLD subject to lodging a border declaration.

Any person from an area declared as a COVID-19 “hotspot” (including Victoria) must not enter Queensland.
https://www.qld.gov.au/health/conditions/health-alerts/coronavirus-covid-19/stay-informed/travel-advice

Western Australia

International Flights
Cap of 525 international arrivals per week

Quarantine from international flights – 14 days
Costs to be determined

Interstate restrictions

• Regardless of whether you are a resident or non-resident of WA, all travellers must apply for a travel exemption to enter WA. No one will be allowed into WA if they have not been in VIC in the previous 14 days.
• All travellers are required to self-isolate for 14 days.

https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/department-of-the-premier-and-cabinet/covid-19-coronavirus-travel-advice

South Australia

Quarantine from international flights – 14 days
N/A – no international flights into SA

Interstate restrictions
Travellers are required to complete a cross border pre-approval form before entering the State.
A further 14 days of self-quarantine will apply in SA for international travellers who have arrived in another State or Territory.
https://www.covid-19.sa.gov.au/emergency-declarations/cross-border-travel

Tasmania

Quarantine from international flights – 14 days
N/A – no international flights into TAS

Interstate restrictions
Except for Essential Travellers (specified persons), any person from VIC must not enter TAS.
TAS residents returning home are required to self-quarantine for 14 days at their place of residence.
https://www.coronavirus.tas.gov.au/travellers-and-visitors

Northern Territory

Quarantine from international flights – 14 days
N/A – no international flights into NT.

Interstate restrictions
Anyone travelling interstate to the NT is required to self-quarantine for 14 days.
From 17 July 2020, all mandatory quarantine will be lifted except for travellers from “hotspots” (including VIC).
https://coronavirus.nt.gov.au/stay-safe/quarantine

ACT

Quarantine from international flights – 14 days
N/A – no international flights into ACT

Interstate restrictions
ACT residents are not advised to travel to VIC except for absolutely essential reasons. https://www.covid19.act.gov.au/community/travelling-and-transport

These rules change regularly so contact us if you have questions about quarantine.

DISCLAIMER This information is current as of 14 July 2020 and subject to change. The information contained in this publication is of a general nature only. It should not be used as legal advice. To the extent permissible by law, Ajuria Lawyers and its associated entities shall not be liable for any errors, omissions, defects or misrepresentations in the information or for any loss or damage suffered by persons who use or rely on such information. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

We are starting to see more travel exemptions being granted to allow critical employees into Australia. Under current Australian Border Force rules, all international travellers entering Australia must be isolated in mandatory quarantine accommodation for 14 days. However, if employees are then required to travel interstate, different rules then apply for each State or Territory.

ACT:       There are currently no restrictions on entering or leaving the Australian Capital Territory. https://www.covid19.act.gov.au/community/travelling-and-transport

NSW:     There are currently no restrictions on entering or leaving New South Wales.
https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/travel-and-transport-advice

NT:         Currently, anyone travelling interstate to the Northern Territory is required to self-quarantine for 14 days. From 17 July 2020, all mandatory quarantine will be lifted.
https://coronavirus.nt.gov.au/travel/remote-work-and-travel

QLD:      Only Queensland residents, residents of border communities undertaking essential activities and those considered an ‘exempt person’ are currently allowed to enter Queensland from another State or Territory. All non-residents must lodge a travel request and will be assessed on a case by case basis. Anyone returning from an area declared as a COVID-19 hotspot in Australia within the last 14 days will be required to self-isolate for 14 days.  Queensland is set to open its borders from 10 July 2020.
https://www.qld.gov.au/health/conditions/health-alerts/coronavirus-covid-19/stay-informed/travel-advice

SA:         Travellers entering directly from the Northern Territory, Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia are not required to self-quarantine. If you are arriving from any other State or Territory you will be required to self-isolate for 14 days. These restrictions are anticipated to be lifted on 20 July 2020.
https://www.covid-19.sa.gov.au/emergency-declarations/cross-border-travel

TAS:       Tasmanian residents are required to self-quarantine for 14 days at their place of residence. All non-residents are required to complete a 14-day quarantine at a Tasmanian government accommodation facility. At this stage, the border restrictions will be in place until at least 24 July 2020.
https://www.coronavirus.tas.gov.au/travellers-and-visitors

VIC:        There are currently no restrictions on entering or leaving Victoria.
https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/victorias-restriction-levels-covid-19

WA:       Regardless of whether you are a resident or non-resident of Western Australia, all travellers must apply for a travel exemption to enter Western Australia. All travellers are required to self-isolate for 14 days.
https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/department-of-the-premier-and-cabinet/covid-19-coronavirus-travel-advice

These rules change regularly so contact us if you have questions about quarantine.

DISCLAIMER This information is current as of 29 June 2020 and subject to change. The information contained in this publication is of a general nature only. It should not be used as legal advice. To the extent permissible by law, Ajuria Lawyers and its associated entities shall not be liable for any errors, omissions, defects or misrepresentations in the information or for any loss or damage suffered by persons who use or rely on such information. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

As the end of financial year is quickly approaching we are expecting the Government to issue a statement outlining an increase in fees and charges for lodging visa applications. Due to COVID-19 and the growing delay on application processing times we are unsure of what, if anything, the Government will do regarding the application fees this year.

On 15 June 2020, the Government did announce one small change to the surcharge rate for any payments made by credit card or PayPal for sponsorship, nomination fees and visa application charges.  Currently, the surcharge fee is dependent on the type of credit or debit card used at the time of lodgement. This announcement by the Government will standardise the surcharge to 1.4% on 1 July 2020.

Previous surcharge fees were in the range from 1.0% to 1.99% and so this standardisation will have a small impact on some of our clients but not all.

The Government has not provided information on any additional application fee increases although further announcements may be made prior to the end of the financial year on 1 July 2020. We will keep you up to date as always.

DISCLAIMER This information is current as of 29 June 2020 and subject to change. The information contained in this publication is of a general nature only. It should not be used as legal advice. To the extent permissible by law, Ajuria Lawyers and its associated entities shall not be liable for any errors, omissions, defects or misrepresentations in the information or for any loss or damage suffered by persons who use or rely on such information. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

Many states in Australia are implementing compulsory registration requirements for engineers. This is very important for companies employing or sponsoring overseas engineers because it is a condition of a TSS visa that any compulsory registration or license must be obtained within 90 days of arrival in Australia or grant of the visa if already in Australia. It will also be required before permanent residence can be granted.

Registration laws in Queensland are already in effect.  For NSW, they will be in effect by 1 July 2021. Other states are expected to announce their time table soon.

It is not clear at this stage:

• Exactly what categories of occupation/activity will require registration e.g. if Construction Managers doing some engineering work will also require registration
• Whether there will be exemptions from registration e.g. it appears that performing engineering work under the supervision of an engineer may be allowed without registration
• Whether there will be more flexible timeframes for overseas engineers (either already in Australia or who will be arriving) to become registered (beyond the 90 days above)

We highly recommend that clients reach out to their state engineering authority for more information and we are always happy to help.

DISCLAIMER This information is current as of 29 June 2020 and subject to change. The information contained in this publication is of a general nature only. It should not be used as legal advice. To the extent permissible by law, Ajuria Lawyers and its associated entities shall not be liable for any errors, omissions, defects or misrepresentations in the information or for any loss or damage suffered by persons who use or rely on such information. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

As mentioned last month, our office has already successfully obtained many Global Talent Independent (GTI) visas for the best and the brightest talent in various tech related sectors. The GTI is focussed on individuals with an internally recognised reputation and the potential to earn above $149,000 p.a. Importantly, the Department’s policy has recently been updated, to clarify the pathway for those who have completed a Masters/Honours (with an 80% average) or a PhD in a relevant field within the past three years.

Achievements by recent graduates will be considered internationally recognised if their research is of international interest, including to governments and industry, or they have presented their research at international forums. The benefit of this program compared to other permanent residence pathways, is that it is not points tested. Indications are that there are 1,000 spots allocated to recent graduates (out of the 5,000 spots this financial year).

The GTI program is seen by government as a huge success and it is likely to continue beyond 1 July 2020, meaning this pathway will become an ongoing option for employers and their talented staff earning a high-income salary.

We have already helped many applicants to obtain permanent residence through the GTI so have employees or colleagues or friends contact us for a consultation.

DISCLAIMER This information is current as of 29 June 2020 and subject to change. The information contained in this publication is of a general nature only. It should not be used as legal advice. To the extent permissible by law, Ajuria Lawyers and its associated entities shall not be liable for any errors, omissions, defects or misrepresentations in the information or for any loss or damage suffered by persons who use or rely on such information. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

With so much uncertainty in the world, we are receiving a lot more enquiries about Australian permanent residence.

Sponsored employees can apply for permanent residence in two main ways through their employer:

• Temporary Residence Transition stream or
• Direct Entry stream (for some the Global Talent Independent (GTI) visa may also be an option).

The Temporary Residence Transition stream requires an employee to work for their employer on a 457 or 482 visa for a designated period of time (2 years or 3 years) before they are eligible to apply for PR.

The Direct Entry stream allows applicants to apply for permanent residence faster, without them having to work on their temporary visa for any particular period of time. This is advantageous for both employers and visa applicants, as employers can potentially request fewer years on the TSS visa. Since the SAF levy is calculated per year, expediting permanent residency has the potential to save employers additional funds, while at the same time helping their employee gain PR faster.

We are working with a number of clients now to review their permanent residence policies to devise strategies to save money. If you are interested in discussing this just let us know.

One thing to note, however, is that in addition to showing relevant work experience, the Direct Entry stream requires applicants to obtain a positive skills assessment. There are limited exemptions to this requirement.

It is important for employees to understand that when applying for skills assessments there are different approved skills assessing authorities for different occupations. Each skills’ assessing body often has their own, very specific requirements which, in some cases, can be more onerous than the PR visa itself. They also have different processes and fees.

Before considering whether to apply for a Direct Entry visa, it is vital that applicants very clearly review the appropriate assessing authority’s guidelines to ensure they will meet the requirements. Failing to closely adhere to what is required can lead to a refusal, or at the least, significant processing delays. With some skills assessing bodies taking anywhere between 8-12 weeks to issue a decision, it is important to get it right the first time around.

Ajuria Lawyers can work with your employees and help them identify the authorised skills assessing body they are required to use and work through the assessing body’s guidelines.

DISCLAIMER This information is current as of 29 June 2020 and subject to change. The information contained in this publication is of a general nature only. It should not be used as legal advice. To the extent permissible by law, Ajuria Lawyers and its associated entities shall not be liable for any errors, omissions, defects or misrepresentations in the information or for any loss or damage suffered by persons who use or rely on such information. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

The Government’s Regional Visa program commenced on 16 November 2019, as part of the solution to populate regional Australia, away from the major cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. 25,000 visas were reserved this year for this program.

These Regional visas are designed to draw skilled workers to regional Australia by providing a pathway to permanent residence where there would otherwise not be one.

There are two different visas that form part of the program:

• The Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa, which allows employers to sponsor a wider range of skilled workers for positions located in regional Australia.
• The Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa, which requires the individual to demonstrate their skills (via points-test) in order to be nominated by a state or territory government agency to work in regional Australia. The visa applicant is required to score at least 65 points.

These temporary visas are granted for 5 years, with the ability to apply for permanent residency after 3 years of living and working in a regional area with a salary above $53,900.

Broadly speaking, the requirements for both visas are quite similar as all applicants must:

• Be under the age of 45 in order to apply (some exemptions may apply)
• Demonstrate Competent English at time of lodgement
• Have a positive skills assessment in their nominated occupation

The concern for most skilled workers is navigating the process to obtain the skills assessment as each skills assessment authority has their own specific requirements for each nominated occupation and some can be quite rigid and complex.

Contact us if you would like more information about the regional program and how we can help.

DISCLAIMER This information is current as of 29 June 2020 and subject to change. The information contained in this publication is of a general nature only. It should not be used as legal advice. To the extent permissible by law, Ajuria Lawyers and its associated entities shall not be liable for any errors, omissions, defects or misrepresentations in the information or for any loss or damage suffered by persons who use or rely on such information. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

If you are an Australian citizen or permanent resident seeking to re-settle your parents in Australia permanently, there are a number of Parent visa options available. The eligibility requirements for these visas can get a little complex but generally speaking, if you have lived in Australia for the last 2 years, and you are an only child or at least half of your siblings (including half and step) are living in Australia, you may be eligible to sponsor your parent for a Permanent Parent visa.

In broad terms, there are two streams of parent visas: contributory and non-contributory visas. The primary difference between these two streams is that, for contributory visas, the applicant pays extra fees (more than $43,600) to secure faster processing. You may be asking – is it worth the money?

For all Parent visa subclasses, the Department of Home Affairs sets a strict cap on the number of visa places available in any year. In practical terms, this creates a queue system where new lodged applications are placed in line and visa applications are considered on a “first in, first out” basis. The queue for Contributory Parent visas moves much faster while non-contributory visas stall – there has been no advancement in that queue for at least the last 9 months.

Current estimates published by the Department of Home Affairs suggests that processing time on a contributory visa lodged now would take approximately 4.8 years until a final decision is made while non-contributory parent visa applicants can expect to wait up to 30 years for a decision!

If you hear of anyone wanting help to bring parents to Australia we would be happy to help navigate all this.

DISCLAIMER This information is current as of 29 June 2020 and subject to change. The information contained in this publication is of a general nature only. It should not be used as legal advice. To the extent permissible by law, Ajuria Lawyers and its associated entities shall not be liable for any errors, omissions, defects or misrepresentations in the information or for any loss or damage suffered by persons who use or rely on such information. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

With the economy opening and the end of the financial year upon us, we are seeing a huge increase in activity by employers and individuals interested in permanent residence and citizenship.

We thought it would be helpful to reach out with a few common COVID-19 questions we are receiving.

Can we still lodge visas?
Absolutely. The Department of Home Affairs is still receiving and processing temporary and permanent visa applications, although people overseas are only being processed if they have been given permission to travel to Australia (or that is pending). In fact there is currently a surge on lodgements because Immigration fees typically go up on 1 July each year.

Do we still need to do Labour Market Testing?
Yes the usual rules for LMT still operate.

Will our employees be able to travel?
Sponsored workers need the permission of the Commissioner of the Australian Border Force to be able to enter Australia. Permission on this ground is only granted where the person has ‘critical skills’. While there is some guidance on what is critical, each case will need to be assessed individually. Those visa holders already in Australia can depart but should seek permission to come back before they leave or they may not be able to return to Australia even if they have a job, family and a home here.  Australian citizens and permanent residents generally need permission to depart.

There is no confirmed news on when the borders might open and offshore processing will resume. From the information we have been able to gather, the most likely scenario is that New Zealand citizens will be able to travel once our state borders are open. Overseas students might be allowed to travel from July/August with a pilot program for a ‘secure corridor’ now being prepared. Some time after that, they may start to let in families of TSS visa holders already in Australia. Depending on how that goes and the COVID-19 numbers in Australia, we might start to see some loosening of restrictions for sponsored workers in the last quarter of this year.

We are doing lots of incoming and outgoing exemption requests so call us if you would like to know more or need some assistance.

What if a sponsored worker has been stood down?
TSS and subclass 457 visa holders who have been stood down, but not laid off, will maintain a valid visa and businesses will have the opportunity to extend their visa as per normal arrangements. If your employee has been laid off you need to notify the Department in the usual way. While it is a bit unclear as to whether the Department expects employers to notify temporary stand downs, if you think any stand down could go on for much longer, you should contact us to discuss the best approach.

Can we reduce the working hours of a sponsored employee? 
Yes, for now – provided that the salary remains the same on a pro-rata basis. The usual rule is that all sponsored positions should be full-time, so this is a special flexibility for COVID-19.  It is unclear how long this will go on for but you should expect that you could be asked at some time in the future to demonstrate why you still need the sponsored employee if there is no full-time work. Also, there has been no announcement about how reduced hours might impact the permanent residence eligibility date for the sponsored employee given that it generally excludes periods where the person was not employed full-time. We will have to wait and see whether reducing work hours impacts PR or not. If you have concerns, you should contact us.

Can we reduce the wages of a sponsored employee?
Probably, provided that it is temporary, applies to Australians and sponsored employees alike and that the new salary is still at market rate. The usual requirement is that an employer would need to lodge a new nomination with LMT and market rate evidence, however, the policy section of the Department has advised us that, during COVID-19, it will be sufficient to notify them of the temporary change. Contact us if you have or intend to adjust wages (or hours or both) and we can work out what needs to be done as this can have other implications.

Will the occupation list change?
There has been no announcement about changes to the occupation list. The changes that were due to take place in March this year have been put on hold. The lists are driven by the availability of skills in Australia. Depending on the longer-term impact of COVID-19 on unemployment and the political debate about ‘Australians first’, some changes might be expected.  We will advise clients as soon as we have any official announcement. Until then, it is business as usual on occupations.

Wrap up
Our focus at the moment is very much on helping clients gear up for re-opening, dealing with the large number of requests about borders, managing onshore populations as usual, dealing with the increased level of permanent residence and citizenship questions and ensuring you all remain compliant. If you would like any more information about any of the above or just want to catch up generally on where things are at just give us a call.

Good luck everyone. There is light at the end of the tunnel!

DISCLAIMER This information is current as of 19 June 2020 and subject to change. The information contained in this publication is of a general nature only. It should not be used as legal advice. To the extent permissible by law, Ajuria Lawyers and its associated entities shall not be liable for any errors, omissions, defects or misrepresentations in the information or for any loss or damage suffered by persons who use or rely on such information. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

Since its launch in November 2019, the Global Talent Independent (GTI) Program has generated some interest. Our office has been involved with applications in the various sectors and has had a number of liaison discussions with the talent program team in Canberra. Nothing like getting a GTI visa grant for our clients!

The program seeks to attract “the best and the brightest” from around the world by offering a streamlined and priority pathway to permanent residence if candidates are distinguished in one of the seven identified GTI industries and are likely to be able to command a salary in Australia above the Fair Work High Income Threshold (FWHIT), currently $148,700. There is also a stream for recent PhD or Masters graduates in the target sectors.

The seven identified GTI industries are: AgTech; Space & Advanced Manufacturing; FinTech; Energy & Mining Technology; MedTech; Cyber Security; Quantum Information, Advanced Digital, Data Science & ICT.

These permanent applications are fast-tracked and processed with priority. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic disruption, applications are still being processed with a focus on the Australian based applicants.

A recent Freedom of Information Request indicates that the government is no way close to filling the 5,000 spots allocated to this program. This may largely be due to the lack of public information on the program. It is clearly a perfect opportunity to lodge applications specially for those candidates currently based in Australia.

Please contact an Ajuria Lawyers adviser if you require further information at www.ajurialawyers.com or +61 (0)2 9222 6100.

DISCLAIMER This information is current as of 18 May 2020 and subject to change. The information contained in this publication is of a general nature only. It should not be used as legal advice. To the extent permissible by law, Ajuria Lawyers and its associated entities shall not be liable for any errors, omissions, defects or misrepresentations in the information or for any loss or damage suffered by persons who use or rely on such information. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.