Australia’s hospitality and tourism industry is so short staffed the government needs to import 36,000 cooks, waiters and bartenders immediately

It is also looking for another 56,000 workers by 2015, according to Immigration Minister Chris Bowen. Under a new federal plan, tourism and hospitality employers would be able to bring in workers on a two to three year visa similar to the 457 visa program widely used in the mining sector. The vacancies are caused by a number of factors; chief amongst which is the reluctance of Australians to do “menial”jobs.

Experts say high-paying mining jobs are luring young Australian workers from traditional fields such as retail and hospitality, while others would rather go on the dole than muck in and do certain jobs themselves.

Source: www.australiamagazine.co.uk/

The Gillard Government will implement a new visa fee system to ensure taxpayers are no longer subsidising visa applications, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Chris Bowen MP, announced today.

‘The significant changes included the introduction of a fee for dependants of visa applicants from July 2013. If people are bringing family members with them to Australia, the fee will reflect the additional processing and checks for these family members, Mr Bowen said.

Currently, the application fees charged to people wanting to come to Australia do not cover the cost to the Commonwealth of processing the applications. The changes are projected to generate about $613 million over the next four years in revenue.

There will be no change to humanitarian visas as part of the new application fee structure.

Student visa application fees will also decrease by 5 per cent from 1 January 2012, increasing the competitiveness of Australia’s international education sector. At the same time, fees for a range of Skills and Business visas will increase by between 5 per cent and 15 per cent.

In addition, some visa programs, such as the overwhelming majority of visitor visas, will be unaffected by the move to user-pays to ensure there is no impact on tourism.

From July 2012 a CPI increase will also apply to the majority of visa application fees and a surcharge will be introduced for optional services such as visa labels.

Other changes to take effect from July 2013 will affect applications for longer-duration visas and for those seeking further visas onshore.

Mr Bowen said to encourage the use of online applications, there would also be an additional charge for people making a paper-based application where there is an ‘e’ visa option.

As part of the changes, improvements will be made to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship’s IT network.

‘These initiatives will put Australian visa services on a sustainable financial footing, while supporting our position globally as a destination of choice to visit, live, work or study.’

Source: www.immi.gov.au

Changes to the visa subclass 457 system is fast tracking the applications for skilled workers coming to Australia.

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said he was creating a new accreditation scheme for the 457 visa system which begin on 7 November 2011.

Businesses can become accredited if they have been an active 457 visa sponsor over the past three years; take care of at least 30 overseas workers over the past 12 months and can guarantee that their local workforce is at least 75 per cent Australian.

These accredited businesses will be put into a priority queue for all future visa applications. They will also be given approval for six years to bring in skilled workers, instead of the current three.

Mr Bowen said during an address, “This will continue to ensure that the 457 program is responsive to the economic cycle and provides a flexible avenue for employers to fill immediate and short-term skill vacancies, while maintaining opportunities and conditions for Australian workers. Average processing times for 457 visa applications are also 30 per cent lower than they were in 2006-07 – down from 31 to 22 days. Our aim is to see 457 visas processed within 10 days.”

Contact NTRUST at 6738 4431 to find out more about this visa subclass.

Source: http://news.smh.com.au

Victoria is a popular state for skilled migrants and receives a high number of applications for state sponsorship.

In 2011-12 the Commonwealth Government has allocated Victoria 6000 state sponsorship places for skilled migrants and their dependents – an increase of 1500 places.

To ensure that state sponsored skilled migrants coming to Victoria have the right mix of skills for Victoria labour market, the Victorian Government applies quotas to the industries it targets under the plan.

Occupations experiencing high demand and those open or closed for sponsorship applications can be viewed through the Occupation List.

www.liveinvictoria.vic.gov.au/

Tuesday, 30 August 2011

AAP

Melbourne has finally knocked Vancouver off its perch as the best city in the world to live in.

Melbourne claimed the title of the world’s most liveable city in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest survey, with Sydney,Perth and Adelaide also making it into the top 10.

Melbourne had shared first position with Vancouver in 2002 but finally nabbed the top spot in its own right in the August survey, released on Tuesday.

Sydney made it to sixth position in the London-based research company’s latest ranking of 140 cities, from seventh in the February survey, while Perth and Adelaide again shared eighth place.

“Australia, with a low population density and relatively low crime rates, continues to supply some of the world’s most liveable cities,” Mr Copestake said in a statement.

“Despite the rising cost of living driven by the strong Australian dollar, these cities offer a range of factors to make them highly attractive.”

Melbourne scored 97.5 per cent, just beating Vienna on 97.4 per cent and Vancouver on 97.3. A ranking of 100 per cent is considered ideal.

Brisbane came in at number 21 on the survey, two spots ahead of Wellington but behind Auckland which was number 10.

The survey ranks 140 locations as having the best or the worst living conditions, with cities scored on political and social stability, crime rates, access to quality health care, cultural events, the environment, education and the standard of infrastructure.

The Australian Government has decided on a major reform in the way Australia selects skilled migrants through the Skilled Migrant Selection Register (SkillSelect), in which the entire General Skilled Migration Program will be affected. 

SkillSelect will be an electronic system based upon a two-stage process. Prospective applicants first submit claims for skilled migration through an online Expressions Of Interest (EOI) and subsequently may be invited to make a visa application. This is a significant change from the current situation, as applicants for independent or state or territory sponsored migration will be required to receive an invitation in order to lodge a visa application.

Once invited, SkillSelect will ensure a match between the number of applicants and the number of available program places. This will result in streamlined processing times.

SkillSelect is proposed to commence on 1 July 2012. New applicants for independent, family or state/territory sponsored migration would need to submit an EOI and be issued with an invitation before lodging a visa application. The first round of invitations is expected to occur in January 2013.  

Prospective applicants interested in employer sponsorship would not be required to submit an EOI if they already have a sponsor.

For those who have already lodged a visa application prior to the implementation of SkillSelect and are pending processing, the department would process this application in accordance with any priority processing direction in effect at that time. 

www.immi.gov.au

New reports have revealed that rural South Australia will need more doctors due to approximately 25 per cent of doctors set to retire in the next five years. As a result, the President of the Australian Medical Association SA is calling on the South Australia government to fund new internship and training places and it is highly likely that any skilled medical professionals emigrating to Australia could be in high demand.

According to latest statistics, around 245 medical students are expected to graduate this year.  Of those, 38 are international students and 207 are permanent residents of the country.

For those of you who are in the medical profession, your skills are highly sought after now to fill up the skills gap.  Want to know more the Australia visa application process? Contact NTRUST for a scheduled professional consultation.

Western Australia still faces a crippling skills shortage despite Perth being reclassified a regional city to allow it access to a greater pool of migrant workers, the state government and industry have warned.

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen yesterday announced Perth would be added to a list of regional employment hardship areas, alongside cities in the Pilbara and Kimberley, under the Regional Sponsorship Migration Scheme.

However, the city will be forced to fight for a share of the 16,000 visas offered across the entire country under the program. There is no guarantee how many new workers Perth will gain through the measure.

WA is expected to be 150,000 employees short by 2017.

There’s still a sizeable gap. [Reclassifying Perth] will make a difference for the better but it won’t single-handedly solve the state’s labour shortage woes.

The state government and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA have made several request for greater flexibility with the use of visas; namely an expansion of the working holiday and student visas from 12 to 36 months; incentives to increase the level of foreign students entering Australia and to encourage them to join the domestic workforce; review of the new International English Language Test score; the proposed new points test requirements, and the allocation of state-sponsored visas.

Find out more about visa opportunities by contacting NTRUST at (65) 6738 4431 or simply email us at migrate@ntrust.com.sg

Source: WA Today

With effect from 1 July 2011, new priority processing arrangements for the Skilled Migration Program have been set.

The processing priorities (with highest priority listed first) and the estimated processing times are:

1. applicants who are employer-sponsored under the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme – 5 to 8 months
2. applicants who are applying under the Employer Nominated Scheme – 5 to 8 months
3. applicants who are nominated by a State/Territory under the State Migration Program – 12 to 24 months
4. applicants who have nominated an occupation on the Skilled Occupation List schedule 1 with effect from 1 July 2011 – 18 months
5. all other applicants – assessment will commence once priority group 1 to 4 are finalised.

According to the authorities, these arrangements help to better address the needs of industry by targeting skills in demand across a number of sectors, and help ensure that the skilled migration program is responsive to the current economic climate and the needs of the Australian economy.

http://www.immi.gov.au/

The Skilled Occupation List (SOL) will change from 1 July 2011, with 13 occupations to be added to the list and 4 occupations to be removed. The updated SOL is based on expert advice from the independent body, Skills Australia.

The list of occupations reflects the Australian Government’s commitment to a skilled migration program that delivers skills in need in Australia.

The 13 occupations that have been added are:

Medical physicist;
Environmental health officer;
Occupational health and safety adviser;
Hospital pharmacists;
Retail pharmacists;
Barrister;
Solicitor;
Fitter (General);
Fitter and turner;
Fitter-Welder;
Metal machinist (First class);
Boat builder and repairer; AND
Shipwright.

The 4 occupations that have been removed are:

Optometrist;
Orthoptist;
Panel beater; AND
Vehicle painter.

In its updated form, the new SOL will feature 192 occupations.

http://www.immi.gov.au/