In the lead up to the Federal Election, debate and discussion has again been raised on how Australia should manage its skilled migration programs. Congestion busting in metropolitan areas remains a contentious issue, and the Opposition has criticised the Coalition’s population policy for failing to address high numbers of temporary… Read More »
2019 Federal Budget outcomes Last night’s 2019 Federal Budget announcements confirmed Australia will continue to focus on encouraging migrants to live and work regionally, with nearly $50 million of spending to be allocated to new regional visas over the next five years. Other key take-aways for the migration program included: A 5.4%… Read More »
Employers and Subclass 482 Visa holders may be interested to know a new permanent residence option has opened up for an additional 31 occupations in the Oil and Gas, IT, Science, Professional services and Arts industries (among others) through the General Skilled Migration program. Prior to the Skilled Occupation List… Read More »
Does your business struggle to find local workers for its regional operations? Do visa processing times get in the way of your business securing the workers you need? According to the Government’s $19 million plan to tackle the uneven distribution of Australia’s population growth over the next four years, businesses… Read More »
This month, the Government announced the Accredited Sponsorship Scheme will be expanded to allow more businesses to access priority processing times of up to 5 business days for a 482 visa, compared to the current average wait of 42 business days for a 482 Visa. Currently only 900 businesses have… Read More »
Employer sponsored doctors from overseas who are intending to practice in Australia will first need approval to work in a designated area from a Rural Workforce Agency (RWA’s) before applying for their visa. Due to a new condition on the revised Skilled Occupation Lists announced on 11 March 2019, overseas… Read More »
The Government today revealed Australia’s permanent migration intake would be reduced by 30,000 people as details of the new population policy were released. Under the policy changes, Australia’s annual permanent migration intake will be set at 160,000 places for the next four years, formally reducing the number of permanent residence… Read More »
Interstaff recently attended the Australian Oil and Gas (AOG) Exhibition and Conference held on 13-15 March 2019 at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre. Each year the AOG Expo provides an opportunity for our team to network with peers in the oil and gas industry and learn more about the… Read More »
Businesses have long been advocating for more flexible migration laws to accommodate for labour shortages in regional areas – and it looks like the Government is listening. As part of its focus on alleviating population pressures in Sydney and Melbourne, various regional migration agreements are being fast-tracked across the country.… Read More »
Every six months, the Government reviews its lists of eligible occupations for a skilled visa to ensure the migration program continues to reflect Australia’s changing labour needs. The latest revisions came into effect on 11 March 2019. No occupations were removed from the Medium to Long Term Skilled Lists, however,… Read More »
Changing Skilled Migration Landscape | We have certainly seen a number of changes to Australia’s migration landscape since Interstaff was first established in 1988 three decades ago. One of the most significant changes recently has been the replacement of the 457 Visa scheme with the Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) Subclass… Read More »
If you are wondering how SAF Fees apply in cases where TSS Visa holders are changing sponsors, the Government has indicated employers will only be required to pay a portion of the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) Fees when engaging workers currently in Australia on a Subclass 457/482 Temporary Skills Shortage… Read More »
Contributions into the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) Levy will be payable on all nomination applications for Subclass 482, 186 and 187 Visas from Sunday 12 August 2018. The SAF was approved by the Australian parliament in May 2018. The fund has been established to provide training for Australians in areas of need as identified by the… Read More »
TSS Visa Implementation | The Government has today released legislation for the new TSS Visa and confirmed the new program will commence this Sunday 18 March 2018. The change will mean new applications will need to be made under the TSS Visa program rather than the 457 scheme from Monday… Read More »
