23 April 2007 Australian Visa and Immigration Network Infoshow Dates for September 2007 finalized

Following the great success of our last Infoshow in February 2007 the AVIN team are now returning to Germany and Austria in September 2007.

Many participants from February 07 commented favourably on the helpfulness, the objectivity and accuracy of the information provided, saying that it was not just a “promotional session” but full of useful, well researched and professionally presented content for prospective migrants to Australia.

We have selected the date so as to be in a position to give information on the exact detail of the 1st of September migration law changes and enable participants to evaluate their eligibility for a skilled Australian visa against these changed criteria.

Part of the seminar will also be a segment on job trends and salaries as well as a “how to” on job hunting in the Australian economy.

The dates for September are 24.9. Berlin, 25.9. Hamburg, 26.9. Düsseldorf, 27.9. Mainz, 28.9. Stuttgart, 29.9. Munich, 30.9. Salzburg

05 April 2007 Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews announces details to changes to the Skilled Migration Programme

Since the Birrell Report was published in mid 2006 there has been some speculation about the fine detail of changes that DIA decides to implement in response to the recommendations in the report.

While not all detail has been released or finalized with no new points allocation or pass marks in the skilled points test envisaged yet, the following changes to the Programme have become clear:

• The implementation date will be 1 September 2007, with applications lodged before this date remaining unaffected by the changes.
• All GSM visas will have an online lodgement facility.
• The number of visa subclasses will be reduced in the General Skilled Migration Programme so as to simplify the process of choosing the right visa as well as processing by the Adelaide Skilled Processing Centre.
• There will be a stronger emphasis on good English skills as well as relevant and recent work experience for al Migration Occupation Demand Professions.

These and still to be announced measures are part of DIAC’s continuous adjustment of the GSM Programme in response to new trends and data.

15 March 2007 Australian unemployment rate with 4.5 % on a 32 % low

Experts who thought that unemployment could not sink any further after last years record lows have been proven wrong. Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics today shows that the unemployment rate fell to 4.5 % in February 2007.

01 May 2006 Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone announces Immigration levels for 2006/2007

The Minister for Immigration, Amanda Vanstone, has announced that the high immigration levels of 120 000 permanent visa places in 2005/2006 program are to continue in 2006/2007.

The non-humanitarian program provides for 97000 Skilled Permanent Visas plus an additional 5000 places in the Skilled Independent Regional category, as well as 4200 places in the Family stream and 900 places through the Special Eligibility Category

These figures indicate, that the Australian government is continuing to emphasize skilled migrant intake to meet a number of policy goals.

29 March 2006 DIMA releases new Migration Occupation Demand List

29 March 2006 The Australian Department of Immigration and Multicultural affairs has published a revised MOD list.

The MOD list reflects recent labor market trends by awarding extra points for skilled migration under the point scheme for occupations that are in demand.

The MODL has been extended by an additional 16 occupations, which is consistent with recent skills shortages in some areas of the Australian workforce.

While occupations on the MODL have generally got particularly good chances of obtaining permanent residence, one has to keep in mind factors such as age, English language skills, work experience etc do also count.

A copy of the MODL can be viewed here

27 March 2006 Australian Industry Group lobbies for increased skilled migrant intake for coming years

The employer organization Australian Industry group has called on the Australian Government to successively increase the migrant intake to up to 180 000 permanent visa places in the coming years to address skills shortages in the Australian economy. This would be the highest level in more than 30 years. Australia is currently enjoying continued economic growth with low unemployment.