Brexit campaigners draft Australian-style UK immigration policy



Leading Brexit campaigners have drafted plans for an Australian-style, points-based immigration system, should the UK public vote to leave the European Union (EU). A referendum will be held in Britain on 23 June to enable voters to decide whether to remain in the EU or 'Brexit'- the name given if Britain leaves the EU.

However, it's worth pointing out that the UK immigration system currently operates a points-based system which includes various tiers including the Tier 2 visa and Tier 1 visa tier. It's unclear exactly how the 'new' points-based system will differ from the current one. What we can tell you is that the right to enter the UK will be based on 'skills,' according to a report published by the Huffington Post.

A joint statement from Brexit supporters, Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, Priti Patel, and Gisela Stuart outlined plans for a UK immigration system that would 'mark the end of the automatic right of EU citizens to come and live and work in the UK.

The statement said: "By the next general election, we will create a genuine Australian-style points-based immigration system. The automatic right of all EU citizens to come to live and work in the UK will end, as will EU control over vital aspects of our social security system.

EU citizens will be subject to legislation made by those we elect in Westminster, not in Brussels. We could then create fairness between EU citizens and others, including those from Commonwealth countries."

There have been record increases in UK immigration because the UK economy is doing well and is actually doing much better than much of the EU. High levels of immigration to the UK is a sign of success. People want to come to the UK because there are more jobs in the UK. The Telegraph has recently commented that David Cameron has "unleashed this job-creating beast of an economy".

Immigration has been a major issue in the European Union Referendum campaign. if Britain chooses to leave the EU there may be lower levels of immigration, but the economy is likely to suffer. Perhaps that is a price that people will be prepared to pay. We will see on 23 June 2016.

The 'new' UK Immigration points-based system

Under the 'new' UK immigration system, applicants seeking to live and work in the UK would be assessed based on their skills and qualifications 'without discrimination on the grounds of nationality.'

The statement said: "To gain the right to work, economic migrants will have to be suitable for the job in question. For relevant jobs, we will be able to ensure that all those who come have the ability to speak good English. Such a system can be much less bureaucratic and much simpler than the existing system for non-EU citizens."

UK immigration has been a key focus of the 'Leave' and 'Remain' referendum campaigns, and with less than two weeks to go until voters take to the polls, the Leave campaign has finally unveiled its blueprint for controlling UK borders in the aftermath of an EU exit.

77,000 EU migrants entered Britain in 2015

According to the Brexit campaign statement, around 77,000 EU migrants arrived in the UK in 2015. The statement also claimed voting to Remain in the EU and continuing to allow free movement in the UK would cause problems for the UK. The "Leave" campaign says that staying in the EU would affect school class sizes, wages, public services, the NHS and the security of the UK.

Brexit campaigners mentioned the 'ongoing tragedies in the Mediterranean' as a demonstration of how badly the EU is struggling to cope with mass migration and freedom of movement.

The statement said: "Should the UK remain in the European Union, migration and the Mediterranean death toll is only going to worsen as immigrants attempt to reach Britain."

Additionally, Johnson, Gove, Patel and Stuart were quick to make reference to the Conservative Party's election pledge to reduce net migration to the tens of thousands, a commitment the government has fallen well short of. Johnson, Gove, Patel and Stuart said that the failure to meet this pledge is evidence alone highlighting the need for change.

"This promise is plainly not achievable as long as the UK is a member of the EU and the failure to keep it is corrosive of public trust in politics," said Johnson, Gove, Patel and Stuart.

Safer, more humane UK immigration policy according to Brexit Campaign

The four are of the opinion that should the UK back exiting the EU, 'a new, safer and more humane immigration policy should be implemented as swiftly as possible.' The four believe that such plans would be 'widely accepted by British society.'

The new immigration policy wouldn't affect Irish nationals or EU citizens who are already lawfully resident in the UK. Those EU citizens legally in the UK will be granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK automatically under the new system.

However, legal changes would be put in place to make it easier to deport criminals and other persons 'whose presence in the UK is not in the best interests of the UK public,' according to the statement.

The Brexit immigration policy would mean that the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights to UK law would no longer apply to UK Law. Johnson, Gove, Patel and Stuart said: "A combination of these measures would allow, 'for the first time in a generation', politicians to 'keep their promises on migration'."

"We will welcome new citizens who wish to contribute to our society, as so many immigrants have done and we will be able to remove those who abuse our hospitality," they said.

Remain campaign criticises Leave campaign's announcement on immigration

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Remain contingent criticised the Brexit immigration policy. The executive director of Britain Stronger in Europe, Will Straw, said: "The proposed points-based system could lead to higher levels of immigration. This system will not work. Vote Leave's proposal could put up immigration and it would wreck our economy, as it involves leaving Europe's Single Market."

"Australia, who have a points based immigration system, have twice as many migrants per head as the UK. Economic experts are agreed that leaving the Single Market would lead to recession - costing jobs and raising prices," Straw added.

Comments from Anti-Immigrant Migration Watch UK

Even the anti-immigrant, group, Migration Watch UK – which campaigns for stricter limits on immigration to the UK - said in a 2014 press release that an Australian-style points system would be 'totally unsuitable' for Britain.

In response to Vote Leave's proposed immigration policy, Migration Watch UK stated that a 'work permit for all migrants would be simpler and less bureaucratic, resulting in a reduction in migration numbers.'

Chairman of Migration Watch, Lord Green, said: "Work permits for all, EU and non-EU, is the way forward. This would preserve access to the skills our economy needs while reducing the population pressures which are simply getting out of hand."

Australian immigration system

Australia has become notorious for its tough stance on immigration and has been criticised for locking up refugees for long periods of time. According to the Huffington Post, Australia operates a "hybrid" selection system for skilled migrants that includes both a points-based system and employer sponsorship options.

The country is also known to detain migrants in detention centres should they overstay their visa, violate their visa conditions or remain despite having their visa cancelled. They even detain those refused entry at Australia's various ports.


Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in United Kingdom and Australia. Please visit our UK and Australian pages for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/uk.html and http://www.globalvisasupport.com/australia.html

Liz Kendall calls for 'Australian style' points UK immigration system

Britain should emulate Australia's "strict points-based" immigration system, according to UK Labour leadership candidate Liz Kendall. It should be mentioned that the UK has had a points based immigration system since 2008. Since 2008 it has become increasingly difficult to meet the requirements of the tier based UK points based system. The Tier 1 General Visa for skilled migrants has been closed. The requirements for entry under the Tier 2 visa and Tier 4 visa have become more difficult. Ms Kendall's remarks are misleading and yet another cynical attempt by a politician to gain support.

 

 

Anti-immigration rhetoric

Kendall made various anti-immigration comments on June 17th, while speaking at BBC Newsnight hustings of Labour leadership candidates; she said that immigrants were "trying to get into this country illegally" and "scrambling on to lorries in Calais."


Kendall spoke of immigrants who come to the UK to "claim benefits", saying: "If you come here legally from Europe, you should come to work and not claim benefits. You should respect the community you live in and our culture, and for people outside Europe we need a strict points-based system like they have in Australia."

 

 

Welfare tourism a myth

However, studies have shown that migrant 'welfare tourism' is a myth. Quoting a University College of London study from November last year, European Parliament president martin Schulz said recently that "over the last decade EU citizens working in the UK have paid 20 billion pounds more into the UK budget than they have received."


"The truth is that no-one can travel to another Member State without a job and immediately claim social benefits", he added.


An audience member at the hustings pointed out the similarities between Kendall's statements and those made by members of hardline anti-immigration party UKIP.

 

 

Australian immigration policy condemned by UN

A report by the UN Human Rights Council released in March 2015 heavily criticised Australia's treatment of migrants. The report found "that the Government of Australia, by failing to provide adequate detention conditions; end the practice of detention of children; and put a stop to the escalating violence and tension at the Regional Processing Centre" has "violated the rights" of immigrants "including children".


The report went on to state that Australia has left asylum seekers at risk of "torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment."

 

 

Australian immigration reforms violate torture laws

Two reforms to Australian immigration policy enacted last year were subject to particular criticism. The report addressed the Migration and Maritime Powers Legislation Amendment Bill 2014, and the Migration Amendment Bill 2014, saying that "both bills put Australia at risk of violating the Convention Against Torture (CAT)"


According to the report, The Migration and Maritime Powers Legislation Amendment violates the CAT because it gives Australian authorities powers to detain immigrants at sea, without access to lawyers, while their refugee status is assessed. While The Migration Amendment bill is in violation because it "tightens control on the issuance of visas on the basis of character and risk assessments."


Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in United Kingdom and Australia. Please visit our Australian and UK pages:  http://www.globalvisasupport.com/australia.html and http://www.globalvisasupport.com/uk.html for more information.

Australian Immigration Department in World Leaders' Security Breach

The personal details of world leaders including Cameron, Merkel, Modi, Obama and Putin, were accidentally sent to Asian Cup football tournament organisers. Despite the security breach, the Australian Immigration Department did not deem it necessary to inform world leaders of the incident.


In an exclusive report published by the Guardian newspaper, it was revealed that an employee of Australia's immigration agency sent passport numbers, visa details and other personal information of all the world leaders attending the G20 summit in Brisbane on November 7, 2014, to Asian Cup organisers.

 

Attendees affected were World Leaders

The details of attendees of the G20 summit including United States President, Barack Obama, the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, the Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, the Indonesian President, Joko Widodo, and the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, were among those whose details were revealed in error.

 

 

Breach revealed to Australia Privacy Commissioner

The director of the visa services division of Australia's Department of Immigration and Border Protection contacted the Australian Privacy Commissioner to seek "urgent advice" of the breach.


Correspondence sent to the privacy commissioner's office via email was acquired under Australia's freedom of information laws. The email reveals that the breach was the fault of an employee who mistakenly emailed a member of the local organising committee of the Asian Cup, which took place in January 2015.

 

 

Email contained personal information

The email from the immigration officer who provided details of the breach stated the following:


"The personal information which has been breached is the name, date of birth, title, position nationality, passport number, visa grant number and visa subclass held relating to 31 international leaders (i.e. prime ministers, presidents and their equivalents) attending the G20 leaders summit.


The cause of the breach was human error. [Redacted] failed to check that the autofill function in Microsoft Outlook had entered the correct person's details into the email 'To' field. This led to the email being sent to the wrong person.


The matter was brought to my attention directly by [redacted] immediately after receiving an email from [the recipient] informing them that they had sent the email to the wrong person.


The risk remains only to the extent of human error, but there was nothing systemic or institutional about the breach."


The officer who wrote the email also explained that the personal details are 'unlikely to be in the public domain' and stated that the absence of other personal identifiers 'significantly limited' the risk of the breach. The unintended recipient of the email had promptly deleted it and emptied their deleted items folder.

 

 

World leaders unaware of security breach

The immigration officer in the email went onto to advise Australian authorities not to reveal to World leaders about the breach in security relating to their personal information. The officer wrote: "Given that the risks of the breach are considered very low and the actions that have been taken to limit the further distribution of the email, I do not consider it necessary to notify the clients of the breach."


The recommendation not to disclose the breach to world leaders may be in breach of privacy laws in some of the countries whose leaders were affected by the breach. Britain, Germany and France all require those affected by data breaches to be notified. However, as this happened in Australia this may not be relevant.

 

 

Unclear if Australian immigration notified World leaders of breach

It is unclear if the Australian Immigration Department did subsequently notify the world leaders involved of the breach.


Perhaps not surprisingly, the office of the Australian Immigration Minister, Peter Dutton, was reluctant to answer questions.


Tanya Plibersek, Australia's deputy opposition leader, was quick to capitalise on the blunder. She immediately called for Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, to give an explanation as to why world leaders were not notified of the situation.


She said: "The prime minister and the immigration minister must explain this serious incident and the decision not to inform those affected."

 

 

Embarrassment to Australia Immigration

More embarrassing for the Australian government is that revelations of this gaffe come just one week after controversial, mandatory data retention laws were passed.


Greens Senator, Sarah Hanson-Young said: "Only last week the government was calling on the Australian people to trust them with their online data, and now we find out they have disclosed the details of our world leaders. This is another serious gaffe by an incompetent government."

 

 

Previous Australia Immigration Data Breach

The latest revelation regarding massive data breach in Australia is actually nothing new. It's immigration department is also the culprit for the country's biggest ever data breach by a government agency; the personal details of nearly 10,000 people in detention – most of whom were asylum seekers – became available in a publicly accessible file on the agency's website.


Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in Australia. Please visit our Australian page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/australia.html

Australian Prime Minister announces stricter Immigration Rules

Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, has announced tougher immigration controls and a national security crackdown. His announcement comes in the wake of the Sydney hostage siege in December 2014, when an Iranian refugee, Man Haron Monis, walked into a cafe and held 18 hostages at gunpoint.


A report into the siege came to the conclusion that the decisions made by authorities regarding Monis enabling him to stay in Australia were reasonable. However, the report did recommend changes to immigration, citizenship and bail legislation.

 

 

Abbotts Plans

His plans will see the denial of welfare payments to individuals seen as a threat, the revocation of passports for those who have dual citizenship and in some cases the restriction of overseas travel; this in a bid to prevent funding and limit the movement of terrorists.


Mr Abbott said that some personal freedoms will suffer in order to be able to fight the continued threat of radical groups such as Islamic State (IS).


In a statement of intent, amid growing pressure for him to take action, he said: "For too long, we have given those who might be a threat to our country the benefit of the doubt. We will never sacrifice our freedoms in order to defend them, but we will not let our enemies exploit our decency either."


Mr Abbott believes that plans to tighten Australian immigration laws will help remedy the failings of the current system.

 

 

Failing and Flailing Leader

However, an opposition leader labelled the measures 'a weak attempt from a failing and flailing' leader to repair a tarnished reputation by provoking fear in the community.


Green Party leader, Christine Milne, said: "This approach worked for him in opposition and he thinks it will work while he's in power, but the Australian public are not going to fall for it."


Despite successfully fighting off a leadership challenge earlier this month from a member of his own Liberal Party, Mr Abbotts approval ratings amongst voters has remained low since the beginning of 2014.

 

 

Aimed at hate-preachers

Mr Abbott said his new laws will also be aimed at tackling 'hate-preachers'. He said that terrorists frequently claimed welfare benefits. He accused dozens of Australians, currently fighting in Iraq and Syria, of being 'on the dole'. He also said that payments to individuals deemed to be a high security risk will soon be stopped.

 

 

Australians joining extremist groups

It's understood that 110 Australians have travelled to Iraq and Syria to join up with extremist groups; the country's security agency is actively investigating over 400 'high-priority' cases, which is more than double the figure of 12 months ago.


Australia, a firm ally of the USA and its efforts to quash Islamic State in both Iraq and Syria, has been on high alert for attacks by home-grown Islamist extremists. Australia raised its threat level in September 2014. Dubbed the 'anti-extremism' strategy, Abbot's plan is to prevent a repeat of the Sydney siege and monitor more closely the threat from home-grown extremists.


Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in Australia. Please visit our Australian age for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/australia.html

UK Needs Immigration Points System says Nigel Farage UKIP Leader

Speaking in Margate at the anti-immigration/anti-EU UKIP's spring conference, Nigel Farage said that the UK should have an Australian-style points system to determine who can settle in the country. Perhaps a bit of an odd remark to make as the UK has had a points based system since 2008.

Support for Points Based System

Farage is not alone in calling for a points system. London Mayor, Boris Johnson, is also a strong advocate. In October last year, during an interview on the Andrew Marr show, Johnson said: "On the border controls thing, that is critical and I think that is now emerging as the number one thing we need probably to sort out in this renegotiation.


Why shouldn't we have some sort of points-based system, such as they have in America or Australia, why shouldn't we have that?"


Again, a somewhat odd remark to make. We do not believe that there has ever been an US points based system.

 

 

Net UK migration figures released

Following the release of net migration figures, showing that almost 298,000 foreigners arrived in the UK in 2014, Farage seized the opportunity to criticise David Cameron.


The Prime Minister had pledged to reduce UK immigration figures to the tens of thousands. However, according to the new statistics released on February 26, numbers are almost treble David Cameron's initial target.


During his address to UKIP delegates, Farage said: "Cameron pledged that a Conservative government would reduce immigration into the UK to tens of thousands of people per year and that we should judge him on his record. Well the figures were close to 300,000 a year.


What UKIP must do is inject new impetus into the immigration debate. Only by removing Britain out of Europe, and reclaiming the nation's borders, can we provide the British public with an opportunity to support something they want, and UKIP will campaign for country to implement a points system similar to Australia's."

 

 

Office for National Statistics

The ONS says that the surge in immigration numbers was fuelled by increases in immigration from outside the EU, which is subject to a complex visa process, and within the EU, where free movement rules apply.

 

 

Australian Points System

There are various skilled immigration visa categories in Australia. Immigrants looking to gain entry into Australia as skilled migrants need to gain points based on their skills, qualifications, work experience, etc.

 

 

Farage repeating misleading remarks

Opposition parties said that Farage's comments are nothing new. In July last year the UKIP leader also said that Britain should adopt a points-based system like the one used in Australia.


Many commentators say that Farage is mentioning the Australian system as a way of pushing his anti-immigration agenda, at a time when figures suggest David Cameron is a long way off reducing immigration numbers to the tens of thousands as promised by him before the last General Election.

 

 

UK Points-based system since 2008

As mentioned already a points system has been used in Britain since 2008, introduced by the previous Labour government as the first of its kind in Britain. Applicants for Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 4 and Tier 5 visas gain points based on various criteria in order to determine their eligibility to work or study in the UK.


The implementation of a points-based system in Britain in 2008 was at the time also likened to the Australian system. It's introduction replaced the previous scheme which consisted of 80 different types of UK visa. In fact even before 2008 the UK had a points based system called the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP).


Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in United Kingdom. Please visit our UK page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/uk.html

New extended period for Australian Subclass 400 Temporary Work visa

Temporary workers in Australia can in some circumstances now apply for a Subclass 400 visa for an increased period of six months. Previously the maximum period of stay was three months. These changes were introduced on 23rd November 2014.


The subclass 400 visa is a short term, temporary work visa which is normally issued quickly to employ overseas workers who are urgently required for specialist level work in Australia. Overall it is much easier obtaining a Subclass 400 visa than, for example, a Subclass 457 Temporary skilled work visa.


In order to be granted a six month visa, you will need to put forward a strong business case detailing the reason for the extended stay. The Department of Immigration will consider the following when deciding whether to grant the six month extended visa period:

• The number of Australian workers employed on the project, or within the company
• The salary of the applicant, and whether they meet local labour market requirements
• The size, nature and duration of the project to be carried out, and its impact to the local community
• Whether there is time available for an Australian worker to be trained to carry out the proposed work

If these conditions are met then the Australian Government will consider granting the extended six month visa period.


Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in Australia. Please visit our Australian page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/australia.html

Finding jobs in Australia could become easier with proposed visa changes

Proposed changes to the Subclass 457 Visa in Australia could mean that finding a job there will become easier.


A government-commissioned report has criticised the Temporary Skilled Worker visa program for being too complicated for applicants and employers alike.


The Subclass 457 visa allows employers to recruit overseas workers when there are no suitable Australians or permanent residents to fill the position. Since 2013 with the introduction of labour market testing and other changes it has been more difficult the meet the 457 visa requirements.


Labour market testing regulations applicable in many 457 visa cases means that employers must advertise positions locally first, and only if no suitable applicants are found then they can hire overseas workers. Employers must also provide documentary evidence of all their advertisements and attempts to hire Australian and permanent resident workers first.


Some of the recommendations made in the report include scrapping labour market testing, more support for sponsors, and changes to English Language requirements.


If approved, these changes will make it easier for candidates to meet visa requirements, and make it easier for employers to hire foreign workers.


Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said that labour market testing was unlikely to be abolished, however he welcomed the other proposed changes.


He said 'The English language requirements are unnecessarily restrictive, serving more as an industrial lock-out rather than an honest attempt to ensure appropriate language skills which the government does believe is important.'


Since the visa requirements were updated in July 2013 and labour market testing introduced later in the same year there has been a steady reduction in the number of 457 visas being approved. Prior to this there were around 66,000 successful applications each year.


Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in Australia. Please check our Australian page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/australia.html

Australian immigration system subject to widespread visa fraud

The Australian immigration system is said to be in disarray, after documents leaked last month show that the system has been subject to widespread fraud for a number of years.


The documents, which were leaked to Fairfax, one of Australia's largest media companies, paint a picture of a system which has been virtually destroyed by budget cuts and privatisation. According to one report, the investigations department has been so deskilled that it is unable to investigate fraud any more.


Warnings Ignored


The reports state that immigration staff have repeatedly raised concerns about fraud within the system, however these concerns have been ignored.


Immigration experts say that the Australian government has spent so much of its resources trying to prevent migrants from Asia from reaching Australia by boat that migrants who come via plane, can make fraudulent applications with virtual impunity.

 

 

Fraud

An internal audit carried out in 2012 showed that 90% of applications from Afghanistan are in some way fraudulent. It is unlikely that the situation has improved since then. The report states that this poses 'people smuggling, identity fraud, suspected child trafficking and national security implications.'


Another internal investigation carried out in 2009 found that New Zealand and Australian citizens of Somali ethnicity were engaged in a widespread scam which involved them allowing other Somalis to travel on their passports. The report suggests that money raised this way may have been used to fund the Somali Islamist terror organisation Al-Shabab.

 

 

Operation Blueberry

 

Over the past few years Australian immigration auditors have carried out a number of investigations into fraud which suggest that up to 90% of skilled migration visa applications may be fraudulent.

The first of these investigations, Operation Blueberry, conducted in 2006 found that over half of General Skilled Migration stream applications were probably fraudulent.


Operation Blueberry 2 conducted in 2007 found that 22% of references provided in support of skilled migration visa applications were false or misleading. Blueberry 2 also found that a bank manager had been bribed to help applicants obtain visas by providing them with fraudulent documentation to show that they had sufficient funds in their bank accounts to support themselves upon arrival in Australia. This is one of the requirements for certain visa categories in Australia.


Another investigation into the skilled migration system in 2009 found that hundreds of people who were clients of a dishonest immigration agent provided false or misleading references about their work experience which was then used to make visa applications.

 

 

Education

A 2009 report into visa fraud in the education industry found similar levels of fraud. The Immigration department audited seventeen colleges and found that none of them complied fully with the rules.


At seven, there was significant visa fraud taking place. Many 'students' enrolled at the colleges, mainly from India and Pakistan, were not genuine students but were in Australia working illegally.

 

 

Sievers Report

Perhaps most seriously for Australian immigration, a 2013 report known as the Sievers report found that Australian immigration's capacity to investigate immigration fraud has been all but destroyed by poor management and cost-cutting.


The Sievers Report says that there were already serious problems with the investigations department in 2006 but that the situation has become even worse since then. This the report says is because of redundancies and also due to many staff leaving the service, having become disillusioned with the way the department was being managed. This means the capacity to complete any investigative work has been greatly reduced.


Wayne Sievers concludes 'Meaningful investigations and prosecution activity has effectively ceased.'

 

 

Reforms

Immigration minister Scott Morrison has said that the allegations are serious and has asked for a report from his staff. He pointed out that the allegations all relate to the time before the current Coalition government took power.


In May 2014, he announced the creation of the Australian Border Force which will be 'technology enabled' and more efficient.


But critics say that the new system will be less efficient because of planned job losses. The Australian media have reported that the situation is likely to get worse because of reforms that Mr Morrison has introduced.


Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in Australia. Please visit our Australian page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/australia.html

Immigrants take 95% of new jobs in Australia since 2011

A report written by an Australian academic states that there have been 400,000 jobs created in the Australian economy since 2011 and that migrants who have arrived in the country since that year have taken 380,000 of them; 95% of the total.



The report, Immigration and Unemployment in 2014, is written by Bob Birrell and Ernest Healy of Monash University in Melbourne. Dr Birrell is a long-standing critic of Australia's immigration policy which he says has resulted in a lack of jobs for Australian citizens and residents, particularly the young.


The report says that net immigration into Australia runs at about 240,000 per year, as it has done for some years. This level was set during a boom in the Australian economy and now, Dr Birrell says, it is far too high.


He says 'Successive governments have argued that high migration is beneficial because the migration program is targeting skills not available in Australia' but adds 'This study shows that this is not the case.'


The report gives three explanations for this:

• The Shortage Occupation List is out of date

Australia allows people to apply for residence visas if they are skilled in a trade or profession to be found on the Shortage Occupation List (SOL). The report says that this list is out of date. Many professions found on the list are not in short supply and there are Australians who are trained in them who cannot find work. Among these professionals are accountants, nurses and dentists.

• Students allowed to stay

Many students who studied at Australia's universities have been allowed to apply for Australian visas 'on favourable terms.' The report claims that students who have skills that Australia does not need have been allowed to stay. Many accountants, for example, have been allowed to stay despite the evidence that there is a surplus of accountants in Australia.

• The rules governing employer sponsorship for both permanent and temporary entry skilled employment visas

Over half of working migrants move to Australia with visas which require sponsorship by employers. The report claims that in some cases overseas employees are brought in despite there being thousands of Australian residents who are unemployed and qualified to do the work.

However the report has come under much criticism since its publication, especially on the third point. While it is true that many migrants are sponsored by employers, they have to meet certain visa requirements which make it difficult for the employer to employ overseas nationals if there Australian residents available to do the work. Other critics have argued that although immigration to Australia is at a high level, the '95%' claim of the report is highly unlikely.

 

 

Visa Churning

In addition, the report states, there are a great many migrants who are in the country and who transfer from one visa to another. For example, many students transfer to tourist visas when their student visa expires. The report says that these people are almost certainly working illegally. 142,000 students got other visas in 2012-13. 28,484 students transferred to tourist visas. This process is described as 'visa churning.'


The report says 'Most of these are likely to be working illegally. These temporary entrants are feeding the ranks of those keen to find an employer to sponsor them for a temporary or permanent employment visa. They are also competing with young Australian resident job seekers for semi-skilled entry level jobs.'


The report recommends that 'Australian resident job seekers are given priority access to the limited number of new jobs being created in Australia.'

 

 

Recommendations

The report recommends

• A reduction in the numbers of permanent migrants accepted by Australia each year
• Only those skilled in occupations which are genuinely in short supply in Australia should be allowed entry to Australia.
• A cap on the number of temporary work visas. The number of working holiday makers in particular should be limited
• Limits on 'visa churning.'
• An increase in the training available to Australian residents if there are skills shortages

The Australian immigration minister has recently asked for more information about abuses in the immigration system after leaked documents suggested that it has been subjected to high levels of fraud with claims that as many as 90% of skilled immigration visas being obtained by fraud in 2010.


Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in Australia. Please check our Australia page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/australia.html

Australian immigration system subject to widespread visa fraud

The Australian immigration system is said to be in disarray, after documents leaked last month show that the system has been subject to widespread fraud for a number of years.


Warnings Ignored


The reports state that immigration staff have repeatedly raised concerns about fraud within the system, however these concerns have been ignored.


Immigration experts say that the Australian government has spent so much of its resources trying to prevent migrants from Asia from reaching Australia by boat that migrants who come via plane, can make fraudulent applications with virtual impunity.

Fraud

An internal audit carried out in 2012 showed that 90% of applications from Afghanistan are in some way fraudulent. It is unlikely that the situation has improved since then. The report states that this poses 'people smuggling, identity fraud, suspected child trafficking and national security implications.'


Another internal investigation carried out in 2009 found that New Zealand and Australian citizens of Somali ethnicity were engaged in a widespread scam which involved them allowing other Somalis to travel on their passports. The report suggests that money raised this way may have been used to fund the Somali Islamist terror organisation Al-Shabab.

 

 

Operation Blueberry

 
Over the past few years Australian immigration auditors have carried out a number of investigations into fraud which suggest that up to 90% of skilled migration visa applications may be fraudulent.

The first of these investigations, Operation Blueberry, conducted in 2006 found that over half of General Skilled Migration stream applications were probably fraudulent.


Operation Blueberry 2 conducted in 2007 found that 22% of references provided in support of skilled migration visa applications were false or misleading. Blueberry 2 also found that a bank manager had been bribed to help applicants obtain visas by providing them with fraudulent documentation to show that they had sufficient funds in their bank accounts to support themselves upon arrival in Australia. This is one of the requirements for certain visa categories in Australia.


Another investigation into the skilled migration system in 2009 found that hundreds of people who were clients of a dishonest immigration agent provided false or misleading references about their work experience which was then used to make visa applications.

 

 

Education

A 2009 report into visa fraud in the education industry found similar levels of fraud. The Immigration department audited seventeen colleges and found that none of them complied fully with the rules.


At seven, there was significant visa fraud taking place. Many 'students' enrolled at the colleges, mainly from India and Pakistan, were not genuine students but were in Australia working illegally.

 

 

Sievers Report

Perhaps most seriously for Australian immigration, a 2013 report known as the Sievers report found that Australian immigration's capacity to investigate immigration fraud has been all but destroyed by poor management and cost-cutting.


The Sievers Report says that there were already serious problems with the investigations department in 2006 but that the situation has become even worse since then. This the report says is because of redundancies and also due to many staff leaving the service, having become disillusioned with the way the department was being managed. This means the capacity to complete any investigative work has been greatly reduced.


Wayne Sievers concludes 'Meaningful investigations and prosecution activity has effectively ceased.'

 

 

Reforms

Immigration minister Scott Morrison has said that the allegations are serious and has asked for a report from his staff. He pointed out that the allegations all relate to the time before the current Coalition government took power.


In May 2014, he announced the creation of the Australian Border Force which will be 'technology enabled' and more efficient.


But critics say that the new system will be less efficient because of planned job losses. The Australian media have reported that the situation is likely to get worse because of reforms that Mr Morrison has introduced.


Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in Australia. Please visit our Australian page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/australia.html

Australian immigration boom may have peaked

Australian immigration may have peaked, according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.


Net inward migration in the year to March 2014 stood at 380,910. This is slightly down from the January 2013 figure of 411,000. But, it still amounts to 1.65% of the Australian population. As such, it is still, as Pete Wargent of the Australian propertyobserver.com.au website says, a 'huge' figure.


The Australian government remains committed to attracting around 250,000 immigrants per year in the near to mid-term. The Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection says that it expects net overseas migration (NOM) to continue to account for 40% of Australian population growth in the years ahead.

 

 

'Populate or perish'

Australia has pursued an extremely active immigration policy since the end of the Second World War in 1945. The then immigration minister, Arthur Calwell, encouraged 'New Australians' to settle in Australia and warned Australians that Australia must 'populate or perish'.


The population of Australia in 1945 was about 7,400,000 and was overwhelmingly descended from British and Irish settlers, many of whom were criminals transported to Australia as punishment by the British during the 18th and 19th centuries.


The post-war government was committed to growing the population by 1% annually through immigration. At first, migrants from the British Isles were given preferential treatment but, since 1972, Australia has followed a completely non-discriminatory immigration policy.

 

 

Melting pot

There have been large waves of immigration from European countries such as Italy, Greece, Germany, Croatia, and the Netherlands. More recently, many more immigrants have come from Asian countries.


The population of Australia has grown enormously since 1945 and has also grown in diversity. The population is now above 23m. Census statistics released in 2012 showed that, while over a third of Australians identify themselves as having ancestry in the UK, about 4.5% say they are of Chinese descent and 2% say they are ethnically Indian.


There are now around 300,000 Australian citizens born in India and around 320,000 from China.

 

 

Australia committed to immigration programme

Australia's Coalition government, which came to power in September 2012, promised before the election to stamp out what it says is abuse of the asylum law but remains committed to attracting other types of immigrants.


The Coalition has taken steps to prevent migrants from Asia from travelling by boat from Indonesia to Australian waters where they often claim asylum. The government has coordinated a military campaign which has seen some boats containing migrants turned back into Indonesian waters.


Critics of the government say that this campaign is against international law but the government says that the migrants are not genuine asylum seekers but economic migrants seeking a better life.

 

 

Continuing immigration

At the same time as it cracks down on this form of migration, Australia will continue to accept large numbers of migrants through various immigration schemes.


A publication by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection says that Australia plans to accept 250,000 migrants every year at least until 2017. A report on Regional Net Overseas Migration forecasts immigration levels as follows

Year ending	Immigration number
June 2014	241,700
June 2015	249,900
June 2016	250,300
June 2017	250,200

Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in Australia. Please visit our Australian page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/australia.html

Australian immigration minister announces 457 visa investigation

Michaelia Cash, Australia's Assistant Immigration Minister, has announced an investigation into the 457 temporary work visa. She has established a public inquiry which will look into the level of 'rorting' or abuse of the 457 visa.


It will investigate whether the requirement for 'labour market testing' (LMT) should be scrapped. LMT was introduced by the last Australian Labor government to prevent abuse of the 457 visa.


LMT requires Australian businesses to advertise vacant positions in the Australian media before nominating a foreign worker for a 457 visa to fill the role.

 

 

Rorting

The panel has been asked to examine whether 'rorting' is widespread. If it finds that abuse of the visa is rare, as many Australian business organisations claim, then it will probably recommend that LMT should be scrapped. If it finds that abuse of the visa is commonplace, then it will probably recommend that LMT should continue.


This makes the composition of the inquiry panel a matter of some importance. Australian unions have complained that there is no union representation on the panel and that some of the members of the panel are known opponents of LMT.


Ms Cash has appointed senior figures from the Australian business community to the panel. It will be chaired by Professor Peter MacDonald of the Australian National University.

 

 

Industry figures

Other members are Jenny Lambert of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, John Azarias of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and Kate Malyon, an immigration lawyer with Ernst and Young.


The unions protest that the composition of the panel means that its conclusions are a foregone conclusion. Scott McDine of the Australian Workers' Union said that the inquiry has been 'stacked to deliver a predetermined outcome that will hurt Australian workers'.


The unions believe that Australian employers have used the 457 visa to import cheaper foreign workers when there were Australian workers available to do the job. The unions supported the decision of the Labor Government to introduce LMT in 2013.

 

 

Allegations of rorting 'exaggerated'

Employers complained that union allegations of 'rorting' were exaggerated and that the additional expense of complying with LMT was a waste of time and money that would harm the competitiveness of Australian businesses.


Indeed, the unions have complained that the immigration minister, Scott Morrison has already decided the outcome of the inquiry. Mr Morrison told Australian broadcaster Sky News on Wednesday 12th March 2014 that the inquiry the inquiry had been established to 'remov[e] union red tape which was put there by the previous government'.


The Australian Council of Trade Unions has written to Ms Cash to complain about the lack of union representation. The Australian newspaper, The Sydney Morning Herald says that Ms Cash has responded to the unions saying 'the government respects the important role unions play in the community'. However, Ms Cash has not offered to appoint an union representative onto the panel.

 

 

457 visa lasts up to four years

The Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457) allows skilled workers from overseas to live and work in Australia for up to four years. To qualify, an international worker must be sponsored by an Australian business.


457 visa holders can bring their spouses and dependent children with them. They can enter and leave Australia as often as they like while their visas are current.


Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in Australia. Please visit our Australian page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/australia.html

Australian immigration say student visa applications up

More than 74,000 international students applied for Australian student visas in the three months to September 2013, according to Australian immigration. This is the highest figure for four years and seems to show that Australia has recovered as a favoured destination for international students after a three year slump in popularity.


Australia became extremely popular as a destination for international students during the first decade of the 21st century. In 2002, 274,000 international students began study in Australia.


By 2009, there were nearly 500,000 people in Australia with student visas. While this was welcomed by many Australians, others complained that many students, from India in particular, were using forged academic qualifications to gain entry to the country and were coming to Australia not as students but as permanent migrants.

 

 

'A migration outcome'

An Australian government report, the Knight Report, into immigration at the time found that 'Some less reputable institutions set up courses with no serious educational purpose but basically designed to get fees from students en route to a migration outcome'.


Facing pressure at home, the Labor government of Julia Gillard introduced far greater checks on student visa applicants and also increased the amount of money that a student needed in order to gain entry to Australia.


At the same time, the global financial crisis and a strong Australian dollar made it harder for international students to afford to study abroad.

 

 

Attacks on Indian students

On top of this in 2009, there were a series of high-profile attacks on Indian students in Melbourne. There were approximately 150 attacks over the course of a year. All these factors meant that demand for Australian education from India dropped off dramatically.


Since 2010, Australia has sought to undo the damage done in the previous two years. Higher education is Australia's second biggest export and the country could ill-afford to see it damaged.


'Streamlined visa processing' for potential students who wish to enrol at certain 'trusted' institutions has reduced the number of checks that an applicant must face.

 

 

22 more trusted institutions

So far, the trusted institutions are all universities but Australia's new Coalition government has said that it will roll out the streamlined program to a further 22 institutions, none of which are universities.

This, the government hopes, will have the effect of expanding the sector yet further.


In October 2013, the Australian immigration minister, Scott Morrison, and the education minister Chris Pyne announced that students from a number of key markets would be able to apply for a student visa with up to $A40 000 less in the bank'.


This will happen because Australian immigration currently requires applicants from some countries considered to be 'high risk' to be able to show that they have a great deal of money in their account before they can study in Australia. The highest risk countries are in Assessment Level (AL) 5. The new system will reduce the number of Assessment Levels to three.

 

 

Applications up

Greg Evans of Universities Australia, told The Guardian that applications from India were up by 7% in 2013 on 2012. Applications from Nepal are up by 29% and from Vietnam by 42%. He said that he believes that the sector can recover to reach the level it was at before 2009.


Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in Australia. Please check our Australian page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/australia.html

Australian industry lobbies for increase in immigration

The Australian Industry Group, (Ai Group) a pressure group that lobbies on behalf of Australian industry, has called on the country's Coalition government to raise the number of immigrants admitted each year from 190,000 annually to 220,000 with immediate effect.


The Chief Executive of Ai Group, Innes Willox, has written to the Australian immigration minister Scott Morrison urging the government to increase skilled immigration in particular.


In his letter, dated 19th December 2013, Mr Willox says that immigration is necessary 'to support positive growth in our population and especially in our adult workforce, due to relatively low rates of natural population growth'.

 

 

Deepening impacts

He says that Australia is facing 'deepening impacts' from the fact that the native work force is ageing. 9% of Australian employees are over 60 and 17% are aged 55 or more.
 

There are also skills shortages in 'key growth industries' such as 'mining services, engineering, infrastructure and health services'.

Mr Willox also predicts an upturn in the Australian housing construction sector as the global economy continues to recover in 2014 and 2015 which will lead to further skills shortages. There will also be severe skills shortages in the mining sector which is expected to grow strongly, he says.

 

 

Skills shortages increasing

Mr Willox writes that Ai Group surveys of industrial employers show that over two thirds of Australian construction employers experienced difficulty in finding skilled workers with the right skills in the six months to September 2013 (67.7%), up 2% from the previous survey six months earlier.


The letter says that skills shortages are 'even more serious in relation to occupations requiring Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) skills which Mr Willox says is 'deeply concerning'.


He cites research from the Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency which predicts that Australia will need 2.8m workers with 'higher-skilled qualifications' by 2025.

 

 

Australia needs more skilled workers

For Australia to provide these workers from among the native population, it would have to increase the number of Australians leaving the education system with 'higher skills' by 3% every year until 2025.
 

Mr Willox says that 'a larger skilled migration program will be necessary to manage this situation and to assist in smoothing the path to future growth across the economy'.

There is some evidence that immigration minister Mr Morrison may be receptive to the Ai Group's suggestions. He has already taken steps to increase the number of skilled migrants coming to Australia.

 

 

Skilled immigration accounts for two thirds of total

The Coalition government has announced that the skilled migration stream will now account for over two thirds of immigration in the 2013-14 economic year.


Mr Morrison told The Australian newspaper on January 2nd 2014 '"The economic contribution of skilled migration exceeds all other forms of migration. Skilled migrants have the lowest rate of unemployment and the strongest English skills - key drivers of successful integration into society'.


Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in Australia. Please visit our Australian page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/australia.html

Australian immigration force accused of breaching refugee treaty

Indonesia is investigating claims from asylum seekers that Australian border guards intercepted boats sailing from Indonesian waters attempting to reach Australian territory; they then forced the boats to return to Indonesian waters by force.


There are reports that Australian vessels fired into the air above the heads of asylum seekers to 'encourage them' to turn back. This would be contrary to the 1951 Refugee Convention, of which Australia is a signatory.


Australia has also admitted that Australian government vessels have 'inadvertently' entered Indonesian territorial waters. Australia has issued a formal apology to the Indonesian government.

 

 

Indonesian/Australian relations have deteriorated

Relations between Australia and Indonesia have deteriorated since September 2013 when the Coalition was elected as the new government of Australia. The Coalition promised, during the election campaign, to take steps to prevent asylum seekers from reaching Australia.


The Coalition appointed Lieutenant General Angus Campbell to head Operation Sovereign Borders. The operation is intended to prevent people smugglers from successfully bringing asylum seekers to Australian territory.


Operation Sovereign Borders is a multi-agency operation which employs the Australian navy, immigration officers and police. The Australian Chief of Navy, Admiral Griggs has contacted the chief of the Indonesian navy to explain how 'positional errors' which were 'in breach of Australian government policy' occurred.

 

 

'We regret any affront to Indonesia' - Campbell

Lieutenant General Campbell told journalists 'We have never intended for our assets to operate or to enter the sovereign territory of another nation. Our people on these vessels believe they were at all times outside Indonesian waters. I'm sure all those involved…regret any affront to Indonesia'.


Immigration minister Scott Morrison also admitted that Australian vessels have encroached into Indonesian waters and has told journalists that an official apology has been delivered to the Indonesian government.


Meanwhile, the Indonesian authorities are investigating allegations that boats were illegally turned back by Australian forces. One boat was, according to those on board, within sight of Christmas Island when it was intercepted and taken back to international waters. The boat, according to those on board, had insufficient fuel and drifted for six days.

 

 

Migrants 'held on Australian naval vessels'

Several migrants have claimed that the boats they were on were intercepted by Australian naval vessels. One such migrant claims he and his fellow passengers were held on an Australian vessel for several days before being returned to Indonesian waters.


They were then put into small lifeboats and left some distance off the coast in Indonesian waters; to reach Indonesia would take about three hours by boat.


While Mr Morrison has apologised for the Australian incursion into Indonesian waters, he has not apologised for other actions taken as part of Operation Sovereign Borders.

 

 

Morrison refuses to comment

Mr Morrison has refused to comment on allegation that Australian forces have been turning back the boats. He told journalists that Australia would continue with the operation which was 'having a significant impact on the activities of people smugglers.


He said that people smugglers, and those intending to seek asylum should be aware that 'this Australian government will take the actions necessary to protect Australian sovereignty [and] to stop the boats'.


General Campbell also refused to comment on the allegations but he did confirm that Australian forces have bought a consignment of lifeboats.

 

 

$10,000

Many people from all over Asia make their way to Indonesia and pay people smugglers fees of around $10,000 to take them by boat to Australian territory.


The most popular route is from the island of Java to the remote Australian outpost, Christmas Island. Christmas Island is 2,700 miles North West of the Western Australian capital Perth but only 500km from Java.


Under international law, if a migrant arrives in a country and claims asylum, that country cannot summarily turn him back until that claim has been properly investigated.

 

 

''Arrogance'

The Australian opposition leader, Bill Shorten told journalists 'Scott Morrison's arrogance is damaging our relationship with Indonesia. They [the government] are trying to blame the navy for Abbott government (the Coalition is headed by Prime Minister Tony Abbott) policies'.


Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in Australia. Please visit our Australian page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/australia.html

Australian senator calls for 35m population through immigration

Sam Dastyari, an Australian Labor Party senator from New South Wales, has written an article in Australian newspaper The Australian calling for a 'big Australia'. Mr Dastyari says 'I believe in a big Australia. We need the best and the brightest to come to Australia.


Mr Dastyari was born in 1983 in Iran to an Iranian mother and a father who was from Azerbaijan. His parents took him to Australia when he was five. He joined the Labor Party at 16. He was appointed to the Senate, the upper house of the Australian parliament, in August 2013.


At 30 years of age, he is one of the youngest members of the senate. He said 'A population of 35m by 2050 should not be feared, it should be embraced. This is not an easy issue for Labor or for the (ruling) Coaliition, but we must embrace immigration as a big idea for Australia's future'.

 

 

Population up by 6m in 20 years

Australia's population currently stands at about 23m. It has grown by over 6m in the 20 years since 1993. Immigration became an election issue at the general election in September 2013 with both parties promising to prevent abuse of the immigration system.


There were two Labor prime ministers in 2013; Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd. Mr Rudd ousted Ms Gillard just over a month before the election hoping that he would turn round Labor's poor polling figures. Both Gillard and Rudd promised to crack down on abuse of the 457 temporary work visa promising 'Aussie jobs for Aussie workers'.


Their challenger, the leader of the opposition Coalition, Tony Abbott, backed 457 visas but promised to prevent migrants from all over Asia travelling from Indonesia by boat to Australian territory where they would then claim asylum.

 

 

Australian Labor reforming in opposition

The Coalition won the election and Mr Abbott is now the Australian premier. The Australian Labor Party has begun a period of reform, hoping to recover power at the next election in 2016.


But Senator Dastyari said that there must be a 'transformative shift' in the nation's approach to immigration. He said '"Increasing our population through immigration is a sensible economic decision that allows us to maintain our standard of living and care for our ageing population'.


Some Australian politicians have claimed that Australia is 'full' but Senator Dastyari said that such claims were 'patently ridiculous'. He said 'Only Namibia and Mongolia have a lower population density than Australia'.

 

 

We should be pro-immigration – Bill Shorten

Senator Dastyari's article echoes a call from the new party leader Bill Shorten for increased immigration. In October 2013, Mr Shorten said 'we should certainly, as a party, be pro-immigration and pro increasing it making sure that people go to wherever it is sustainable for infrastructure and support'.


Mr Dastyari said 'The path to a big Australia involves a considerable political shift. It means confidently embracing immigration and moving away from the currently accepted notion that the Australian public won't support or accept an increase in migration levels. As we head into a non-election year, we have a window of opportunity to have a real debate about our immigration numbers'.


Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in Australia. Please visit our Australian page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/australia.html

Australian immigration minister fails to reintroduce Temporary Protection Visas

The Australian government has been defeated in the upper house of the Australian parliament in a vote on the reintroduction of Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs). The Coalition which now governs Australia promised to reintroduce TPVs if elected at the last election.


TPVs are temporary visas, lasting three years, which were granted to asylum seekers under the Conservative government of John Howard. After three years, the circumstances of the holder of a TPV were reassessed to see if the TPV holder would still be in danger in his or her home country. If the danger was passed, the visa would not be renewed. TPVs were abolished by the Australian Labor government which took power in 2007.


Immigration minister Scott Morrison introduced legislation to reintroduce TPVs shortly after the Coalition's victory in the general election in September 2013. The Coalition won a healthy majority in the lower house of the Australian parliament, The House of Representatives, but failed to win an outright majority in the upper house, the Senate.

 

 

'TPVs 'punish the most vulnerable'

This allowed a coalition of Green and Labor senators to defeat the government. Green Senator Sarah Hanson-Young described TPVs as 'cruel'. She said 'All they did was punish the most vulnerable, the most genuine, the most deserving refugees simply for having dared seek protection for their families'.


She added 'Refugees on TPVs often refer to living in fear of being returned home back to the dangers they fled in the first place'.


An opposition motion to prevent the reintroduction of TPVs was passed by 36 votes to 26.

 

 

TPVs 'not necessary'

During the debate, one Labor Senator, Kim Carr, said that the TPV was no longer necessary because all refugees arriving in Australian territory by sea are now sent to Papua New Guinea or Nauru for processing not in Australia.


This change to the law was introduced by the previous Labor government in July 2013. The then


Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced that 'arriving in Australia by boat will no longer mean settlement in Australia'.


Mr Rudd claimed that the motivation for the change was to protect asylum seekers, a number of whom have died while trying to get to Australia. He said 'Australians have had enough of seeing people drowning in the waters to our north. Our country has had enough of people smugglers exploiting asylum seekers and seeing them drown on the high seas'.

 

 

Rudd tried to look tough on immigration

But some commentators claimed that the policy was actually an attempt by Mr Rudd to look 'tough' on immigration to win votes from voters hostile to immigration. Mr Rudd lost the election and has since resigned from parliament.


After the defeat, Mr Morrison criticised the Labor Party for blocking TPVs. He said 'The government will be making further announcements on this in the times ahead. But right now, what's clear is that the Labor Party has repeated one of its worst mistakes in government.


Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in Australia. Please visit our Australian page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/australia.html

Australian unions speak out about 457 visa 'abuse'

An Australian trade union alleges that two multinational companies deliberately abused the 457 visa scheme to employ Hungarian construction workers in a Sydney suburb on pay which was about 40% of the going rate. The Australian Fair Work Ombudsman is investigating the claims.


On 14th November 2013, the ABC television network broadcast allegations that 20 Hungarian workers who travelled to Australia with 457 visas sponsored by the German based international construction company the Assmont Group had been underpaid. The men were employed to construct a computerised warehouse for the Australian supermarket group IGA in the Sydney suburb of Eastern Creek.


The contract for the construction was won by German firm Schafer. Schafer had sub-contracted work to Assmont which had secured the Temporary Work (Skilled) (Subclass 457) visas for the men (better known as the '457 visa'. The men had been in Australia for four and a half months since August 2013.

 

 

457 temporary work visas

The 457 visa is a temporary work visa that allows international workers to work in Australia for up to four years. To qualify, the applicant must be sponsored by an Australian employer and must be skilled in an occupation that is found on the Australian Skilled Occupation Lists (SOL). The SOL is a list of occupations where there is a shortage of workers qualified and willing to do the job in Australia.


Employers of workers in Australia with 457 visas should be able to 'show that they are providing you equal pay and conditions of employment to Australian workers performing equivalent work in the same location'. Australian unions insist on the enforcement of this rule because they fear that, if foreign workers are employed on inferior pay and conditions, they will replace Australian workers.


But one of the workers, Istvan Erdai, told ABC that the wages that the men had been promised in Hungary were much lower than the wages that they have actually received.

 

Workers paid less than half going rate

The CFMEU assistant secretary for New South Wales, Rebel Hanlon, told ABC that the men had not been issued with pay slips. ABC reporter Matt Peacock reported that the men were being paid about AUS$12 per hour for the work. The going rate is $30 per hour.


The Union also claims that it has suspicions that the men's trade certificates, which prove that they are skilled in shortage occupations, are of dubious merit. Mr Hanlon said that, because the men do not speak English to the required level, they would be unable to communicate with non-Hungarian workers on the site, which would create a safety hazard. He said that, therefore they should not have been granted certificates.

 

 

No need for intervention

One of the men had a metal shard in his eye and had lost 20% of his vision. He alleges that he was told not to worry about it as there was 'no need for [medical] intervention'. He was also told to pay for treatment out of his own travel insurance.


The two companies involved, Schafer and Assmont issued statements. Schafer said it was unaware of the issue. Assmont said it had 'every intention to comply with all Australian industrial rules and regulations'. It said that it 'will do everything necessary to ensure the claims will be satisfactorily addressed as speedily as possible'.


Union official Brian Parker said that this was 'just the tip of the iceberg' alleging that 457 visas were being abused all over Australia to bring in cheaper foreign labour and replace Australian workers.

 

 

Australians 'do not want to take apprenticeships'

But Michael Walker of the Migration Institute of Australia said 'We simply don't have young Australians that are wanting to come through and do apprenticeships, where they start off on fairly low wages themselves, and many of them seek to advance themselves academically through universities but not TAFE colleges….it's simply a fact of life now that we have a major skills gap in the trades area.'


He added that firms that employed foreign workers with 457 visas were often able to grow their businesses and employ Australians.


Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in Australia. Please visit our Australian page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/australia.html

Australian immigration to fast track 'special investor' visas

The new Australian immigration minister Scott Morrison has said that he wants to fast-track 400 wealthy visa applicants for permanent residence. The 400 have applied for subclass 888 Significant investor visas and Mr Morrison believes that, between them, they have about AUS$2bn to invest in the Australian economy. He also says that he wants to 'reboot' the Significant Investor Visa so that it creates more Australian jobs.


The Significant Investor Visa was established in November 2012 by the previous Australian Labor government to try to attract international investment into Australia. So far, 28 Significant Investor visas have been granted. To qualify, applicants must have at least AUS$5m to invest in Australia. The investments must be made in investments approved by the Australian government.


There are another 400 people who have applied but have not yet had their applications approved. There is currently a nine-month waiting period before an applicant can receive an 888 visa but Mr Morrison says that he wants to cut this for fear that wealthy Chinese citizens will take their money elsewhere.

 

 

Morrison 'like a recruiter for a sports team'

Speaking at the Migration Institute of Australia in Sydney on Monday 21st October, Mr Morrison told his audience that he was poaching international talent 'like a recruiter for your local sports team'. He said that people who got 888 visas would 'transfer their wealth to Australia over a generation' and that their businesses would become Australian, creating jobs for Australians.


He said 'We think people who create business, people who risk capital, people who go out there every day and create jobs off their own enterprise is what we need to see more of in this country and certainly within our immigration programme'.


Mr Morrison also said that the 888 visa will be 'rebooted' so that it encourages immigrants to create Australian businesses. Writing in AM6 Technology website, Australian tech journalist James Riley said that 'there is an opportunity for Australian companies to build global products with Chinese money and an Asian footprint'.

 

 

$5m minimum investment

Under the current rules, investors must invest at least AUS$5m in an approved investment fund. They will then, after they are approved, be eligible for a Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) (Subclass 188) visa. This will last for four years.


Providing that the investors spend at least 160 days in Australia over that four year period and maintain their investment in the approved fund, they will be able to apply for a Significant Investor permanent resident visa (subclass 888).


Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in Australia. Please check our Australian page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/australia.html

New Australian immigration minister: I'll be tough on 457 fraud

The new Australian immigration minister Scott Morrison has said that he will be 'tough' on those abusing the 457 temporary work visa. Speaking at an immigration conference in Canberra on Monday 28th October 2013, said 'you will not hear from this government that migrants take Australian's jobs'.


Mr Morrison became immigration minister in September 2013 after the right-wing Coalition won the national election on 7th September. In opposition, as immigration spokesman, he opposed changes introduced to the 457 system by the Labor government to prevent abuse of the system.


Mr Morrison and the then leader of the opposition (now Prime Minister) Tony Abbott, argued that there was no compelling evidence of widespread abuse of the 457 system so it was not necessary to introduce measures to prevent abuse.

 

 

Unions complained of abuse of 457 visa

Earlier this year, in the run up to the general election, Australian unions had complained that some employers were nominating foreign workers for unskilled positions, were paying them less than Australian workers and were thereby disadvantaging Australian workers.


The 457 visa became an electoral issue. The Labor immigration minister Brendan O'Connor told journalists in March 2013 that he believed that about 10,000 457 visas, about 10% of the total, were obtained by 'rorting' or abuse of the system.


Australian industry groups said that this was not the case. The Coalition, then in opposition, condemned Mr O'Connor's claims as electoral politics.

 

 

No evidence of 'rorting'

In June, Tony Abbott, then leader of the opposition, said that Mr O'Connor had 'claimed that there were some 10,000 examples of rorts and wasn't able to produce any evidence at all'.


He said that there were actually probably closer to 200 rorts a year, and added that 'no system is perfect'. He said that Labor was using the issue to look tough on immigration to win votes.


Labor rushed through reforms of the 457 visa regime in June. The main provision of this act was the introduction of a requirement for employers to carry out Labour Market Testing before employing a foreign worker with a 457 visa.

 

 

Labour Market Testing should be introduced in November

The LMT regime is due to be introduced in November 2013 but Mr Morrison has said that he is keen to scrap the requirement which he says would be expensive for businesses to carry out and unnecessary.


But, Mr Morrison says, he will still crack down on abuse. He told Australian journalists 'If the 457 program is abused, it will be undermined and its critical values to Australia will be diminished. I'm asking industry and employers to help the government protect this vital asset for the Australian economy by making sure it is used properly, in the right circumstances and is not abused'.


The Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457) allows foreign workers to work in Australia providing that they are sponsored by an Australian employer which is approved by the Australian immigration department.

 

 

Australian employer should try to find settled worker before nominating

They must be nominated to fill a skilled role and the Australian employer should have tried and failed to find a settled Australian worker to fill the role.


A 457 visa entitles its holder to live in Australia for up to four years. Holders can enter and leave the country as often as they wish, can live anywhere in the country, providing they continue to work in the nominated position, and bring their dependent families with them.


Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in  Australia. Please visit our Australian page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/australia.html