1. The Minister of Immigration: Is considering freezing or extending the 485 visa
In an interview with Sky News this week, Immigration Minister Alex Hawke talked about many immigration and visa-related issues, including New Zealand citizenship, refugees, and temporary visas. Then he talked about graduates or prospective graduates. Many 485 visas were wasted due to the impact of the entry and exit of the epidemic. After all, this visa has only one opportunity for the main application, and except for some people who graduated within a certain period of time and are abroad, they need to apply within 6 months after graduation.
Therefore, the Minister stated that the government is aware of this concern and is considering temporarily freezing or extending the visa period for students whose 485 visa is about to expire or have been staying abroad and wasting 485 time. He stated that international students are an important priority for the federal government.
"Previously, we have made some exemptions or preferential policies related to visa extensions. (For 485 work permits) we will also consider it. When the time is right, we will also announce related new policies."
Earlier, the Minister of Immigration will emphasize that the most important "feature" during the epidemic recovery period is that the policy is more flexible to respond to different situations from the past. I believe they have a lot of ideas in discussion, and since they can say it, they may be closer to success.
If it is confirmed, a ministerial press release, an announcement of a bill, and an update of the official website of the Immigration Bureau can clarify that this includes the temporary policies that foreign students in the tourism and service industries are no longer subject to the 40-hour work limit. Many times, it is not a complicated process.
2. Parental immigration quotas for the next fiscal year will be the same as this year, and there will be a shortage of people after the epidemic
This week, one of our 143 customers received an email notification of the final payment after completing all the materials. The notification clearly stated that the 143 quota has been used up in the current fiscal year and the trial will start again on the 7.1 of the new fiscal year. When we communicated with the visa officer on the phone, we learned about the parents' immigration quotas for the next fiscal year, and got a reply that the quotas and settings are exactly the same as the current fiscal year, that is:
Paid category (884+864+173+143) a total of 3600
Queuing class (103+804), a total of 900
So there are still only 4,500 quotas, and the trial is now stagnant in early June 2016.
In April this year, the number of job vacancies announced in remote areas of Australia doubled from the same period last year, surpassing the record high in 2011. And because more people help to create more demand in remote areas, 43,000 people in Australia will move from capital cities to other regions in 2020, which is the largest since the first data collection in 2001.
The local chamber of commerce stated that many industries in remote areas need manpower. "We have seen many people move to the area. They bring their own jobs, or work from home, and spend money in the area, which is fantastic. However, because Increasing demand for local products and services has put additional pressure on these labor shortages, so there is indeed a need to find new ways to attract workers."
And the difference from the last peak 10 years ago is that jobs are more distributed in various industries, rather than concentrated in the mining industry, and the geographical distribution is also greater. The biggest increases this year are in Tasmania, Victoria and NSW.
Kim Houghton of the Australian Institute of Remote Areas pointed out that companies in remote areas have now expanded their recruitment network. "In the past, generally speaking, they used word of mouth as a preference to recruit talent." But last month, more and more employers used the Internet. Come to find, there are more than 67,500 job vacancies on the Internet across Australia.
3. Australia will launch new entry rules next year
The Secretary-General of the Ministry of the Interior Michael Pezzullo said this week that the new electronic passenger declaration system (DPD) is expected to be put into trial operation early next year. DPD can be used to verify the vaccination status of overseas immigrants, recognize the international vaccination certificate, and be able to see the entry Various data such as passengers' new crown vaccination, including passengers' health status, visa information and travel history, etc., will also replace the previous system that required passengers to fill out an entry declaration form shortly after landing.
And to go a step further, "When the time is right, according to public health recommendations, DPD can support the entry of overseas travelers into Australia without the need to quarantine for 14 days."
Pezzullo said that DPD's health data will be shared with state public health departments, and the new system will be ready for large-scale operation to match the federal budget plan to resume international travel in 2022.
At present, the Morrison government is promoting the "domestic exemption measures". He will propose a draft travel exemption plan to the National Cabinet on the next phase of Australia's opening up strategy, hoping to allow people who have been vaccinated to be blocked by the epidemic. Travel across the state. However, the resistance currently encountered is not small. The governors of NSW/Victoria and Queensland have both raised questions. Morrison argued that the proposed federal exemption is not a domestic “passport” but a A practical measure that people do not need to apply for state entry permits to travel in states affected by the epidemic restrictions and the epidemic.
Last week we said that more than 70,000 people signed a petition to allow parents of PR/citizens to be exempted from entering the country, and we are still waiting for a reply. In the Senate this week, Green Party Senator Nick McKim accused the federal government of its current immigration exemption policy as inhumane, specifically allowing movie stars, businessmen and tennis players to enter Australia, but leaving many families eager to reunite and many desperate citizens overseas.