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The Australian Future Skills List – Where is it?

Guest Blogger: Embrace Australia
So what has happened to the Australian Future Skills List that we were promised back in December? As Australian visa applicants drum their fingers impatiently, waiting for news on the FSL we take a look at what could have gone wrong.

The Critical Skills List (CSL) was introduced back in January 2009 in order to prioritise those applications with occupations that were desperately needed to fill the skills shortages Australia was experiencing at the time.

The CSL was meant to update the rather outdated MODL and closely represent real skill shortages all over Australia. If you had a skill that was in the MODL you still had a strong application, but if your skill was in the CSL it meant that your application would be processed a lot quicker.

The CSL was meant to work in harmony with the Australian states own critical skills list, however some of their skilled occupations in demand are not on the CSL. For instance Western Australia has included Production Manager on their skills in demand list and have even noted: “The shortage appears to be most severe for mining production managers with underground hard rock experience relevant to the Australian mining industry.” Yet the Critical Skills List does not list Production Manager as an occupation in demand.

At the time of the CSL’s introduction however, Senator Chris Evans, the Minister for Australian Immigration and Citizenship, reassured applicants that the CSL does indeed work closely with the state governments: “The Critical Skills List will be reviewed regularly, in consultation with the States and Territories, industry and unions to ensure that it remains valid and current in the changing circumstances.”

Then came September 23rd and new regulations for priority processing which meant that if you had managed to get state-sponsorship but did not have an occupation on the Australian Government’s CSL, your visa application would not receive priority. That means that Western Australia would have to wait for its Production Managers. Rather a monumental mistake by the government surely, since Western Australia is currently going through a mining boom. The wait would not be a short one either as applicants were told by the DIAC that their visa applications might not now be finalised for up to three years.

The Future Skills List is proposed to reflect more accurately the skills that are in severe demand, much as the CSL was meant to do. The government may use it in an attempt to ‘save face’, thereby ensuring that state skills in demand are included on the FSL, or they may not. It’s difficult to tell without more information. However the FSL is intended to replace both the MODL and the CSL, the latter being phased out slowly.

But where, you may ask, is this Future Skills List? The Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) had stated that it expected to announce the FSL back in December. But there was no word from the DIAC about it. Now we are into January and all across the internet, Australian migration forums are all echoing with the same question – where is it?

Susan Wareham McGrath a migration agent and member of the Embrace Australia community has this to say on the subject of the missing FSL: “DIAC originally intended to announce the results of the MODL Review in December 2009 after it had gone to Parliament. It wasn’t able to meet that timeframe and Parliament will next sit between 2 and 11 February. Hopefully, things will progress soon after that, but it depends on the Order of Business during the sitting. If it doesn’t make it during the February sitting, Parliaments next sitting will be 9 – 18 March.”
“Unfortunately, all we can do at this stage is “watch this space” and keep an eye on the daily Order of Business and Hansard between 2 – 11 February.”

So there you go, hopefully all will be revealed this month and speculation about the occupations that will appear on the FSL will be put to rest. No doubt many Category 5 applicants will be hoping that the government have taken notice of the skills shortages in many regional states of Australia and that the FSL accurately reflects these shortages. If not then it’s back to the drawing board for many frustrated Australia visa applicants.

Join Embrace Australia for regular updates and news on Australian immigration.

Dual citizenship

Guest Blogger: John

• Strong family links
• Strong financial links
• Strong work links

Reasons for the additional citizenship can be:

• Difficulty or impossibility to develop a career in your field
• Major discount(s) in student’s fees
• Family with Australian citizenship, especially children

Sharks not far off shore…….Bondi beach that is.

An Australian costal website just posted these images of hundreds of sharks cruising around Bondi Beach REALLY CLOSE TO SHORE…….If you are thinking of immigrating to Australia to live in Bondi, you might not want to see this…..

Ask not what Australia can do for You…

But what you can do for Australia… Does the skilled migration visa hint at this? Is this just typical migration conditions anywhere?

When immigrating to Australia on a skilled migration visa you come with:

• your skills/education and work experience,
• a willingness to be a self starter – find a home, job, schools, circle of friends, community/church life to connect to,
• the drive & desire to build a life,
• the ability to contribute and participate in social and community activities so as to be accepted,
• the capacity to shoulder the risk of moving,
• the stamina to cope during the unsettling early months/years until you start to feel a sense of home, (for some this can take longer than others)

In addition, you may be expected to take on a heavy work load at work. Skills are short locally you know.

You may find that you will be the one with the need for a greater social (support/friendship) network – so you initiate the social and group activities to ensure your sanity.

Let me know…what do you know?

Is taking a Citizen Test a barrier?

The new Australian citizenship test which assesses prospective new citizens on their understanding of Australian civics and the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship commenced recently.

New Aussie International Student Visa Measures

New visa measures to assist international students.

The Australian Government is introducing new measures to assist overseas students affected by the closure of an international education provider.

The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, said that from 1 January 2010, overseas students who require a new visa to complete their studies at another school or college will be exempt from paying the $540 student visa application charge.

Senator Evans said that although most students will be able to complete their studies on their existing student visa, some may need to enrol in a new course that finishes after their existing student visa expires and will require a new visa.

Twelve education providers have closed in 2009, affecting about 4,700 students.’In situations where an education provider can no longer offer a course, the government’s primary concern is the welfare of the student,’ Senator Evans said.

‘We understand that these situations are not the fault of the student and the introduction of a fee exemption will ensure they are not shouldered with an additional financial burden.’

In the interim, students will be able to apply to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship for a refund of their visa application fee if they’ve been affected by the closure of an education provider in 2009 and have had to apply for a new student visa.

Senator Evans said the government is also increasing the minimum financial requirements for overseas students to ensure they can meet their living costs while in Australia.

From 1 January 2010, prospective overseas students will need to demonstrate that they have access to at least $18 000 a year to fund their living costs in Australia, instead of the current $12 000.

The new figure better reflects student costs in Australia and is consistent with information published for international students in Australian Education International’s (the international arm of DEEWR) ‘Study in Australia’ guide.

Living costs are one component of the financial requirements for a student visa. Students must also have sufficient funds for tuition fees, travel costs and costs of any dependents.

‘It is important that students understand these financial requirements are only the minimum amount required for a student visa,’ Senator Evans said.
‘International students can supplement their income through part-time work in Australia but the primary purpose of a student visa is to study and students should not rely on part-time work to meet their expenses.

‘Prospective students are encouraged to conduct their own research so they can make an informed decision about what study in Australia will cost.’

DIAC will also make an assessment of whether the funds demonstrated by students will be available to them while they are in Australia.

‘The Australian Government values international students and is determined to make sure they have a rewarding and successful study experience in Australia, without financial hardship,’ Senator Evans said.

The latest measures will be implemented through regulation change later this month subject to approval by Parliament and the Governor-General.
The changes will support the enhanced integrity measures for the student visa program announced in August this year.

Those measures included:
upgrading the interview program to build a strong evidence base around fraud removing or restricting eVisa access for some agents where there is evidence of fraud or inactivity restricting access to eVisa for some segments of the caseload if analysis demonstrates restricted access would allow for better control of fraud.

The measures target parts of the student visa caseload in India, Mauritius, Nepal, Brazil, Zimbabwe and Pakistan.

Since these enhanced integrity measures were introduced, there has been an increase in the number of applications being withdrawn, from five per cent in July to 17 per cent in September.

And to date, more than 150 agents have had their eVisa access suspended due to evidence of fraud or inactivity.

10 Most Popular Things to do in Brisbane

Guest Blogger:Gagandeep Singh

What’s New? The French community in Brisbane is moving

The heart of the French community – Alliance Française – is moving to a bigger and better location.

If you are new to Brisbane and are searching for a French community, language class, social or cultural event, from the beginning of 2010 the Alliance Française can be found at 262 Montague Road, West End.

The new location will enable the Alliance to expand and offer further benefits and services to the community of members and students.

• art exhibitions,
• performances,
• cine and book club,
• wine and cheese tasting,
• entertainment, etc,

Australia~ A nation in the building.

In order to move away from the monarchy, Australia would have to become a republic, and in this case the country would need a constitution.

The following web-site is proposing one:

www-personal.edfac.usyd.edu.au/

And here is the Senate’s General Constitution:

aph.gov.au/

Brisbane’s Muliticultural Festival – Been & Gone!

Go Next year if you missed it!
Why should you go? ~ A few reasons it is worth a visit.