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immigration

The jobs Australia is so keen for migrants to fill that they’re offering permanent residency

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The jobs Australia is so keen for migrants to fill that they're offering permanent residency

Key Points:

  • 79,600 spaces are available for the Skilled Migration scheme in 2020-2021
  • 17 occupations have been prioritised in the health, construction and IT sectors 
  • This includes nurses, doctors, midwives, software engineers and programmers 

Skilled workers are in such short supply in Australia the federal government is offering qualified migrants permanent residency. 

A total of 17 occupations have been identified on the federal government’s priority migration skilled occupation list to help Australia recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Immigration authorities will prioritise workers in the healthcare, construction and information technology industries.  The list includes nurses, doctors, midwives, psychiatrists, software engineers, computer programmers and mechanical engineers. 

Acting Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs Alan Tudge said the changes would strike the right balance for Australia’s economic recovery.  “Our priority is getting Australians back into work but we also need key health workers to help fight the virus and skilled migrants who are going to be job multipliers, to help the economy recover” Mr Tudge said. 

The occupations were selected out of more than 200 on the Department of Home Affairs Skills List granting residency under the Skilled Migration Scheme.  The skilled migration program is offering 79,600 places for 2020-2021.  The scheme falls under the 189 Skilled Independent Visa and allows workers to apply for permanent residency after three years.  The skilled stream is considered the most desirable way to gain immigration to Australia.  

Alternative pathways to migration involve gaining sponsorship from an employer or government authorities.  The skilled work regional visa, known as the subclass 491 visa, offers a short term stay for migrants willing to work in regional Australia.  They must remain in the area for up to five years, but may apply for permanent residency after three years if they have met the income requirements.  Migrants can also gain permanent residency through the 186, 482 and 494 visas which require sponsorship through an employer. 

The federal government also offers highly talented specialists a chance to gain permanent residency through the Global Talent Independent Program.  The program targets specialists across seven industries: ag-tech, med-tech, space, fin-tech, energy and mining technology, cyber security, and data science.  The scheme is the fastest way to gain permanent residency in Australia.  Migrants applying through this program must show they area capable of earning a salary above the income threshold of $153,600 each year.  They must also have their application supported by an Australian specialist working in their field. 

The 17 Priority Occupations For 2020 – 2021 are:

The following 17 occupations were identified as priorities to help bolster the nation’s economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic:

  • Chief Executive or Managing Director 
  • Construction Project Manager  
  • Mechanical Engineer 
  • General Practitioner 
  • Resident Medical Officer
  • Psychiatrist 
  • Medical Practitioner nec 
  • Midwife 
  • Registered Nurse (Aged Care) 
  • Registered Nurse (Critical Care and Emergency) 
  • Registered Nurse (Medical) 
  • Registered Nurse (Mental Health) 
  • Registered Nurse (Perioperative) 
  • Registered Nurses nec 
  • Developer Programmer 
  • Software Engineer 
  • Maintenance Planner 

We recommend you position yourself early for the opportunities that will avail themselves as we come out of these unprecedented times so Contact us for a confidential discussion and refer family, friends and colleagues and be rewarded.

Come Live Our Philausophy
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COVID-19 Border Exemptions For Skilled Workers Being Introduced In Australia – Emphasis on Healthcare, Construction and Software Professionals.

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COVID-19 Border Exemptions For Skilled Workers Being Introduced In Australia - Emphasis on Healthcare, Construction and Software Professionals.

Healthcare, Construction and Software Professionals wanting work in Australia will be given exemptions to bypass tough border restrictions as part of a new Skilled Migration Plan to offset slowing population growth, create jobs and help the economy recover from the COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic recession.

Significant opportunities are available after the federal government has given a swathe of Healthcare, Construction and Technology Professionals top priority status for migration due to a local skills shortage.

Most of the 17 jobs on the new list of workers that businesses will be able to sponsor from overseas relate to the Healthcare Industry, including Registered Nurses, General Practitioners, Psychiatrists and Midwives, but Chief Executives, Construction Managers, Mechanical and Software Engineers also make the list.

Minister for Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure Alan Tudge, who is also acting Immigration Minister, said the list was an immediate priority for Australia’s recovery.

“If a person fits that category they will get an exemption to come through the borders,” Mr Tudge said.

 

Jobs on Australia’s priority list are:

  • General practitioner
  • Resident medical officer
  • Psychiatrist
  • Medical practitioners not elsewhere classified
  • Registered nurses – aged care, critical care and emergency, medical, mental health, midwife, peri-operative and not elsewhere classified
  • Chief executive or managing director
  • Construction project manager
  • Mechanical engineer
  • Developer programmer
  • Software engineer
  • Maintenance planner

There have been international travel restrictions on all non-residents and non-citizens arriving in Australia without exemptions since March 20 due to the COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic.  These travel restrictions are forecast to remain in place until mid 2021. This announcement means the professions included on the list get to jump the queue by getting a minimum of a 9 month time benefit.

Mr Tudge said “Immigration is actually part of the answer of kick starting the economy because some people are job-creating individuals. This could include significant investors, entrepreneurs who create businesses or workers with highly specialised skills needed by businesses.”

“Migration has been obviously an important driver of population growth. That alone is a significant economic driver. But migration has also helped our participation rate and our productivity rate because we bring in young and skilled people.”

“It’s a very significant part of Australia’s economic and social success. Australia is an immigrant nation and we will return to being an immigrant nation.”

All people arriving in Australia, including skilled workers on this list, are required to spend 14 days in quarantine.  The occupations were chosen after careful analysis of recent changes to the internet vacancy index, changes in employment, and longer-term stability in the labour market for individual occupations.

 

Right now is a great time to assess your own situation and we suggest you consider a new life adventure in Australia.  If you are looking to position yourself for great opportunities and first mover advantage then Contact us for a confidential discussion and/or refer family, friends and colleagues and be rewarded.  This is an opportunity not to be missed in these uncertain times.

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Australia and Melbourne: Top tier locations for talented global workers

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Australia and Melbourne: Top tier locations for talented global workers

An annual index, ranking countries and cities on their ability to grow talent, has placed both Melbourne and Australia in the top tier.

When it comes to attracting global talent, Australia makes the top 10 and Melbourne is Australia’s second most competitive city, according to the latest 2020 Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GCTI).

The index ranks locations on their ability to grow, attract and retain international talent. This year Australia ranks 10th, rising from 12th in 2019. Switzerland holds first place. Melbourne is the fifth most competitive city for global talent in the Asia-Pacific region.

The 2020 GCTI focuses on global talent in the age of artificial intelligence. Cities that dominate the top rankings demonstrate a future readiness to undertake activities in fields such as AI and advanced technologies. The report notes that AI talent is scarce, and cities are striving to become AI hubs and attract relevant talent.

The index also more broadly identifies talent competitiveness in other areas including innovation and leadership, such as availability of academic researchers, scientists and engineers.

The Victorian Government provides visa nomination to select migrants with skills and qualifications in areas of demand, including ICT occupations as well as health, engineering and construction and other key sectors.

Contact us for a confidential discussion and refer family, friends and colleagues and be rewarded.

Melbourne, Australia

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The Migration Advisory Committee’s latest report on Brexit

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The Migration Advisory Committee's latest report on Brexit

The Migration Advisory Committee (“MAC”) recently published their much awaited report on the Australian-style Points-based system as a model for the UK’s future immigration system. To many immigration lawyers, the report came as a surprise as it suggests no significant changes to the existing Points-based system that has been in place since 2008.

 

This 2020 MAC report builds on their 2018 report dealing with EU migration. In the 2018 report the MAC made radical recommendations to relax the overall requirements for a work visa under the Tier 2 (General) route, for example: abolishing the annual cap on work visas, eliminating the resident labour market test and reducing the job skills threshold. The 2020 MAC report makes it even easier for employers to sponsor highly-skilled and medium-skilled migrants by proposing to reduce the minimum salary threshold from £30,000 per year to £25,600 per year.

 

Having said the above, there are many important issues still to be addressed before the end of this year:

 

1) Employers contemplating hiring EU nationals from outside the UK from 1 January 2021 (after the end of the Brexit transition period) will require a sponsor licence, unless the Home Office introduces a new system which is streamlined and user friendly. This is likely to create a surge in demand for licences, which will create more delays due to capacity issues within the Home Office.

2) Employers seeking to recruit new workers from the EU from 1 January 2021 will face significant cost pressures as a typical Tier 2 (General) work visa valid for three years for a large company will cost approximately £5,000 in Government fees alone.

 

3) There is very little discussion surrounding low-skilled workers. The December 2018 White Paper published under Theresa May’s government describes a separate visa category to allow low-skilled workers from low risk countries with strict conditions (e.g. 12 months maximum duration with a cooling-off period of 12 months). The 2020 MAC report unfortunately does not shed any more light on what this route will look like and whether there will be any special requirements to qualify.

 

4) The proposed £25,600 minimum salary threshold is still too high for some sectors, such as the retail and consumer industry. Many franchise restaurants, for example, may not be able to pay this level of salary for their chefs. Whilst the 2020 MAC report does not suggest a variation in the minimum salary threshold across different sectors in the UK economy, the Government may need to consider this in order to address the acute shortage of workers in some sectors.

 

5) Businesses only have 11 months to prepare for the new Immigration Rules to take effect. As with the previous introduction of new rules, we foresee confusion and inconsistencies in the decision-making process by the Home Office. This is likely to cause more delays and frustration on the part of businesses and workers.

 

Whilst the new 2020 MAC report provides important information, there remains a substantial number of issues to be resolved in order to create a better immigration system that benefits employers and protects our resources (e.g. medical care, roads and social services) from being overwhelmed.

 

Given that this 2020 MAC report may not go far enough in the eyes of the Government, it is certainly possible for Mr Johnson to go beyond their recommendation. However, the administrative machinery of the Home Office may not be able to incorporate such drastic changes by the end of this year. We await the discussion of the 2020 MAC report amongst Cabinet ministers next month and it is expected that a new White Paper on the future of business immigration policy will be published shortly thereafter.

 

Employers are advised to remain vigilant for further updates.

Will the UK have a points-based system for entry?

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‘We need all hands on deck’: Backpackers called in to bushfire recovery effort

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The new visa system details are now becoming clear

Backpackers are being brought in as reinforcements for the bushfire recovery effort under a new plan by the federal government.  The visa system will be overhauled so backpackers are incentivised to help farmers and communities rebuild after the crisis.

Acting Immigration Minister Alan Tudge has announced three major changes following a recommendation from the National Bushfire Recovery Agency as follows:

  • Backpackers can work for an employer for 12 months instead of six months
  • Construction work is now included as part of the designated activities backpackers are allowed to participate in
  • Up to three months of voluntary work will now count towards backpackers’ eligibility for a second-year visa

Mr Tudge said the response to the announcement has been significant and overwhelmingly positive.

“They’re very practical measures just to get more people on the ground.  “Going right now because we need all hands on deck.”

As this initiative unfolds we will keep you informed however we suggest you get in early to take advantage of this opportunity so Contact us for a confidential discussion and refer family, friends and colleagues and be rewarded.

Raging Australian wildfires force residents to water's edge

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Backpackers Invited To Help Australia Rebuild In Wake Of Bushfires

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Come Help Us Rebuild Our Country

Backpackers are being invited to help Australian farmers and communities rebuild after devastating bushfires, with visa changes designed to encourage them to join the effort.  Under the changes, backpackers will be able to count volunteering as work when applying to extend their working holiday visas, and those in bushfire zones can stay with the same employer for a year instead of six months.

Construction work in disaster zones will also count as work under the new rules designed to support farmers and regional businesses.  The changes were announced by Acting Immigration Minister Alan Tudge in regional Victoria yesterday.  Mr Tudge said the working holidaymakers would be able to help farmers and businesses with demolition and land clearing on properties, as well as repairing dams, roads and railways.  

“These hardworking Australians have been hit by the recent bushfires, but from today they can employ backpackers for six months longer, helping them at a critical time in the recovery effort,” he told the newspaper.  “This recovery will be driven locally, by local workers and communities.  “But this will be a massive recovery effort and we want businesses and charitable organisations to have as many boots on the ground as they need.”

The visa rule changes follow recommendations from the National Bushfire Recovery Agency.

Contact us for a confidential discussion and refer family, friends and colleagues and be rewarded.

Aerial footage captures devastating aftermath of Mallacoota bushfires

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Australian-style UK Visa Points-Based System By End Of 2020

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Full details of the new system have yet to be announced

During his time as London Mayor, and upon becoming Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has called for an immigration system similar to Australia’s, in the UK. Now UK Home Secretary, Priti Patel, is pushing for Britain’s Australian-style, points-based UK visa and immigration system to be in place by the end of 2020, two years earlier than originally planned. Now it seems Johnson’s Home Secretary is keen to implement an Australian-style system to coincide with the UK’s transition period with the European Union (EU).

 

The push for a points-based UK visa and immigration system has been a matter of confusion because the UK’s highly skilled, Tier 2 visa category already operates under a points-based system, with applicants currently needing a minimum of 40 points to be eligible for a UK visa.

 

At this stage, it’s unclear what an Australian-style, points-based immigration system in the UK will look like, leaving many businesses worried about how they will hire foreign staff, when Britain leaves the EU. The government has been very vague about the plans, but has made it clear that low-skilled immigration will be heavily restricted.

 

The news of Priti Patel’s push for an Australian-style immigration system in the UK by the end of 2020 comes amid comments made by Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the UK-Africa investment summit on 20 January.  Johnson said: “The UK should be the investment partner of choice for Africa and my government will put people before passports. Change is coming and our system is becoming fairer and more equal between all our global friends and partners, treating people the same, wherever they come from.”  “By putting people before passports, we will be able to attract the best talent from around the world, wherever they may be,” Johnson added.

 

Patel’s push for the new immigration system to be introduced by the end of 2020 has been met with heavy criticism.  Under existing UK visa and immigration plans, outlined by former Prime Minister Theresa May, there is a temporary extension of EU rules in place following Brexit, which comes to an end on 31 December, 2020.  A Confederation of British Industry (CBI) statement said: “Priti Patel’s plans could seriously impact British businesses. Companies will need at least two years to adapt to any new immigration system.”

 

The UK’s shadow Home Secretary, Diane Abbott, said: “This is an ill-informed and reactionary policy that will damage us all, damaging to everything from the NHS to other public services and some of our key private sector industries.”  “Ministers talk about ending uncontrolled migration when they have been in office for 10 years. In reality this is just a new twist in the long Tory campaign against migrants, scapegoating them for the terrible effects of Tory policies,” Abbott added.

 

Meanwhile Christine Jardine, Home Affairs spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, described Patel’s plans as a ‘national embarrassment’, saying that such a decision makes it very obvious that the Conservative government has no intention of ending its hostile environment policy.  Jardine said: “For business and our economy, such draconian changes to immigration rules is utterly unworkable. To think the Home Office could implement the changes in the time given is a joke.”

 

Explaining how the points-based immigration system in Australia works, Dr Alan Gamlen of Monash University in Melbourne said: “It’s a general skilled migration programme, where immigrants applying for a visa are typically selected based on ‘economically relevant characteristics’ like education, language skills and work experience.”  Dr Gamlen outlined that the exact way points are allocated is dependent on immigration policy and the state of the labour market, but generally an applicant will select a skilled occupation from a set list and must score a minimum number of points.

 

In the run up to the UK general election, Boris Johnson said that an Australian-style, points-based system in the UK would limit the number of lower-skilled immigrants allowed into the country. Johnson said that lower-skilled immigrants would only be eligible for UK entry if there was a specific skills shortage.

UK: Britain to introduce points-based immigration system - Home Secretary

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Australia’s Tradie Rich List

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Australia’s Highest Paid Trades

The 2018 Financial Year was a sumptuously fruitful one for many Aussie tradies. Thanks to a recent survey conducted by ServiceSeeking.com.au, trades workers from across the country have been compiled into an eye-popping ‘rich list’, in which we see a definite climb in hourly rates received. Australia’s top earning tradie, according to the findings, was a Melbourne-based builder, who took away a staggering $372 000, which saw him fit quite comfortably amongst the nation’s highest earners.

Rising Rates

Charge out rates are definitely on the way up across the country, which is music to the ears of hard-working tradies. Some of the largest average charge out rate increases were Gardeners at 8.5% ($44.40 to $48.18), Painters at 9.25% ($42.06 to $45.95), and Handymen at 11.97% ($50.67 to $56.73), whilst the highest charge was with removalists at $93.24 (a 3.04% increase from 2017’s $90.49). Some big numbers.

The Top Ten

There was some variation across the country, but with Removalists’ average charge out rate being so high, they have taken a stronghold on the Top Ten lists, holding 50% of the coveted positions:

  1. NSW Removalists at $95.21 per hour
  2. SA Removalists at $94.83 per hour
  3. WA Plumber at $92.22 per hour
  4. NSW Plumber at $90.83 per hour
  5. WA Removalist at $90.35 per hour
  6. QLD Builder at $88.63 per hour
  7. QLD Removalist at $87.77 per hour
  8. WA Electrician at $85.23 per hour
  9. VIC Removalist at $84.50 per hour
  10. VIC Plumber at $82.95 per hour

Tradies of the Future

As with most things in life, these general increases in hourly rates across the trades industries are likely to be due to a myriad of factors (licensing, insurance premiums, etc.). It is likely safe to say one of the largest factors is the current labour shortage gripping the states across Australia.

This shortage is increasing on a daily basis with the continuing natural disaster events across the country including bush fires, floods and cyclones. Australia is facing the real challenge of having to rebuild entire towns, communities and houses which are in the thousands.  Never before has there been a better opportunity for tradies in Australia.

Next years “tradie rich list” is likely to see even higher increases as competition for trade skills increases beyond the current levels.  If you are a tradie and interested in a new life adventure in Australia then Contact us for a confidential discussion and refer family, friends and colleagues and be rewarded.

Today Channel 9 Interview ServiceSeeking Tradie Rich List

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