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Almost 90 per cent of temporary skilled migrants who were granted Subclass 457 visas in 2009-10 to date are managers and professional workers, new figures show.

The average total salary package for all new Australian temporary skilled migrant workers is almost $100,000 – an increase of $10,000 on the same time last year.

The highest paid workers on a Subclass 457 Australia visa were in the mining industry, with an average total remuneration of $169,000, followed by the financial and insurance services sector at $127,600.

Temporary skilled overseas workers in Western Australia were the highest paid with an average total remuneration of $114 800, followed by New South Wales ($101,100), Queensland ($97,900), Victoria ($94,200), Tasmania ($94,100), Northern Territory ($85,500), ACT ($83,600) and South Australia ($81,700). Continue Reading

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As a result of the recent General Skilled Migration (GSM) changes we wrote about on the 8th of February, a review of the GSM Points Test is to be undertaken in the first half of 2010 and a discussion paper will be placed on the department’s website for public comment until 12 March 2010.

The discussion paper has now been published and an excerpt of the paper is provided below:

The review of the General Skilled Migration (GSM) Points Test is part of a comprehensive reform of the skilled migration program. The Government has agreed on the following important principles which should underpin a new Points Test: Continue Reading

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The Australian Minister for Immigration yesterday announced significant changes to the General Skilled Migration (GSM) program.

Changes include:

• Cap and Cease of offshore GSM applications lodged before 1 September 2007
• A new Skilled Occupations List (SOL) to come into effect in mid 2010
• Abolition of the Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL)
• Revocation of Critical Skills List (CSL) from mid 2010
• Changes to Processing Priorities and introduction of new State Sponsorship arrangements
• Pre 1 Jan 2010 Trade Skills Assessments will be accepted by DIAC from 1st Quarter 2010

Many of these changes have transitional provisions to ensure that the impact on international students studying in Australia are minimised. Continue Reading

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Wanted Down under Series 4 and Wanted Down Under revisited have finally come to an end and like many other episodes of Wanted Down Under its caused a bit of a stir with our visitors.

As Getting Down Under sounds similar to the title of the popular BBC show I’ve found that many of our visitors get ‘website blindness’ resulting in emails being sent to Getting Down Under HQ asking how they can appear on the next series of the BBC’s Wanted Down under program.

In an effort to try and reduce the number of enquiries we receive in relation to this show, we contacted the BBC to check if Series 5 of Wanted Down Under was on the cards and at time of typing I’m please to say that it is. Continue Reading

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Today, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, announced a number of changes to the General Skilled Migration program.

 Let’s look at the key changes. We’ll cover these changes in more detail further on in this article.

• Offshore General Skilled Migration Visa Applications made before the 1^st September 2007 will be capped and then ceased.
• The current Critical Skills List (CSL) will be revoked and will be replaced by a new Skilled Occupations List (SOL) effective from the middle of 2010.
• The current Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL) will be revoked and replaced with the same (and more targeted) Skilled Occupations List.
• The General Skilled Migration (GSM) Points Test will be reviewed to evaluate the effectiveness of the current test.
• New priority processing arrangements will be introduced for certain skilled migration visas.

Quite a lot to take in huh? We’ll try to break down the changes into a little more detail and as always, if you get stuck or have any further questions then feel free to pop into our forums. Continue Reading

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Further information on the requirements for the TRA job ready program has become available. The job ready program applies to people living in Australia who wish to apply for skills assessment in a trade occupation.

Stage 1: Provisional Skills Assessment

The provisional skills assessment requires applicants to show 6 months of work experience, 6 minimum in IELTS and an Australian Certificate III qualification.The following clarifications have been made by TRA:

• You must have worked for the equivalent of 2 days per week over a 6-month period.
• Work can be counted if it is part of the course – for example an industry placement – providing it is in a commercial environment rather than work on the premises of an educational institution.
• Overseas work experience cannot count – the work must be in an Australian workplace Continue Reading

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It has been a busy start to the new year in the Sydney investment property market as good quality properties are being sold quickly to eager buyers – sometimes at their full asking price.

I’m not yet sure whether this strong buyer demand will be maintained throughout the year – or whether the strong results from sales early in the year will induce others to list their properties for sale – providing some increased supply to keep prices more in balance.

As I have previously reported, the Australian residential property market has fared better than several other markets internationally over the last 20 months. Several local market watchers (professional and amateur) saw this as being in part due to the government’s housing stimulus for first home buyers – and predicted that the winding back of these subsidies would have a slowing effect on property markets – particularly the first home buyer belt, which in Sydney is the A$500,000 to A$650,000 segment. Continue Reading

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Australian house prices rose last quarter by the most since 2003, and combined with the expansion of the manufacturing sector the central bank may have to extend a record round of interest-rate increases.

Economists are expecting Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens to extend the benchmark lending rate, which reached 3.75 percent in December from a half-century low of 3 percent in October.

An index measuring the weighted average of prices for houses in the eight capital cities climbed 5.2 percent from the previous three months, the Bureau of Statistics reported in Sydney. Continue Reading

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This article describes the evidence required for making a successful Australian spouse visa application as well as several other useful tips and hints on how to select the best professional adviser.

1. SPOUSE VISAS ARE IMPOSSIBLE TO OBTAIN UNLESS YOU HAVE A JOINT BANK ACCOUNT OR LEASE

Not true as many couples do not have these important documents but still succeed. We can show you how to compensate with other even better evidentiary documents from yourselves, friends and family. Continue Reading

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Skilled Independent Migration Visa is one of the categories within the General Skilled Migration or Skilled Visa group which can be applied for both on-shore or from within Australia or off-shore or applicant is not in Australia.

The General Skilled Migration caters to those who are not sponsored by an employer and the applicant applies on the strength of his own qualification in this type of visa.

Generally, the applicant must have skills and qualifications for an occupation listed on Australia’s Skilled Occupation List (SOL), must be over 18 and under 45 years of age, with good English language ability, and recent skilled work experience or a recently completed eligible Australian qualification, among others. Continue Reading

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Pension Transfers are not the most exciting part of emigrating to Australia, it certainly won’t have you jumping for joy like when you finally get you visa in your hand, but when you realise that what you could save on tax by having correct, timely advise could be more than all your other emigration costs put together you’ll realise it’s time to think very seriously about making the most of transferring your UK pension to Australia.

Darion Pohl, a pension transfer specialist and director of Prism Xpat, revealed to me 7 common pitfalls that many UK migrants make when considering transferring their UK pension to Australia.

I must point out that any tips and information in this article is general in nature, is information only and should not in anyway be construed as being financial advice. Each person’s financial situation will be different and you should seek professional advice from a cross border pensions specialist to determine the best way to act. Continue Reading

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