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VETASSESS conducts assessments for over 200 occupations for people applying to migrate to Australia under the General Skilled Migration (GSM) and Employer Nomination Schemes (ENS).

From the 1st of January 2010, VETASSESS will be changing the requirements for assessment against these “Generalist Occupations” which are managerial, administrative, professional and associate professional occupations.

The new assessment process will help to ensure that applicant’s who meet the requirements under the new process are job ready and have the relevant skills and qualifications for employment in Australia in their nominated occupation.

From 2010, in order to receive a positive assessment, you will need: Continue Reading

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Prior to the 1st of January 2010, applicants applying for permanent migration based on one of the onshore General Skilled Migration (GSM) visa subclasses were required, at time of application, to provide evidence that they had applied for a skills assessment by the relevant assessing authority. At time of decision, a suitable skills assessment was required.

From the 1st of January 2010, applicants applying for either the Skilled – Independent (Migrant) Visa (Subclass 885), Skilled – Sponsored (Migrant) Visa (Subclass 886) or the Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Migrant) Visa (Subclass 487) will be required to have obtained a suitable skills assessment prior to applying for migration in order for the application to be valid and assessed for a decision. Continue Reading

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From the 1st of January 2010, the Migration Regulations are being amended to allow Student visa holders who have been affected by the closure of their education provider in the preceding 12 months to lodge an application for a further Student visa to continue their studies and be entitled to a nil visa application charge.

Transitional provisions are being implemented from the 9th November 2009 to enable Student visa holders who were affected by an education provider closure in 2009 to lodge an application for a VAC refund.

This provision is available to students in circumstances where they need to apply for a further Student visa to continue their studies as a result of the provider closure.

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Exchange rates might be something you’ve traditionally not paid much attention to in the past.

Sure you may have found yourself faced with the prospect of having to calculate the ‘value’ of the 20 Euro leather belt you’ve just purchased in the local Spanish market but it’s never been that big a deal.. right?

Well, when migrating to Australia the exchange rate you get for your home currency when transferring your hard earned money into Australia can be a very big deal indeed. With this in mind we’ve launched a new “exchange rate” category here at Getting Down Under to help us focus on this often overlooked area. Continue Reading

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Since starting my new role in the mining industry, I’ve found myself working for an organisation which is much more reliant on skilled resources brought in from overseas.

I was chatting to one of the hiring managers the other day about this and being quite interested in the subject, I managed to steer the conversation onto the subject of Australian immigration and the challenges faced by companies following the many recent changes in immigration law.

One thing that I didn’t really appreciate until now is the hoops that the Australian Immigration Department are making companies jump through in order to justify bringing on board ‘foreign’ workers on 457 Visas. Continue Reading

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The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship announced earlier this month that the amount of funds international students will need to demonstrate and have genuine access to in order to be granted a Student visa will increase under proposed new changes.

Legislation changes are being pursued to increase the basic rate of living costs under the Migration Regulations from the previous rate of $12 000 per year. Subject to approval by the Governor-General, it is proposed that these changes will come into effect from 1 January 2010.

Under the proposed new regulations, prospective Student visa applicants and their family members must have access to the following funds to meet the living costs requirements: Continue Reading

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Hi all, well life down under has been busy and as there’s not so much news going on right now in the wonderful world of Australian Immigration I thought I’d write a quick personal update just so you all know that I’m still alive

Life down under has been pretty full on recently. On the job front, after 6 years working in financial services I decided to jump ship after being approached by one of the large mining companies here in Perth.

Similar lines of work (contracts, sourcing and procurement) but buying much bigger and more expensive stuff. Continue Reading

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The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, has set new priority processing arrangements for certain Skilled Migration visas. These arrangements are designed to better address the needs of industry by targeting skills in critical need across a number of sectors. The current priority processing Direction commenced on 23 September 2009.

The Direction applies to applications in the pipeline that have not been finalised, and to applications lodged with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, on or after 23 September 2009.

To assist the visitors to our site, we have included the Frequently Asked Questions from the Department Website below.

To discuss these latest changes then post a comment at the bottom of this post or visit the thread in our forums which you can find by clicking here. Continue Reading

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The Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL) is going to be overhauled whilst the Critical Skills List (CSL) will be phased out completely.

The Australian Department of Immigration is near to concluding its review of the MODL. As part of their review, the department will examine and report on the role and purpose of the MODL in targeting skill needs in relation to the General Skilled Migration (GSM) program, to complement the supply of tertiary qualified Australians.

It’s hoped that the review will enable DIMIA to use the MODL as a more strategic tool ensuring that skilled migration is better aimed at responding to future skill needs which cannot be addressed through domestic training and skills development.

The arrangements for the transition to the new MODL will be determined once the outcomes of the review are finalised. Continue Reading

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Australian businesses that want to bring in skilled workers on what are known locally as ‘457 visas’ will have to be prepared to pay them market wages from next week.

The Immigration Minister, Chris Evans, has announced details of the changes to the temporary visa program which are designed to end the potential for workers to be exploit.

“The payment of market salary rates will ensure that overseas workers are not used as a cheap form or labour or used to undercut Australian wages and conditions.” senator Evans said.

Previously migrant workers have been paid as little as $45,000 AUD per year with some companies often choosing cheaper migrant workers over local ones.

The new legislation would protect local workers and also ensure that people immigrating to Australia in search of work would receive a fair deal. Continue Reading

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Foreign students will face greater screening as the Government cracks down on visa fraud and scrutinises their ability to finance life in Australia reports the Age

The changes, announced by Immigration Minister Chris Evans yesterday, apply to students from India, Mauritius, Nepal, Brazil, Zimbabwe and Pakistan and take effect immediately.

Students from target countries will be subject to more stringent interviews and have limited access to visa applications online.

Applications for student visas have soared in the past year. They grew by 20 per cent to more than 362,000 in the year to June 30. Of those, 28,000 applications were rejected. Continue Reading

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Getting your SOL’s mixed up with your MODL’s?  Alan Collette at Go Matilda  has written a  a great article  summarising  the myriad of occupations lists currently doing the rounds.

The Skilled Occupations List, or SOL

The SOL is a threshold list of skilled occupations – if your occupation is not on this list you do not meet one of the basic requirements of a skilled visa application, and as such cannot migrate to Australia under the general skilled program.

This list does not vary very often, but with a reclassification of skilled occupations having taken place in Australia in the last few months there is an expectation that the SOL will be subject to fairly significant amendment within the next year => as ever, if you are an intending migrant and you have an occupation that appears on the SOL as presently constituted it would be prudent to lodge your application sooner rather than later, just in case your occupation is omitted from a new SOL. Continue Reading

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A member of parliament for the ruling Labor Party on Friday called for Australia’s immigration quotas to be cut in light of the threat from homegrown Islamic terrorists. That threat was exemplified last week when five men were charged over an alleged plot to storm an army base in Sydney.

Kelvin Thomson rational for the cut was that fewer migrants would mean more stringent background checks on applicants could be carried out.

He said Islamists were entering Australia through official immigration channels stating that this was “a far more serious issue than the prospect of us being attacked by another country”.

Hmmm, sounds like an interesting character this Kevin Thomson chap and I really don’t think he quite ‘gets it’. The current checks and as many of us who have been through the process can testify are more than rigorous enough. Continue Reading

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Australian employers unexpectedly added 32,200 workers in July, bucking expectations that the jobless rate would continue to rise.

In positive news for both Australian residents and skilled workers looking to emigrate to Australia, the country’s unemployment rate remained at 5.8 per cent for July, despite economists predicting that the seasonally adjusted rate would reach at least 6 per cent.

Part-time employment increased 48,200 to 3.203 million, while full-time jobs dropped by 16,000 to 7.590 million, apparently a reflection of employers cutting hours rather than positions. Continue Reading

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So I’ve just been reading a story on the ABC website about a young Indian reporter who was attacked after going undercover to reveal migration and education scams

The woman, who was reporting under cover for Australia’s ‘Four Corners’ program at the time, was subjected to threats during the making of the program and was attacked over the weekend. Police have been notified.

Whilst filming for the program, the reporter went to two different migration agents posing as someone wanting to pass an English Language Test (IELTS) without having the skills. To assist here in her attempts to pass the exam she said she was willing to buy a fake work certificate. She was able to do both if she paid between $3,000 and $5,000.

Some Indian students, principally in Melbourne and Sydney, have been subjected to violent attacks which have tainted Australia’s reputation as an education provider. The actions of those responsible could never be justified but having said that, something positive may well come out of this after all. Continue Reading

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During a recent visit to India, Australian Minister of Immigration & Citizenship, Chris Evans told press that Australian Immigration law is changing with a stronger focus on skilled workers.

Evans said in New Delhi, “We are reviewing the policy on migrants. Our government will adjust the policy based on the needs of the country and not be driven by the education choices of overseas students”.

Senator Evans is in New Delhi to advise the Indian government on steps that Australia is taking to ensure the safety of Indian students who choose to study in Australia.

Thousands of Indian students move to Australia each year, taking admission in vocational courses like cookery and hairdressing in Australian institutions to get permanent residency. Continue Reading

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