VISAS – GOVERNMENT POLICY – AUSTRALIA

Work Aussies won’t do: market mismatches

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 8-Feb-21

The federal government has convened an inquiry into Australia’s skilled migrant program, to be headed by the Liberal Party’s Julian Leeser. One aspect of the program it will look at is whether any adjustments are needed in the light of the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the future of work. The inquiry comes as employers say they are struggling to find Australians who are willing to do certain jobs; it has been suggested that visas for overseas workers should be rolled over so that they do not have to return to their own country when their visa expires. Welfare programs such as JobKeeper and JobSeeker are also seen as a constraint on employment by some employers.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Work visa sweetener for uni students

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Original article by Tim Dodd, Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 7-Jul-20

Australian universities and state governments had been hoping to start bringing international students back into the country from the end of July. However, the recent surge of COVID-19 cases in Victoria has put these plans on hold. In an attempt to help Australian universities to remain competitive with rivals in Canada and Britain, it is believed that the federal government will grant post-study visas to foreign students who are enrolled in Australian universities but have had to return to their home countries and study online. Currently, only overseas students who study in Australia are awarded graduate work rights.

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Australian visa fast track for HK nationals fleeing strife

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Original article by Simon Benson, Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 3-Jul-20

Tensions with China may increase after the federal government advised that it will consider options for allowing Hong Kong nationals to migrate to Australia. The skilled migrant visa program is expected to be the government’s preferred option when cabinet discusses the issue on 8 July. However, part of the annual refugee intake could potentially be allocated to Hong Kong nationals who are at risk of persecution under the Chinese government’s national security laws for the former British colony. China has criticised the UK’s decision to offer citizenship to more than three million Hong Kong nationals.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Fast-track visas for world’s best

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 13-Aug-19

Federal Immigration Minister David Coleman is to release details of a new migrant program on 13 August, with visas for 5,000 high-skilled people from around the world to be fast-tracked each year. Coleman says the Global Talent Independent Program will focus on no more than five or six sectors, with fintech, quantum computing and agtech some of the sectors to be targeted. The 5,000 migrants to be targeted under the Global Talent Independent Program will be included in the current annual skilled migration cap of 70,000.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS

Migration cuts won’t harm economy: PM

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 21-Mar-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has downplayed concerns that a new cap on Australia’s permanent migrant intake will have an impact on economic growth. Business Council of Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott and Australia Industry Group CEO Innes Willox are among the business leaders who have warned that cutting the migrant intake could impact on the economy. Morrison argues that the larger cut advocated by some cabinet ministers would have had an effect on economic growth.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ONE NATION PARTY

PM rolls out rail, migrant strategy

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 20-Mar-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the federal government’s revised migrant intake is aimed at easing congestion in major cities. The nation’s permanent migrant intake will be capped at 160,000 a year, although some cabinet ministers had favoured reducing it to 155,000. Some 23,000 skilled migrants will also be required to live in regional areas for three years before qualifying for permanent residency. Meanwhile, the April 2019 Budget is expected to include funding for three proposed fast-rail projects in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, MIGRATION COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Morrison government backs down on banning Milo Yiannopoulos in face of backlash

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Original article by Bevan Shields
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 9-Mar-19

Immigration Minister David Coleman will grant controversial right-wing speaker Milo Yiannopoulos a visa to undertake an Australian tour. This follows a backlash against a Home Affairs letter that outlined a number of reasons why Yiannopoulos would fail the character test that the federal government has previously used to ban a number of people from entering Australia. Sky News host Andrew Bolt has described the attempt to ban Yiannopoulos from entering Australia as "pathetic", while Labor immigration spokesman Shayne Neumann says Yiannopoulos "has no place in Australia".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Regions plan a thought bubble: ALP

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 2 : 10-Oct-18

Labor has criticised the federal government’s proposal to ban some immigrants from settling in major capital cities for up to five years. Shadow workplace relations minister Brendan O’Connor has described it as a "thought bubble", arguing that the government’s priority should be to take action on the issue of temporary work visa holders. He notes that 1.6 million people are now on such visas, while 1.8 million Australians are unemployed or underemployed and looking for more work.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

PR and comms want visa reversal

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Original article by Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 24 : 6-Nov-17

The Public Relations Institute of Australia has urged the federal government to overturn its ban on 457 visas for staff in the public relations industry. PRIA president Jenny Muir says other related sectors, including marketing and communications, have been similarly impacted by the ban, which she says was implemented without any consultation with the PR sector. A spokesperson for the federal Immigration Department says its next review of the occupations list will be made in January 2018.

CORPORATES
PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, OGILVY PUBLIC RELATIONS PTY LTD, HERD MSL, ATLASSIAN CORPORATION PLC

Corporate executives set to escape 457 visa changes

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 5-Jun-17

The Australian Government is expected to release a revised list of occupations that are excluded from the 457 visa scheme by the end of June 2017. The CEOs of several listed companies are among those to be affected by the visa reforms, but business groups are confident that the Government will relax the new rules with regard to senior executives. Sectors such as retailing, hospitality, tourism and higher education are also seeking exemptions from the new visa rules.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, GRAINCORP LIMITED – ASX GNC, ORICA LIMITED – ASX ORI, NBN CO LIMITED, KORN/FERRY AUSTRALASIA, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN AUSTRALIA, FRENCH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, MERCER CONSULTING GROUP INCORPORATED, WELLS FARGO AND COMPANY, GM HOLDEN LIMITED, 3M CORPORATION, EUROPCAR, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY