what’s news in immigration?

latest news 22 July 2008

States to be given power to recruit skilled workers

17 July 2008 The Federal Government has announced changes to its immigration policy to allow states and territories to sponsor workers needed by local industries. Federal Immigration Minister Chris Evans says the current worker program is outdated and should be replaced with a more flexible scheme. more...

Panel of experts to advise on changes to 457 visa program

8 July 2008 The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, has announced the establishment of a Skilled Migration Consultative Panel to provide advice to the Government on proposals aimed at improving Australia's temporary skilled (457 visa) migration program. The consultative panel will also examine how the temporary 457 visa program can best integrate with the employer and state-sponsored permanent skilled migration program. more...

publications/conferences

Discussion paper: Business (Long Stay) Subclass 457 and related temporary visa reforms. Author: Australia. Dept. of Immigration and CitizenshipSource: Canberra :Dept of Immigration and Citizenship, 2008; pp.28Subjects: Skilled migration; Visas; Working conditions; Migration Act 1958; Proposed legislation more...

Temporary migrants banned from trucking in industry rebuff

9 July 2008 Restrictions on the use of so-called 457 visas to allow temporary foreign heavy vehicle drivers into the transport industry will hurt employers, the industry says. Pleas by the trucking industry to maintain the use of migrant workers to meet a crippling driver shortage have been rejected by the Federal Government, which has accepted recommendations from its working group to ban access to the visa program for drivers. The Trucking Industry Working Group reported to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship it should remove the industry’s access to the Temporary Business (Long Stay) Subclass 457 visa for drivers. more...

Consultation on subclass 457 visa program

9 July 2008 An issues paper on minimum salary level and labour agreements for subclass 457 visa holders has been issued for public consultation. This first paper considers the Minimum Salary Level requirements and Labour Agreements in the context of the Subclass 457 visa arrangements and provides the basis for structured and focused feedback from interested stakeholders on these two issues. See: Issue Paper #1 - Minimum Salary Level and Labour Agreements (194KB PDF file) Submissions: The Integrity Review welcomes submissions on the issues raised in this paper. All submissions should be sent to the department. Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Closing date: 8 August 2008.

Reminder: Issues Paper no. 1 - Minimum Salary Level (MSL) and Labour Agreements (LA)

This first paper considers the Minimum Salary Level requirements and Labour Agreements in the context of the Subclass 457 visa arrangements and provides the basis for structured and focused feedback from interested stakeholders on these two issues. Issue Paper #1 - Minimum Salary Level and Labour Agreements . Submissions: The Integrity Review welcomes submissions on the issues raised in this paper. All submissions should be sent to the department. Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Closing date: 8 August 2008