The Queensland Plan aims to have 50 per cent of the state’s population live outside the southeast corner by 2034.

Australia’s productivity is steadily slipping down and will continue to do so if skilled migration numbers are not increased quickly.

The current migration intake of 190,000 a year is not enough to sustain productivity, says the Australian Industry Group (AIG). It says that Australia needs a steady increase in migration intake every year with an emphasis on skilled migration in order to meet current and future skills shortages.

The AIG has proposed that the Federal government needs to act immediately to substantially increase the immigration intake in the upcoming budget by at least 15% to 220,000 to meet the current skills shortage.

The AIG’s chief executive Innes Willox says now is the right time to accelerate skilled migration given Australia’s ageing workforce and skills shortages in industries including mining, construction, engineering and health.

“This proposed increase takes into account the proven benefits to the economy of a strong migration program.  An increase in migrant numbers supports positive growth in our population and especially in our adult workforce, which is important due to relatively low rates of natural population growth.  A higher skilled migration intake is appropriate at present due to Australia’s historically low (albeit growing) unemployment rates; the deepening impacts of our ageing workforce (with 9% of all Australian employees now aged 60 or over and 17% aged 55 or over); and persistent skill shortages in key growth industries including mining services, engineering, infrastructure and health services.

“The Australian Workplace Productivity Agency has identified that Australia will need an increase of about 2.8 million people with quite specific skills over the next decade to fill some of those gaps,” he said.

A recent AIG construction sector surveys indicated that during the six months to September 2013, 67.7% of respondents reported either major or moderate difficulty in the recruitment of skilled labour (up from 65.7% six months ago). The sourcing of sub-contractors was also a dominant supply constraint with 47.1% citing major or moderate difficulty (up from 43.8%).

The skill shortages situation is even more serious in relation to occupations requiring Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) skills. The occupations where there are shortages due to low STEM levels, as illustrated by a recent AIG report: technicians and trade workers (41%), professional (26.6%) and managers (26.3%).

“This is deeply concerning considering the Office of the Chief Scientist recently reported that 75% of the fastest growing occupations require STEM skills and knowledge.”

The Ai Group says further increases from the 220,000 level may be needed in future years, despite unemployment currently sitting at 5.8 per cent and tipped to rise well above 6 per cent by Treasury, the Reserve Bank and many private sector forecasters.

Mr Willox says while there are Australians without work, there are not enough skilled workers for a range of specialist occupations, with the AIG singling out residential construction as an area of acute shortages.

He says increasing education and training is a desirable long-term solution, but immigration is a useful stop gap measure.

“We’ve seen Australia slipping down the tables when it comes to those basic skills around our science, technology, engineering, mathematics skills.”

WARNING: Migration Scam
Senator Michaelia Cash, the Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection has issued a media release warning of a nasty migration scam:

Warning about dodgy migration agents
Tuesday, 29 October 2013
Visa applicants have been warned again to avoid unscrupulous migration agencies targeting people interested in migrating to Australia, Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash said today.
The repeated warning follows complaints to have recently resurfaced about AUSFIS, an offshore web-based migration agency. The agency is alleged to have induced individuals to pay for visa applications that were never lodged.
Senator Cash said the website invites people to register their interest by submitting an online web-form with their contact details.
‘Once registered, applicants are contacted by phone or email and are asked to pay a fee ranging from $300 to $3000 via credit card in return for an ‘Immigration Package to Australia’,’ Senator Cash said.
‘However, several users of AUSFIS’s services have alleged that, once payment has been made, they either hear nothing further, or receive an email advising they are ineligible to apply for a visa.’
Where people have paid money by credit card to AUSFIS, or any other migration agency for a service they did not ultimately receive, they can contact their credit card provider and lodge a ‘disputed payment’ grievance with them. The credit card provider may be able to retrieve all or part of the money paid.
‘AUSFIS has no influence on visa decision-making and does not represent the Australian government,’ Senator Cash said. ‘The Department of Immigration and Border Protection has no record of visa applications lodged by AUSFIS and the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (MARA) does not list any registered migration agents connected with AUSFIS,’ Senator Cash added.
Details of registered migration agents can be obtained from the MARA website. or go to http://www.visashop.com.au

Planning a trip to Australia? There’s an app for that!

Created on Tuesday, 22 October 2013 04:29 Written by Editorial staff

If you’re planning a trip Down Under, you may want to talk to a migration agent about your options for immigration visas.

You may also want to download Tourism Australia’s new-and-improved ‘There’s Nothing Like Australia’ app, which will provide you with all the information you need to make your stay in our country a memorable one.

It’s available in five different languages: English, Mandarin, German, Cantonese and Korean.

The original version of the app was launched in June 2012. It has since undergone a variety of improvements, courtesy of PadWorx Digital Media Inc.

This innovative business used feedback from users of the previous app, as well as “new research and extensive usability testing” to figure out what alterations needed to be made.

‘There’s Nothing Like Australia’ now contains information about a much broader range of destinations in Australia, including Hobart, Adelaide, Darwin, Perth and Kakadu.

Those who download the app will discover what the best places to stay in these regions are and what kind of events and activities are happening throughout the year.

This will allow them to plan ahead and make the most of their time in Australia.

In addition to this, users are able to customise the app so the content it displays is tailored to their own preferences and tastes.

For example, if you want a beach-centric holiday, you can instruct the app to keep its focus on Australia’s many magnificent beaches. The same can be done for food and wine, the outback and a range of other topics.

Tourism Australia Managing Director Andrew McEvoy said in an October 21 statement that the revamp was all about making this product more personalised, easier to navigate and better to use.

“We broke new ground when we launched this app back in June 2012, but it was always our intention that this would be something that we would evolve, in terms of content, functionality and usability,” explained Mr McEvoy.

‘There’s Nothing Like Australia’ also integrates Google Maps and an assortment of social media platforms, so people can share their experiences with friends and family back home.

So, if you would like some holiday ideas and recommendations, download the ‘There’s Nothing Like Australia’ app (for free) today!

And if you’re in need of advice about immigration visas, make sure you get in touch with migration agents in Australia.

Government takes steps to attract foreign investors

Created on Wednesday, 23 October 2013 04:57 Written by Editorial staff

Premier Denis Napthine has just attended the 51st Japan-Australia Joint Business Conference in Tokyo to celebrate Victoria’s “enduring relationship” with Japan.

Mr Napthine explained in an October 21 statement that Japan is Australia’s third-largest trade partner and Victoria’s biggest source of foreign direct investment.

“Victoria is open for business and we welcome international interest in our many investment opportunities,” he said.

If you are thinking about organising immigration visas and investing in Australia, you may want to discuss your options with a migration agent.

You may, for instance, want to apply for the Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) Visa, which allows you to own or manage an existing business, create a new one or invest in Australia.

According to the Herald Sun, the government is looking at fast-tracking the “special investor visa” program, designed to attract entrepreneurs from Asia to our shores.

Minister for Immigration Scott Morrison said that approximately 400 entrepreneurs are ready and waiting to invest $2 billion into Australia’s economy as part of this program.

Almost half (187) of these people are planning to invest in Victoria, reported the Herald Sun.

“We think people who create business, people who risk their capital, people who go out there every day and create jobs off their own effort and off their own enterprise is what we need to see more of in this country and certainly within our immigration program,” said Mr Morrison.

Parts of Scott Morrison’s Speech to the MIA conference today: Please see link below to read the entire speech:

“In skilled migration, I believe that Australia’s success as an immigration nation is based fundamentally on our commitment to the economic participation of migrants at all levels. Our migration programme has delivered social and economic strength, prosperity and unity; helping create a strong economy but also sustaining our strong, cohesive society.
The continued economic participation of migrants should be our main objective.
We want to bring people to Australia who add value – who have a real go and make a contribution to our society. It’s very much the principle of a fair go for those who have a go. A key reason for our success which continues to set us apart from other countries is that we receive migrants principally and strongly in our skilled migration programme. This programme will continue to be the key driver of our immigration future.
Traditionally, we have structured skilled migration around our permanent programme, made up of the points tested skilled migration stream and the demand driven employer sponsored stream. Around 68 per cent of people migrating to Australia permanently come under the Permanent Skilled Programme and it is a critical focus of ours that we keep it that way, if not even higher. That is why the Coalition is committed to ensuring the proportion of skilled migrants does not fall below two thirds of our overall programme.
Australia’s permanent employer sponsored migration programme plays a pivotal role in ensuring that businesses right across the country, regardless of where their workplace is, can find skilled workers to fill genuine vacancies – and I stress genuine vacancies – where they emerge.
A business that has had to shut its doors because it can’t source the skilled workers it needs employs no one. Employs no one at all. There is a link where this is done properly, and I stress when it is done properly, where the employment benefit for Australians from these programmes is positive. It is a net addition to Australian employment prospects when done properly.
The employer sponsored programme shows significant benefit to Australia, with migrant employment rates of 98 per cent on any given year & the best performing element of the programme by far.”

“More skilled people now arrive on a temporary visa and then having proven themselves and decided they’d like to stay in Australia, they find an employer who is willing to back them. These are exactly the productive migrants we want to encourage to stay. They have worked in our country. They have paid taxes from day one. They have improved their language skills through engagement in the workplace and in the community and off the clock and they are living and enjoying the Australian way of life they came to this country to enjoy, to experience, to be part of and to contribute to.”

“457s have been a mainstay of Australia’s skilled migration programme since their inception in 1996. The programme is flexible and responds to the economic cycle in line with employer demand. The Coalition has always approached this issue from the perspective that Australia’s migration programme is intended as a supplement, not a substitute, to the Australian workforce and there are particular challenges at the moment with changes in the resources sector and the level of peak employment that’s been experienced there and in other parts of the construction sector where people who were working in those roles are returning to their suburbs and communities around Australia and are seeking employment back in those places. Many of those jobs when they were away working somewhere else would have been taken up by others who may have accessed this programme. So that is an environment we need to be very, very conscious of and the government is sensitive to those issues out in the community as we speak. That’s why the 457 programme has to be managed carefully and sensitively with integrity.
If you run your immigration programme properly then immigration creates jobs. That is our history, that is our experience and that is our future.”

“People coming to the country temporarily initially, proving themselves and then making an application for permanent residency. This is a positive pathway that hands the control of the decision to a sovereign country and these are the aspects we will continue to pursue. That pathway from temporary to permanent if managed well has great opportunities for this country. It is probably one of the best ways to manage the integrity of the programme and to ensure that those who do get permanent residency are well suited to it, well qualified for it. They have earned it. They have demonstrated that, rather than the simple processing of applying one day offshore and then turning up some months later in Australia. My preference is the other pathway because it gives greater surety around not just the national security and integrity issues that are so relevant but also the economic and social participation issues that are vital to social and economic cohesion.”

Please Click link below if you would like to read the Ministers entire speech:

http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001AojoO9YxMFmnmUt8pcAJoCo3zOsemwNhJ0IXnqSTI3UceCqTPDEIbwxQaU_szOVwjuMiI8-b_uc1ICnxocKRlso2S4nxCD6TqnbWgY11qLK3vhPKNyOdgAKR8MDyDFs8tUJE-cF4wsBy6_db6kUc_UG2BFAx_fGFR5Zpi9b457UTf12_VazWCAXSWliBBOTwDJEvA4xiwHb3BwlWFjP6spVcKXJ72logjRcijGRghSUUT-kSijBcmaERPCs4uZ_Y

Parts of Scott Morrison’s Speech to the MIA conference today: Please see link below to read the entire speech:

“In skilled migration, I believe that Australia’s success as an immigration nation is based fundamentally on our commitment to the economic participation of migrants at all levels. Our migration programme has delivered social and economic strength, prosperity and unity; helping create a strong economy but also sustaining our strong, cohesive society.
The continued economic participation of migrants should be our main objective.
We want to bring people to Australia who add value – who have a real go and make a contribution to our society. It’s very much the principle of a fair go for those who have a go. A key reason for our success which continues to set us apart from other countries is that we receive migrants principally and strongly in our skilled migration programme. This programme will continue to be the key driver of our immigration future.
Traditionally, we have structured skilled migration around our permanent programme, made up of the points tested skilled migration stream and the demand driven employer sponsored stream. Around 68 per cent of people migrating to Australia permanently come under the Permanent Skilled Programme and it is a critical focus of ours that we keep it that way, if not even higher. That is why the Coalition is committed to ensuring the proportion of skilled migrants does not fall below two thirds of our overall programme.
Australia’s permanent employer sponsored migration programme plays a pivotal role in ensuring that businesses right across the country, regardless of where their workplace is, can find skilled workers to fill genuine vacancies – and I stress genuine vacancies – where they emerge.
A business that has had to shut its doors because it can’t source the skilled workers it needs employs no one. Employs no one at all. There is a link where this is done properly, and I stress when it is done properly, where the employment benefit for Australians from these programmes is positive. It is a net addition to Australian employment prospects when done properly.
The employer sponsored programme shows significant benefit to Australia, with migrant employment rates of 98 per cent on any given year & the best performing element of the programme by far.”

“More skilled people now arrive on a temporary visa and then having proven themselves and decided they’d like to stay in Australia, they find an employer who is willing to back them. These are exactly the productive migrants we want to encourage to stay. They have worked in our country. They have paid taxes from day one. They have improved their language skills through engagement in the workplace and in the community and off the clock and they are living and enjoying the Australian way of life they came to this country to enjoy, to experience, to be part of and to contribute to.”

“457s have been a mainstay of Australia’s skilled migration programme since their inception in 1996. The programme is flexible and responds to the economic cycle in line with employer demand. The Coalition has always approached this issue from the perspective that Australia’s migration programme is intended as a supplement, not a substitute, to the Australian workforce and there are particular challenges at the moment with changes in the resources sector and the level of peak employment that’s been experienced there and in other parts of the construction sector where people who were working in those roles are returning to their suburbs and communities around Australia and are seeking employment back in those places. Many of those jobs when they were away working somewhere else would have been taken up by others who may have accessed this programme. So that is an environment we need to be very, very conscious of and the government is sensitive to those issues out in the community as we speak. That’s why the 457 programme has to be managed carefully and sensitively with integrity.
If you run your immigration programme properly then immigration creates jobs. That is our history, that is our experience and that is our future.”

“People coming to the country temporarily initially, proving themselves and then making an application for permanent residency. This is a positive pathway that hands the control of the decision to a sovereign country and these are the aspects we will continue to pursue. That pathway from temporary to permanent if managed well has great opportunities for this country. It is probably one of the best ways to manage the integrity of the programme and to ensure that those who do get permanent residency are well suited to it, well qualified for it. They have earned it. They have demonstrated that, rather than the simple processing of applying one day offshore and then turning up some months later in Australia. My preference is the other pathway because it gives greater surety around not just the national security and integrity issues that are so relevant but also the economic and social participation issues that are vital to social and economic cohesion.”

Please Click link below if you would like to read the Ministers entire speech:

http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001AojoO9YxMFmnmUt8pcAJoCo3zOsemwNhJ0IXnqSTI3UceCqTPDEIbwxQaU_szOVwjuMiI8-b_uc1ICnxocKRlso2S4nxCD6TqnbWgY11qLK3vhPKNyOdgAKR8MDyDFs8tUJE-cF4wsBy6_db6kUc_UG2BFAx_fGFR5Zpi9b457UTf12_VazWCAXSWliBBOTwDJEvA4xiwHb3BwlWFjP6spVcKXJ72logjRcijGRghSUUT-kSijBcmaERPCs4uZ_Y

Coalition supports 457 visas and slashes red tape

The Coalition has vowed to remove “union red tape” on 457 visas as business steps up its demands for the turn-around of Labor’s baseless stomping on the scheme designed to bring overseas skilled workers to Australia. Annabel Hepworth writes:

In a closed-door speech yesterday, Australian Mines and Metals Association chief executive Steve Knott advocated the dumping of Labor’s “pre-election, last-minute, politically driven, ill-considered, unnecessary and cumbersome” labour market testing requirements for 457 visas.

The testing requirements were introduced by the Rudd government amid claims of “widespread employer rorting” and require companies to demonstrate that they have tried for four months to recruit Australians before nominating a foreign worker for a 457 visa.

The Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Scott Morrison, said last night: “We strongly opposed these measures in opposition and will be consulting on how best to cut union red tape on 457s, while maintaining legitimate protections that support the integrity of the scheme.

Three cheers for Scott Morrison – HIP HIP HOORAY! HIP HIP HOORAY! HIP HIP HOORAY!

More Irish coming to Australia than ever before, according to Immigration figures

By Gillian Bennett

As Ireland’s economy struggles to recover from the global financial crisis, more Irish than ever before are coming to Australia.

According to figures from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, 40,000 Irish people made Australia their home in 2011 and 2012 with 5,000 people settling here permanently.

Irish heritage minister Jimmy Deenihan says Australia’s visa system makes it a popular target for young Irish professionals looking to establish their careers.

“There’s a very friendly visa system that encourages young Irish qualified people and also skilled people to come to Australia,” he said.

“People with PhDs, people who are highly skilled … so it’s a big gain for Australia but it’s obviously a drain on the resources from Ireland.

“There’s huge connections here (in Australia) in the political world, in the education world, in the medical world and in industry.

“Irish people feel very comfortable coming to Australia because they know there’s a very positive welcome for them here.

Mr Deenihan says the Irish government is now looking to lure migrants back home.”

“Now we are on a recovery trajectory, and hopefully some of these young people that are here in Australia, many on a temporary visa, will have the opportunity to return to Ireland, he said.

“That’s the present government’s ambition.”

Around 50,000 holiday makers and backpackers from Ireland visit every year.

New wave of migration echoes colonial past

This new wave of Irish migration is an echo of Australia’s colonial past.

Tens of thousands of Irish left the country for Australia in the decade after the great famine of the 1840s.

Author Tom Keneally says these migrants were ostracised.

“Towards the end of the great famine there was a build up of orphan girls so they were sent to Australia,” he said.

“A hysteria developed … they were the boatpeople of the 1840s and 50s, the lowest of the low, orphan kids who had seen terrible diseases … and they had a huge impact on Australia because they now have hundreds of thousands of descendants.

“The famine cast a long shadow.”

These migrants shaped Australia’s political and cultural life.

By federation, up to a third of Australia’s population were Irish migrants or their families.

“The Irish brought with them a profound sense of politics and they knew what social justice was,” Mr Keneally said.

“They also brought a certain raucousness that people mistook for lowness of soul.”

Economic woes driving Irish exodus

Ireland has in recent years returned to one of the top ten source countries for permanent migrants.

The Irish are now the seventh largest group choosing to settle in Australia, after India, China, the UK, the Philippines, South Africa and Vietnam.

This time around it is professionals who are leaving.

Four times the number of temporary skilled visas were granted to Irish citizens in 2012 compared to 2008.

Ireland’s economic woes are driving this trend.

After a decade and a half of strong growth and investment that saw Ireland nicknamed “the Celtic tiger”, the global financial crisis hit hard.

Ireland went into recession in 2008 and one year later the economy shrank by seven per cent.

Thousands of workers lost their jobs as the unemployment rate jumped from under five per cent to over 14 per cent.

Visa fee hikes ‘blatant cash grab’

23 Aug 2013By Thea Cowie

(AAP)
Australia’s visa fees are set to rise again, prompting migrant and industry groups to accuse the Labor government of a blatant cash grab.

0
CommentsAdd comment
The cost of most visas rose more than 75 per cent in the May budget but now prices are set to rise a further 15 per cent in September.

The fee hikes were buried in the Treasurer’s economic statement made just prior to the election being called.

Visa prices are set to rise for the second time in three months after a 75 per cent increase for most visa categories in the May budget.

Hardest hit are people wanting to come to Australia on 457 visas.

From September, a foreign skilled worker will have to pay $1,035 for their visa.

Up until the end of June, the fee was just $455.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry is not impressed by two fee hikes in three months.

The group’s director of employment, education and training, Jenny Lambert says there’s no reasonable explanation for the rise.

“There is no correlation between processing costs and visa fees. It is a blatant revenue grab. The impact on business is going to be in a range of different areas: firstly it will add to the problems that had already been changed in relation to the 457 visa conditions by introducing labour market testing and the likes.”

The latest rise of 15 per cent applies to all categories of visa except for student and electronic tourist visas.

Prior to July 1, it cost a 457 visa applicant a 50 per cent surcharge to bring their partner and a 25 per cent surcharge for children under 18 years.

From September, it will cost the same to bring a partner as to gain a 457 visa – $1035, three and a half times more than it did at the start of the year.
CEO of the Migration Council of Australia Carla Wilshire says there are long-term ramifications.

“One of the things we need to be concerned about is will that change the makeup and will that lead to a preference by employers for single workers? Ultimately that will have a longterm impact in terms of the nature of the program and who’s coming to Australia.”

Ms Wilshire says 457 visa holders make a considerable contribution to the nation, paying more than two-billion dollars in taxes over three years.

She says she can’t see what they’re getting for their money.

“That’s a lot of tax revenue but not a lot of assistance. 457 visa holders, their spouses don’t have access to English language classes. 50 per cent will go on to settle permanently in Australia. One of the things we need to consider is what support we’re providing to make sure they integrate well into our community and our society.”

The issue of foreign skilled workers has been high on the political agenda this year with Labor passing legislation to ensure companies advertise for local workers before bringing people in on 457 visas.

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union has accused employers of rorting the scheme to give Australian jobs to foreign workers and to lower industry wages and standards.

CFMEU construction division National Secretary Dave Noonan says the visa fee hike won’t do anything to stop abuse of 457 visas but it will help cover taxpayer costs.

“All that this proposal does is actually mean that the costs to the Australian taxpayer is actually paid for. What’s been happening previously is that Australian taxpayers have been subsidising employers who want to access 457 visas.”

Humanitarian visas will be largely exempt as they are almost all free.

Costs will rise, however, for visas under the Community Proposal Pilot which began in May and is essentially a private sponsorship program for up to 500 refugees.

From September it would cost a sponsoring organisation almost $22,000 for a humanitarian visa, up from $19,000 just a few months ago.

Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul says it seems unreasonable fees are going up already.

“I think it creates a very, very unnecessary obstacle. This is meant to be part of the humanitarian program, it’s meant to be something which is going to provide a number of other spaces for people to come and raising these fees would seem simply to make it more difficult and it’s counter intuitive.”

The application fee of $30 for onshore protection visas will also rise, but the government would be hoping its offshore processing policies mean it won’t be collecting any of that extra revenue.

General skilled migration visas are also set to rise with the base charge increasing to more than $3,500 while onshore partner visas will rise to more than $4,500.

The highest cost continues to be for parents of Australian citizens wanting to come to Australia, who will soon have to pay almost $56,000 – up from around $42,000 earlier this year.

Migration Institute of Australia CEO Maureen Horder says Contributory Parent visas have long been too expensive.

She says older migrants have plenty to offer the nation and the economy.

“Grandparents in many cultures have a critical role to play in supporting their children and their grandchildren so often they will be the ones who actually stay at home to mind the grandchildren while the parents who are out there working. That is a very direct contribution to our community and to our economy.”

Ms Horder says Australia’s visa fees are already much higher than those of other western countries and she fears the nation’s reputation is suffering because of Labor and Coalition government migration policies.

“Well we’re losing that lovely thing about being a fair nation, you know g’day mate, being welcoming when we keep doing horrible things to people and we have been as a nation through our busy migration programs and different policies.”

SBS has contacted the immigration minister and opposition immigration spokesperson for comment and neither has returned our calls.