Latest Australia Immigration News

AUSTRALIA IMMIGRATION UPDATES

6^th July 2022

Australia lifts COVID-19 border restrictions

From 6 July 2022, COVID-19 border restrictions for people travelling to and from Australia are changing.

Travellers will not need to provide evidence of their vaccination status, and unvaccinated visa holders do not need an exemption to travel to Australia.

People entering Australia by air or sea will no longer need to complete a Digital Passenger Declaration or a Maritime Travel Declaration.

These changes to border requirements are an important step as Australia transitions to a new COVID-normal.

Remember – if you are travelling to Australia, you must wear a mask for the duration of your flight.

15^th June 2022

Temporary changes to visa work conditions for Study Visa holders

In January 2022, the Australian Government made temporary changes to visa work conditions for Students and Working Holiday Makers.

As per this temporary relaxation, student visa work hours have been temporarily relaxed. This measure takes effect immediately for all ongoing students as well as new student arrivals, including secondary applicants.

Students will be able to work before their course of study commences. They will also be able to work more than 40 hours a fortnight in any sector of the economy. These temporary measures remain in place until further notice.

Working Holiday Makers: 6 Month Limitation Rule Relaxed

From 19 January 2022 to 31 December 2022 the 6 months work limitation has been temporarily relaxed.

Until 31 December 2022, Working Holiday Makers will no longer need permission from the Department to work for the same employer for more than 6 months.

Working Holiday Makers can work in any location, occupation or industry while in Australia. Under Condition 8547, work with any one employer is generally limited to 6 months. From 19 January 2022 to 31 December 2022 the 6 months work limitation has been temporarily relaxed.

15^th April 2022

Australia Opens Its Doors to More Working Holiday (WHV) Makers:

From 1 July 2022, the age limit for Italian and Danish citizens wanting to work and travel in Australia will increase from 30 to 35 years of age.

On 31 March 2022, two new Work and Holiday arrangements, were signed, with Mongolia and Brazil increasing the number of countries and regions participating in the Working Holiday Program to 47.

There will be cap increases for Hungary and Austria to increase from 220 to 500 places and Slovak Republic to increase from 200 to 1000 places.

2022-23 Budget Allocation for Australian Skilled Migration:

The Morrison Government has allocated the 2022-23 budget to address the critical skill shortages, drive innovation and attract investment.The Government’s Migration Program will focus on skilled migration, with a return to a pre-pandemic composition of roughly two-thirds/one-third across the Skill and Family streams.

15^th March 2022

AUSTALIA SKILLED MIGRATION UNDER A DAMA:

Apply For Subclass 482, 494 & 186 Under A DAMA(Labour Agreement):

The DAMA is an employer-sponsored visa program and individual workers cannot apply independently. Employers must apply to the relevant DAR to access the DAMA for the occupations, concessions and number of workers they required.

Generally, the application process consists of:

Step 1. The employer (sponsoring business) applies to the relevant DAR for endorsement.

Step 2. The DAR assesses the endorsement application.

Step 3. If the assessment is positive the DAR issues a letter of endorsement to the employer and notifies the Department.

Step 4. The sponsoring business makes an application to enter into an individual DAMA labour agreement with the Department.

Step 5. The Department assesses the DAMA application.

Step 6. On receival of a positive outcome from the Department, the employer can proceed to lodge a nomination for the employee and the employee can also lodge a visa application under the labour agreement stream with the Department.

There are currently nine DAMA lists in place:

• The Orana region DAMA (NSW) with 33 occupations available and skills and work experience, salary, English and permanent pathway concessions.
• The Northern Territory DAMA (NT) with 117 occupations available and English and salary concessions for some occupations.
• The Far North Queensland (FNQ DAMA 1.2) (QLD) with 163 occupations available and English, skills, experience, salary and permanent residency (PR) pathway concessions.
• The Adelaide City Technology and Innovation Advancement DAMA (Metro) (SA) with 61 occupations available and English, age, salary and permanent residency pathway concessions.
• The South Australian Regional Workforce DAMA (Regional) (SA) with 190 occupations available and English, age, salary and permanent residency pathway concessions.
• The Victoria’s Great South Coast DAMA (VIC) with 38 occupations available and English, skills, experience, salary and permanent pathway concessions for some occupations.
• The Goldfields DAMA (WA) with 125 occupations available and English, salary and permanent pathway concessions.
• The South West DAMA (Shire of Dardanup) (WA) with 56 occupations available and TSMIT, English, PR Pathway and Age concessions.
• The Goulburn Valley DAMA (VIC) with 56 occupations available and Qualifications & Experience, TSMIT, English, PR Pathway and Age concessions.

15^th February 2022

1. Australia Reopens its borders for all travellers from 21 February

   Australia will reopen to all fully vaccinated visa holders, welcoming the return of tourists, business travellers, and other visitors from 21 February.

   Australia’s health system has demonstrated its resilience throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, including though the recent Omicron wave. With improving health conditions, including a recent 23 per cent decline in hospitalisations due to COVID, the National Security Committee of Cabinet today agreed Australia is ready to further progress the staged reopening of its international border.

   Visa holders who are not fully vaccinated will still require a valid travel exemption to enter Australia, and will be subject to state and territory quarantine requirements.

2. A DAMA Agreement opens in Western Australia

   The Federal Government of Western Australia has just opened a New Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) with the Shire of Dardanup in its South West region.

   The South West DAMA (Shire of Dardanup) aims to fill critical labour shortages with skilled migrants in key roles where Australian workers are unavailable. This new agreement intends to contribute to the region’s economic growth and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on worker shortages across all industries in the area.

   Applying under a DAMA agreement is an excellent option for skilled migrants in regional Australia, offering access to occupations that may not be available through mainstream visa programs and providing a range of concessions.

   The new South West DAMA allows local businesses to employ suitably skilled workers in 56 occupations classified in the following sectors:

   • Carers, Health & Welfare Workers
   • Hospitality, Accommodation, Tourism, and Retail Sector
   • Construction Industry & Engineers
   • Agricultural Industry
   • Dairy Industry
   • Mechanical Industry
   • Medical
   • Plant Operators
   • Technology

15^th January 2022

New South Wales, Australia opens permanent residency for Offshore Migrants

The New South Wales government has started inviting the visa applications from offshore migrants under the Subclass 190 skilled nominated visa stream.

The state government announced changes to its current visa process. It said offshore applicants skilled in certain ANZSCO unit groups are now eligible for NSW nomination.

The state government said applicants, both offshore and onshore, for certain ANZSCO units groups, such as plumbers and electricians, now require a minimum of three years of work experience.

The work requirement has also changed to three years for certain ANZSCO unit groups, which are currently open to onshore applicants. These groups include chefs, cooks, computer network professionals, enrolled nurses and welfare support workers.

15^th December 2021

ANZSCO - 2021 Australian update

This release of the ANZSCO was limited toa targeted update of occupation relating to agriculture, cyber security and naval ship building. The updates in this release have been made by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in consultation with other Australian Government Agencies.

The ANZSCO 2021, Australian Update reflects a review of occupations associated with the following four areas

• agriculture, forestry and fisheries
• cyber security
• naval ship building, and
• emerging occupations identified by the National Skills Commission

These areas are based on priority areas for the Australian labour market and were chosen to test a new approach to updating this classification. This update represents the first incremental step of a larger program of work to update this classification. Other priority areas are expected to be addressed in future regular updates of the ANZSCO.

This update has been undertaken in respect of the Australian labour market only. It has not considered changes in the New Zealand labour market.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics

27^th September 2021

South Australia includes more occupations for Offshore applicants

To manage South Australia’s COVID recovery response, an additional 70 occupations will be open to applicants currently residing offshore from Tuesday 28 September 2021:

The minimum requirements for state nomination include at least 8 years work experience in the occupation or closely related occupation and a proficient plus English level. Full requirements for each occupation will be shown on South Australia’s Skilled Occupation List from 10am, ACST, Tuesday 28 September 2021.

For South Australian state nomination, prospective applicants must meet the Department of Home Affairs requirements, state-specific occupation requirements and have skills in an occupation that is available on our Skilled Occupation List. Offshore applicants meeting the minimum published requirements can lodge a Registration of Interest (RoI) from 10am, ACST, Tuesday 28 September 2021.

Please note that state nomination is a competitive process. There is no guarantee of receiving an invitation to apply for state nomination after lodging an RoI, even if the minimum requirements are satisfied. South Australia cannot indicate the likelihood of invitation or answer enquiries on this matter.

Source: https://www.migration.sa.gov.au/

2^nd June 2021

Important update for International Students

Student Visa fee waiver:

The Department will waive the visa application fee to allow the International Students to submit a further student visa application to complete their study. This will be available to students who held a student visa on or after 1 February 2020 and couldn’t complete their course in their original visa validity because of the impacts of COVID-19. This includes students who:

• deferred study as they were unable to enter Australia because of travel restrictions
• were forced to reduce to a part-time study load
• were unable to complete their work-based training or placements

This measure is not intended for students who are applying for a new student visa due to ordinary reasons (including if they have failed a course or a unit of study, deferred for personal reasons or voluntarily reduced their study load.)

The students must apply for a student visa to have their application for a fee waiver considered and attach a completed Form 1545 COVID-19 Impacted Student from their education provider with a valid Student visa application.

The students must apply for their student visa online.

The students can be in or outside Australia when they apply.

If applying for a fee waiver in Australia, a Bridging visa will not be issued automatically as the fee exemption must be checked first.

This waiver only applies to the visa application fee.

Refunds will not be available for students who have already applied for a student visa. Only new applications will be eligible to have the application fee waived.

Offshore student visa grants:

While the Department has continued to process applications, it has resumed granting visas for students who submitted a student visa application outside Australia where they have met all the requirements.

Please note: While travel restrictions remain in place, you cannot travel to Australia.

13^th May 2021

Australia to keep Migration Program Planning Level 2021-22 maintained at 160,000

Student Visa fee waiver:

The Government will maintain the 2021-22 Migration Program planning level at 160,000. Family and Skilled stream places will be maintained at their 2020-21 planning levels, with a continued focus on onshore visa applicants, including reducing the onshore Partner visa pipeline.

Program planning level 2021-22 (maintained at 160,000):

• 79,600 places for the Skill stream
• 77,300 places for the Family stream
• 100 places for the Special Eligibility stream
• 3,000 places for Child visas managed outside the program ceiling

This measure will ensure the Migration Program is appropriate for the current health and economic circumstances.

12^th April 2021

VETASSESS has postponed its Offshore Practical Interview

Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, VETASSESS is now conducting all Technical Interview assessments online. From February 2021, they have increased the number of interviews conducted every day, in order to reduce delays in scheduling assessments. Offshore practical assessments remain postponed until further notice.

Update on processing times for VETASSESS Assessment

For all full Skills Assessments including post-485 applications and reassessment - change of occupation applications received:

• The approximate time is 8 -10 weeks once VETASSESS has received all documents required for the assessment. Applications confirmed as eligible for Priority Processing are assessed in 10 business days following which an assessment outcome letter is made available to download within 48 hours.

Qualifications Assessment for Temporary Graduate Visa (subclass 485):

• The approximate time is 3 to 5 working weeks once all documents required for assessment have been received by VETASSESS.

For Points Test Applications only (applicants for VETASSESS occupations):

• The approximate time is 4 to 6 weeks.

For Points Test Applications (applicants for non-VETASSESS occupations):

• The approximate time is 3 to 5 weeks.

For Reassessment - Skills Assessment Outcome Review and Appeal applications:

• The approximate time is 11-12 weeks.

Please note that if you are also required to apply for verification of your Chinese education qualifications through VETASSESS, an additional 8 to 10 weeks will be required. Some cases take longer depending on the complexity of the case. As each case is different, the different time frames mentioned above can vary depending on the type of case and the investigations that might be required.

1^st Apr 2021

Important update those you have, or wish to apply for, a Student Visa:

Support for International Students and graduates - The Government has announced a range of visa measures to support students. The measures will be temporary and will continue for as long as necessary -

International students are extremely important to Australia and its economy, contributing $40 billion annually and supporting 250,000 jobs. Many also go on to become great Australian citizens.

While the closure of its international borders has been critical to its success in slowing the spread of the coronavirus, and Australia has been a leader in this regard, it has presented challenges to the education sector and students, both here and offshore.

These five visa changes will ensure international students are not worse off due to the coronavirus pandemic and that Australia remains competitive with other countries.

The changes include:

• The Government will recommence granting student visas in all locations lodged outside Australia. This means when borders re-open, students will already have visas and be able to make arrangements to travel.
• International students will be able to lodge a further student visa application free of charge, if they are unable to complete their studies within their original visa validity due to COVID-19.
• Student visa holders studying online outside Australia due to COVID-19 will be able to use that study to count towards the Australian study requirement for a post-study work visa.
• Graduates who held a student visa will be eligible to apply for a post-study work visa outside Australia if they are unable to return due to COVID-19.
• Additional time will be given for applicants to provide English language results where COVID-19 has disrupted access to these services.

Student visa fee -

The Australian Govt. will waive the visa application fee to allow the students to lodge a further student visa application to complete their study. This will be available to students who held a student visa on or after 1 February 2020 and who couldn’t complete their course within their original visa validity due to the impacts of COVID-19. This includes students who:

• deferred their study as they were unable to enter Australia due to travel restrictions
• were forced to reduce to a part-time study load
• were unable to complete their work-based training or placements.

This measure is not intended for students who are applying for a new student visa due to ordinary reasons (including if those have failed a course or a unit of study, deferred for personal reasons or voluntarily reduced their study load.)

To have their application for a fee waiver considered, they must apply for a Student visa and attach a completed Form 1545 COVID-19 Impacted Student (PDF - 228 KB) from their education provider with a valid Student visa application.

They must apply for their Student visa online.

They can be in or outside Australia when they apply.

If applying for a fee waiver in Australia, a Bridging visa will not be issued automatically as the fee exemption must be checked first.

This waiver only applies to the visa application fee.

Refunds will not be available for students who have already applied for a Student visa. Only new applications will be eligible to have the application fee waived.

30^th Mar 2021

Australia to reopen its international borders for temporary visa holders

Recently newly appointed Immigration Minister Alex Hawke has said in an interview that the Australian Government is ready to open its international borders. He said, ‘’… the government is rolling out our vaccination program and preparing for the opening of our international borders, so we can have those important visits from tourists that spend so much money in our country – but also the international student sector, one of our largest export sectors, they value-add so inherently to the Australian economy – we want to get them back.”

Australia which had imposed border restrictions ever since the Coronavirus pandemic outbreak is now ready to welcome temporary migrants such as international students and visitors according to Immigration Minister Alex Hawke.

This announcement comes in the wake of the latest data from the Department of Home Affairs which revealed that the offshore international student visa applications have gone down registering a decline by 65% in the second half of 2020 as compared to 2019.

According to the minister, migration will play a key role in the economic recovery of Australia from the pandemic. He said, “I’m convinced that the migration program will be a huge part of how we recover from COVID and whether we will be as successful as we can be on that journey.”

Australia is looking at its migration program crucial in the country’s economic recovery post the pandemic. The Australian government is likely to make some changes to its existing immigration rules enforced during in the wake of this pandemic.

18^th Mar 2021

South Australia has changed the occupation list

The SA Govt has silently added these occupations back on the 190 & 491 list after facing the criticism from the Migration Professionals and Students who have studied in South Australia:

1. Accountant
2. Management Accountant
3. Taxation Accountant
4. Cook
5. Café & Restaurant Manager

Tasmania & Northern Territory have also managed their occupation lists for the 491 visa.

The New South Wales’ 491 visa program has options for those who are outside regional NSW but applications are still closed for offshore applicants. Other than offshore applicants, certain stream under NSW’s 491 Visa nomination program are unavailable for some Regional Development Australia.

8^th Mar 2021

Australia Travel Declaration

Before you travel to Australia, you should complete the Australia Travel Declaration at least 72 hours before your departure for Australia.

The Australia Travel Declaration collects your contact details in Australia, flight details, quarantine requirements and your health status.

This information helps the Australian Government determine your quarantine arrangements (if required) and also allows the relevant health departments to contact you if someone you travelled with tests positive for COVID-19.

The Australia Travel Declaration is for these travellers entering Australia:

• Australian citizens and permanent residents
• people who are automatically exempt from the travel restrictions
• people who have been granted an individual exemption to the current travel restrictions.

Travellers who do not need to complete the Australia Travel Declaration include:

• flight crew
• Australian accredited foreign diplomats
• people travelling on military flights

Before you commence the declaration, you will need to have this information ready:

• passport details
• trip information
• destination details
• contact details

You will need to create an account, which will allow you to manage your current and future declarations in one place. However, you cannot update your Australia Travel Declaration answers once it has been submitted.

Each declaration is for single-use and only valid for one flight or journey for the traveller named on the declaration.

Each adult should complete their own declaration. However, parents should complete a declaration for any child under 15 years of age.

If you are transiting through Australia, you need to complete the Australia Travel Declaration.

You do not have to pay for an Australia Travel Declaration — it is free.

Once you’ve completed the Australia Travel Declaration, you will receive an email with details you can show (either electronically or printed) before you board your flight and on arrival in Australia.

If you do not complete the declaration you may not be able to board your flight, or you may experience delays when you arrive in Australia.

Travel exemptions

Travelling from New Zealand to Australia

If you are arriving in Australia by air, and you have been in New Zealand for 14 days or more before you travel, you do not need to apply for an exemption to Australia’s travel restrictions. You are automatically exempt.

You will need to apply for a travel exemption before you travel to Australia if:

• you have been in New Zealand for less than 14 days before your planned departure (including travellers who are transiting New Zealand), or
• you intend to travel to Australia by sea.

If you have already submitted a travel exemption request

We will continue to process travel exemption requests from passengers travelling from New Zealand.

Travelling from Australia to New Zealand

If you are an Australian citizen or a permanent resident you cannot leave Australia due to COVID-19 restrictions unless you have an exemption. You will be subject to New Zealand entry requirements.

Temporary visa holders do not need an exemption to depart Australia.