Welcome to CENTIEM’S newsroom. Here you will find a variety of news items and commentary featuring the latest developments in international employment and migration. This page will be updated weekly to ensure you are always up to date.
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09 May 2012
On 8 May 2012, Treasurer Wayne Swan released the 2012-13 Budget for the Gillard Government announcing measures to return the budget “to surplus while ensuring families and small businesses share in the benefits of the resources boom”.
The accompany Department of Immigration & Citizenship (DIAC) Portfolio Budget Statements outline a number of strategic priorities for DIAC for 2012-13 including:
- Contributing to Australia's economic, labour market, social and environmental objectives through a holistic long-term planning framework for temporary and permanent migration; and
- Consolidating changes to the skilled migration program to ensure it is responsive to economic cycles, the needs of industry and employers, and better address the nation's future skills needs.
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07 May 2012
A labour hire firm is being prosecuted by the Fair Work Ombudsman for allegedly underpaying a Student visa holder more than $8000. Also facing prosecution is the sole director of the labour hire firm which has been engaged in supplying catering and hospitality workers to clients.
Click here to read more.
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13 April 2012
In a joint media release with the US Ambassador, Minister Chris Bowen and Senator Chris Evans, announced plans to streamline licencing arrangements for US tradespeople.
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05 April 2012
The Federal Magistrates Court has imposed a penalty of $72,000 on a Melbourne restaurant following an investigation and litigation by the Fair Work Ombudsman regarding underpayments to a sponsored 457 visa holder.
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28 March 2012
Evidence provided by Engineers Australia during a recent Senate enquiry indicates that Australia is training less than half the Engineers it needs and the situation is only going to get worse. Click here to read more
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20 February 2012
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10 January 2012
Fair Work Australia received over 4000 complaints in the retail sector, the highest of any individual industry.
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10 January 2012
The Indian Prime Minister announced measures earlier this week to expand the country's Labour Mobility Partnership Agreement which provides for bilateral cooperation regarding the welfare of overseas migrant workers.
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12 December 2011
The Minister for Immigration & Citizenship has today announced that new laws will be introduced in 2012 to reform the employer sanctions regime. This announcement follows recommendations from the Howells Review, released in July this year.
New non-fault penalties will apply such that employers will be liable even where they had no knowledge that a non-citizen did not have permission to work. The exisiting criminal penalties will remain.
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30 November 2011
The Federal Government will introduce a "user pays" style pricing model for visa fees to better reflect the costs of processing applications. The changes, starting over the next two years, will see the introduction of additional fees for dependent family members, higher fees for paper based applications where there is an online option, and an annual CPI increase to most visa subclasses.
To read more about the changes click here.
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30 November 2011
Mining worker in Perth yesterday marched in response to claims that a major contractor on Western Australia's multi-billion dollar Gorgon project were exploiting foreign workers and undercutting Australian jobs. Allegations that that Allseas – a contractor for Chevron – are bringing in workers under the visitor visa program are currently before the Federal Court.
To read more click here.
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28 November 2011
Alleged misuse of the 456 business (short stay) visa has led to a strike by over 100 construction workers on a major accommodation project in Perth. Stop work action has resulted in response to claims that visa holders are being exploited and used for ongoing work, which is not permitted by the 456 visa.
To read the article click here.
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28 November 2011
The Federal Government has indicated that they will be making cuts to the generous living-away-from-home-allowance (LAHFA) currently available to foreign workers. It is estimated that the Government could be losing out on $740 million in tax revenue through LAHFA, with over half of this being kept by foreigners.
To read the article click here.
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21 November 2011
Hundreds of foreigners have enquired about how to get a job in the Australian resources sector after an article, profiling a WA miner who earns $200,000 a year, appeared in the Wall Street Journal recently. Enquiries came from far and wide with both men and women, skilled and unskilled, keen for high paying, stable jobs, even if it meant being away from family.
To read the article click here.
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17 November 2011
The Government's eagerly anticipated 457 accreditation scheme came into effect last week, with employers now able to apply for "accredited status" with DIAC. The scheme offers priority processing for 457 applications and is available to sponsors who can meet certain criteria, including having at least $4 million annual turnover, a 75% Australian workforce, and a good immigration compliance history.
To read the Fragomen alert click here.
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17 November 2011
The Skilled Occupations List (SOL), which forms the basis for the independent general skilled migration scheme is currently undergoing its annual review. Skills Australia has called for submissions from stakeholders to assist in the formation of the 2012 list.
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16 November 2011
A Gold Coast based wedding planning company and its director have received $25,500 in penalites for underpaying 14 of their workers, all Japanese nationals. The penalties are the result of a prosecution by Fair Work Australia who found that the company had underpaid the student and working holiday visa holders a total of $16,340 over 4 years.
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18 October 2011
Understanding the English language requirements for Australian visas can be confusing, and can lead to delays in recruitment and visa preparation. Fragomen explains these language requirements, and the issues for some of the more commonly sponsored visas, in an article for HC Online.
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17 October 2011
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship’s 2010-2011 Annual Report, released last week, confirms that use of the 457 visa program is continuing to increase rapidly. With total visa grants reaching 90,120, the uncapped 457 program now rivals the government’s priority employer sponsored permanent skilled migration scheme, which dropped 10% in application lodgment rates over the same period.
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12 October 2011
Minister Chris Bowen today announced that the Australian Government has made an agreement to include Papua New Guinea under the Work and Holiday visa scheme. The scheme allows people aged 18 -30 to visit and work in the other country for 12 months.
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30 September 2011
The Australian Government has announced the introduction of a new post study work visa for international students as part of a number of measures to enhance competitiveness in Australia's international education sector.
The visa will enable graduates to work in Australia for between two and four years in any occupation, to augment their post graduate employment experience.
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30 September 2011
Businesses and individuals related to a Perth café have received nearly $30,000 in fines for failing to keep proper records for three foreign workers.
The penalties are the result of an investigation and prosecution by the Fair Work Ombudsman and are the highest ever secured for a case solely involving record-keeping and pay slip breaches.
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29 September 2011
Australian industry will benefit from more immediate job training investment with the Government announcing the accelerated commencement of the National Workforce and Productivity Agency and “Skills Connect” initiatives.
$109 million in funding will be available for the remainder of 2011-12 in an effort to train workers for a move from low growth sectors to those experiencing high skills shortages.
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27 September 2011
The Minister for Skills and Jobs, Senator Chris Evans, has recently announced the first wave of successful projects under the $200 million Critical Skills Investment Fund (CSIF). The funding has focussed on the resource, construction, infrastructure and renewable energy industries with almost half the training initiatives to be conducted in regional Australia.
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26 September 2011
Electrical, plumbing, gasfitting, property, air conditioning and refrigeration occupations will be the first under the new national licensing system to be managed by the National Occupational Licensing Authority (NOLA) in Sydney.
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09 September 2011
Prime Minister Julia Gillard yesterday announced the expansion of the Pacific Island Seasonal Workers Scheme to include Nauru, Samoa, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. The program, which brings workers from Pacific countries to assist horticulture enterprises during harvests, will also be trialed in the tourism sector with workers from East Timor being invited to work in Broome.
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17 August 2011
The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission says that Australia could be in be in breach of it's obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child if it continues to charge temporary visa holders a fee to send their children to attend state public schools.
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11 August 2011
The Government yesterday announced a new $588 million National Workforce Development Fund (NWDF) to provide skills training to Australians in occupations suffering critical skills shortages.
The fund, set to provide training for 130,000 Australians, will start taking bids from organisations immediately. Funding will be provided on the basis of a co-contribution model where business will contribute between 33% and 66% of accredited training costs.
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21 July 2011
Immigration Minister Chris Bowen has announced an overhaul of the sanctions system which deals with employers who engage illegal workers in Australia. The announcement coincides with the release today of the review of the Migration Amendment (Employer Sanctions) Act 2007 by independent legal expert Stephen Howells, whose recommendations, including the introduction of strict liability offences with penalties of up to $10,000 per illegal worker, have been accepted in principle by the Government.
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19 July 2011
Federal Minister Chris Bowen has today announced new measures to tackle the critical skills shortages evident in Western Australia by including Perth as a regional city for the purposes of the regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS).
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18 July 2011
A new report released today by Monash University says that Australia could reduce its targeted annual net immigration by half and still meet the demands of the current resources boom. The report, entitled 'Immigration and the Resources Boom Mark 2' has found that if today's net overseas migration target of 180,000 a year were slashed to 90,000, the pool of available workers would still expand significantly over the next decade.
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08 July 2011
The 457 State/Territory Summary Report released this week by DIAC shows that the program has seen a substantial increase in applications in the 11 months up to May 2011 – a 38.3% on the same period last year. The report looks at the use of the 457 across industry, occupation and location with the mining, construction, and professional, scientific and technical sectors still the biggest users of the program. Business Spectator has a look at the emerging trends in 457 usage and whether this will meet the unrelenting demand for skills in the resources sector.
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30 June 2011
The Australian Mines and Metals Association’s chief executive Steve Knott will today warn the Government that the worsening labor shortage is hurting productivity, could impede growth and push projects offshore.
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30 June 2011
Senator Chris Evans has announced a “very positive” response from industry to the first round of funding available through the newly established Critical Skills Investment Fund, with over 190 organisations submitting an Expression of Interest.
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27 June 2011
As from 1 July 2011, there will be an increase in the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) and a higher salary threshold to obtain an exemption from English language proficiency tests for the Subclass 457 visa.
Click here to read Fragomen's client alert.
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08 June 2011
The Department of Immigration & Citizenship (DIAC) has released 'The Outlook for Net Overseas Migration', a quarterly report providing forecasts and projections of net overseas migration (NOM) by flow and major visa component over the next five years.
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08 June 2011
This is considered in a joint report released by Skills Australia and the Academy for Social Sciences Australia, Critical Issues Facing Australia to 2025: Summary of a Scenario Development Forum.
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