Visa Newsletters

18th December 2010

Merry Christmas

Introduction
Biometric Testing for Visa Applications – effective 1 Dec 2010
New GSM and ENSOL Lists – effective 5 Dec 2010
Training Benchmarks for 457 Sponsors
New GSM Point Test – effective 1 July 2011
State Migration Plans (part of the GSM)
Decision Ready Checklists (DRC)

Introduction

Walking The Great Ocean Walk along our mighty southern ocean has to be the most soul-cleansing and stress-busting exercise that I have ever done, and the reason for my late December Alert this year! Every step - including a near-miss with a giant tiger snake - reminded me of how lucky I am to be living in this beautiful country of ours. I highly recommend trying this out first-hand and hope that the attached photographs will entice you to experience this! Feel free to share your comments and thoughts via our Twitter or Facebook pages.

Unfortunately, 2010 has not been so lucky for many would-be migrants especially onshore overseas students, with their dream of migrating to Australia being dashed because of the massive changes to the General Skilled Migration (GSM) program this year. Whilst transitional legislations are available to some students, these laws are complex and difficult to understand and many are still being formulated! For example, the legislation for the new Points Test, which was announced recently, is still being drafted as we speak, making it impossible for these people to make any plans, or indeed for migration professionals to give any meaningful advice at the moment. Students must take great care in selecting well-qualified registered agents/lawyers for advice.

As discussed in our previous Alerts, the future GSM program will largely favour applicants who possess superior English, high levels of educational qualifications (PhD!) in a much narrower band of occupations, longer employment period especially experience gained in Australia, and those who are able to seek State nominations. These factors don't augur well for overseas students from non English speaking countries.

Existing 457 holders, on the other hand, are the likely winners as the government favours the employer sponsored visas and will continue to provide priority processing for permanent entry under the 856/857 (ENS/RSMS).

The confusion and uncertainties caused by last year's 457 reform have largely subsided and been replaced with vastly improved processing time of late - except for sponsors with doubtful compliance history. So thumbs up for the Diac staff within the Temporary Entry Unit.

Before you get all excited! We heard that DIAC's Compliance Unit has been busy auditing sponsors to ensure compliance of the new TSMIT threshold of $47,480 (increased in July 2010). Sponsors found to have breached their sponsor's obligations are subject to various sanctions, including cancellation of their sponsorship status, disbarment from becoming a sponsor or delays to their visa applications. As sponsorship status is now an essential tool in attracting/retaining skilled overseas workers, it makes good sense for employers/sponsors to maintain good compliance records. Should you have any questions regarding any compliance or related issues, please contact Abacus Visa.

2010 has been a difficult year for the migration industry. Despite difficult times, Abacus Visa has continued to grow culminating in our recent relocation to our own purchased office in Surry Hills.  For this, I must thank you all – our clients, friends and followers of facebook and twitters – for your continued trust and support. The Abacus Visa Team remains fully committed in providing efficient, proactive and cost-effective services to our clients.

May the Festive Seasons bring you and your families boundless joy and happiness.

(Please note Abacus Visa will be closed from 23 December 2010 until 3 January 2011 inclusive. Skeleton staff will be available for urgent matters only during this period.)

Finally, I would like to close this year by giving you a summary of the major changes in the last quarter of 2010.


Biometric Testing for Visa Applications – effective 1 December 2010

The Minister for Immigration, Chris Bowen, has announced that the use of Biometric Testing for all onshore protection and offshore visa applications from certain countries was to begin on 1 December 2010. Reasons given include the strengthening of border protection, improving identity management and reducing immigration fraud.

The biometric testing includes the collection of a facial digital photograph and a 10-digit fingerprint scan taken through a digital scanner. The biometrics must be provided each time an applicant makes a visa application. The nationality of the applicant is not relevant, but rather the country in which the application is lodged.

Who needs to provide Biometrics

Onshore - All Protection visa applications
Offshore - All paper-based (including 457, tourist) applications lodged in: 
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Kuwait
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
Zimbabwe

These locations are specified in the Legislative Instrument issued by the Minister for Immigration and a full listing of countries with addresses are included in the Instrument. Mr Bowen said additional countries in Europe and Asia will be included in the program over the coming months.

Effects: This new requirement will add cost and delays for applicants. Importantly, it will make it extremely inconvenient for people who need to travel Australia frequently, as they are required to provide biometrics each time they make a new visa application.

DIAC references:
Legislative Instrument IMMI 10/014
Biometric Visa Processing FAQ


New GSM and ENSOL Lists – effective 5 December 2010

On 3 December 2010, the Minister for Immigration released new Skilled Occupations Lists for both the GSM and ENS which took effect on 5 December 2010. All applications lodged on or after 5 December 2010 must use the occupations in these new lists.

1. New Skilled Occupation Lists (SOLs) for GSM 
2. New ENS Occupation List (ENSOL) & Minimum Salary Levels – subclasses 121 and 856 
3. Critical change - the minimum salary for the Highly Paid Position was raised from AUD 165,000 to AUD 250,000.

The new GSM SOL specifies occupations, points, skilled occupations and countries for General Skilled Migration. Since 1/7/2010, the SOL comprises of 4 Schedules as follows:

Schedule 1 (transitional arrangement) – applies to all GSM applications lodged before 1 July 2010.

Schedule 2 (transitional arrangement for onshore students) - applies to a person who:

a)held a 485 visa on 8 February 2010, and who applies for a 885, 886 or 487 before 1 January 2013, or
b)applied for a 485 which is not yet finalised, and applies for a 885, 886 or 487 before 1 January 2013, or
c)held a student visa 572, 573 or 574 on 8 February 2010, and applies for a 485 visa after 7 July 2010 but before 1 January 2013. (if applying for a further GSM onshore later, Sch 3 must be used!)

Schedule 3 (all new applicants) - applies to a person who applies for a GSM visa on or after 1 July 2010.

Schedule 4 (the SMP List) - applies to a person who applies on or after 1 July 2010 for 176, 475, 487, 886, and is nominated by a State or Territory government agency.

Comments:
There have been no substantial changes to the GSM SOLs apart from the fact that TRA has replaced Vetassess as the assessing authority for a number of occupations in Schedule 2 and 3.

In addition, the following Occupations have been added to Schedule 4 (which is a good thing).

  • Chief Executive or Managing Director – 111111 [AIM 60 points]
  • Advertising and Public Relations Manager – 131111 [AIM 60 points]
  • Art Administrator or Manager – 139911 [VETASSESS – 50 points]
  • Conference and Event Organiser – 149311 [VETASSESS – 50 points]
  • Liaison Officer – 224912 [VETASSESS – 50 points]
  • Jewellery Designer – 232313 [VETASSESS – 50 points]
  • Web Designer – 232414 [VETASSESS – 50 points]
  • Food Technologist – 234212 [VETASSESS – 50 points]
  • Biotechnologist – 234514 [VETASSESS – 50 points]
  • Education Reviewer – 249112 [VETASSESS – 50 points]
  • Network Administrator – 263112 [ACS – 60 points]
  • ICT Systems Test Engineer – 263213 [ACS 60 points]
  • Fisheries Inspector – 311311 [VETASSESS – 50 points]
  • Primary Products Inspector nec – 311399 [VETASSESS – 50 points]
  • Fitter and Turner – 323212 [TRA – 60 points]
  • Snowsport Instructor – 452314 [VETASSESS – 50 points]

Training Benchmarks for 457 Sponsors

Employers applying for approval as sponsors under the subclass 457 visa program must demonstrate their contribution and commitment to the training of Australians by providing evidence of meeting the training benchmarks. These benchmarks are strictly assessed and failure to meet these requirement will lead to refusal of a sponsor's application.

Currently sponsors may choose one of the following two training benchmarks:

Training Benchmark A
Applicants to pay the equivalent of at least 2% of the recent payroll expenditure to an industry training fund. The industry training fund must operate in an industry related to the applicant's business.

Or

Training Benchmark B
Applicants must provide evidence of spending the equivalent of 1% of payroll on training for their employees who are Australian citizens or permanent residents.

A preliminary list of Acceptable Organisations has been released for Benchmark A by Diac.

If your organisation has issues in meeting the training requirements, please do not hesitate to contact Abacus Visa to discuss this matter further.

DIAC references:
DIAC Training Benchmark FAQ Sponsors
Legislative Instrument IMMI 09/107


New GSM Point Test – effective 1 July 2011

On 11 November 2010, the Minister for Immigration Chris Bowen, announced the new Points Test for General Skilled Migration, which is to take effect on 1 July 2011.

The new Test is part of a suite of changes to the GSM since early 2010 and designed to complement the much narrower new SOL introduced on 1 July 2010 (a new SOL has just been released effective 5/12/2010). Again, as with other changes already in place, there will be winners and losers.

It is important to note that the new Points Test is not yet passed by the Parliament and is subject to change. It is therefore difficult to provide any in-depth analysis. The following preliminary observations, however, should be of interests to our readers:

Occupation
No points will be awarded, making it a level playing field for all applicants whose occupations are on the new SOLs.

Age
18 – 44 (18 – 49 under current Test). This suggests that the threshold Age requirement will be raised to 49 – allowing older and highly skilled applicants to apply.

English Language
A new English language level is to be named 'Superior English' (IELTS 8) and will gain 20 points. Competent English' (IELTS 6) – which is the threshold requirement for GSM– will receive NO point. Winners will be those who have a high level of English language skills – likely to be native English speakers.

Australian Employment Experience
Australian employment experience in the 'nominated' or 'closely related' occupation will be given additional points for extended periods- currently only 12 months is counted. Winners will be those who are able to accumulate longer work experience in Australia – likely to be 457 holders.

Overseas Employment Experience
Additional points for longer periods of professional work experience. However, it remains to be seen as how DIAC will manage the integrity checking of these claims.

Educational Qualifications – Australia and Overseas
People with higher educational qualifications will be given additional points, particularly for those with PhDs. Again, we await with interest the identification of these 'recognised' overseas qualifications and the management of the related integrity issues.

Lets also hope that the award of 20 points to PhD graduates will not encourage another rush by Australian education providers to create 'payless' style PhD courses for overseas students!!

Family sponsored visas – will be the biggest losers
Applicants can no longer be sponsored by their Australian relatives for GSM permanent entry. Only those people who have relatives living in the Designated Areas can apply for the provisional regional sponsored visas.

Designated Language
Must hold Naati accredited status in the designated language – a degree in that language is no longer sufficient.

Passmark = likely to be 65 (no difference between independent and sponsored visas).

Concluding remarks:
As discussed in our previous Visa Alerts, the GSM reform has been designed to attract migrants who can provide maximum benefits to Australia with:

* Higher levels of educational qualifications
* Employability in Australia
* Longer periods of professional employment experience
* Superior English language skills.

As the suite of changes to the GSM has been massive with an enormous amount of complicated transitional legislations, potential applicants should seek proper and qualified advice in order to navigate the immigration mine field.

DIAC references:

DIAC Website - New Points Test Factsheet
DIAC Website - New Points Test FAQ


State Migration Plans (part of the GSM)

State Migration Plans have been introduced by all state and territory governments, with the exception of NSW and South Australia. Neither of these governments have any imminent plans to introduce these plans in the near future. 
Applicants who are nominated under the State Migration Plans by a State or Territory Government will receive additional points and faster processing.

The plans will provide state and territory governments with flexibility within the Migration Program to address specific skill shortages and local labour market needs as each agreement will be tailored to the individual requirements of each jurisdiction.
Under these Plans, state and territories are able to nominate only those applicants whose nominated occupation is included on their respective Plan. States and territories will however have some limited capacity to nominate applicants where their occupation is not specified on their Plan. These provisions allow states further flexibility in providing nominations which may be valuable in meeting shortages in very specialised occupations. The availability of this facility is entirely at the discretion of the state and territory government, and states and territories are not obliged to offer any nominations outside the occupations specified in their Plan.

State Migration Plans will apply to those applicants who obtain nomination from a state or territory government and apply for one of the following visas:

  • Skilled Sponsored Subclass 176
  • Skilled Sponsored Subclass 886
  • Skilled Sponsored – Regional Subclass 475
  • Skilled Sponsored – Regional Subclass 487

To lodge a new visa application, applicants must obtain nomination from a state or territory government prior to lodging their visa application.
State and territories will include information on the eligible occupations included in their Plans on their respective web-sites. 

The requirements to meet a state migration plan has become extremely onerous. If your occupation is on the new SOL – the major advantage is the ability to move up to the Processing Priority List, thus fast-tracking the visa application process. Applicants are encouraged to check the respective state/territory governments' websites for regular updates.

DIAC References:
State Migration Plans Fact Sheet 
State Migration Plans Frequently Asked Questions


Decision Ready Checklists (DRC)

Certain visa applications lodged with a Decision Ready Checklist receive faster processing from DIAC. This is to enable Diac to finalise decision ready applications and reward applications which are complete and ready and thereby reducing Diac's time and resources! This makes perfect sense.

This scheme is currently only available to applications lodged by Registered Migration Agents. It was initially used by the GSM Brisbane Office and has recently been extended to the ENS and RSMS applications.

GSM applications

  • Must have been lodged onshore and online;
  • For subclass 485, 487, 885, 886, 887 only;
  • Lodged with the Brisbane Skilled Processing Centre;
  • Can ONLY be used if the applications is 'absolutely COMPLETE' - failure to comply (3 strikes rule) will lead to an agent being barred from using this facility!
  • Occupation must be on Schedule 3 of the SOL. However once the SMPs are in place, the DRC will only be available to applicants sponsored by State/Territory governments. Hence the use of DRC for GSM is unclear at the moment.

ENS and RSMS applications

  • DRC must be provided by the registered agent when a paper application is lodged.
  • No provision to allow additional documents to be submitted after the lodgement.
  • Only for new applications lodged after 11/10/2010, and not for applications already lodged (which is somewhat unfair to applications already lodged which are decision ready!)
  • Important to note – if an application involves complicated issues e.g. seeking a waiver for English under exceptional circumstances etc, it is not recommended to use the DRC facility. As Diac could also quickly refuse an application based on the claim that it is a decision ready application. (carrot and stick!)

3 Strikes Rule for Agents -

Registered agents must ensure that only an 'ABSOLUTELY COMPLETE' applications use this facility. A 3-strike rule is applied to Agents who abuses this scheme.

Despite some advantages of the scheme, there has been a lot of misinformation and rumours which have been circulated around. Understandably many applicants who receive half-baked information have put pressure on their agents to lodge a DRC applications when in fact the application does not meet the requirements. This has made our lives extremely difficult as we not only need to satisfy the requests and needs of our clients but also ensure we are not placed in a position which could see us barred from utilising the service.

We ask our readers to acquaint themselves with the relevant requirements before asking their agents to submit a DRC – to avoid negative effects not only on your own application, but on your agent also.