Australia needs 2 million migrants by 2026
Australia needs an explosive immigration boom committed to bringing in 2 million people over five years to assist with an economic rebuild and combat a looming labour shortage crisis currently facing the nation. An ambitious national immigration plan like Australia’s post-World War II approach would ensure the nation benefits from the skills, investment and […]
I shared the dreams of my fellow Afghans – now they’re in tatters
The below is an opinion piece by Hadi Zaher that was published in the Sydney Morning Herald on 16 August 2021. The original article can be found here. In 2005, a few short years after the fall of the Taliban regime, I was in central Bamiyan on a family visit. It was remarkable to see […]
Australian Citizens Living Abroad: What are the grounds for outbound travel exemptions?
Until recently, Australian citizens ordinarily resident in other countries have been able to return to Australia and then leave without requiring additional permission. This all changed last week with the federal government quietly removing that exemption, triggered by Greg Hunt, the Minister for Health and Aged Care amending the Biosecurity Determination 2020 on 1 August […]
New COVID rules for Australians who live overseas and wish to travel home to Australia
Australian citizens who are returning to Australia but live permanent overseas will no longer be granted an automatic exemption from the ongoing international travel ban. Instead, they will now have to submit a “compelling reason” to return to their home abroad. Reasons like having a home and work abroad could be considered compelling, however there […]
Expansion to the Priority Skilled Migration Occupation List (ANZSCO)
Alex Hawke MP, The Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural announced the inclusion of pharmacists on the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL). This recognises the role pharmacies will continue to play in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout. The new occupations are (including ANZSCO codes): Hospital Pharmacist (251511) Retail Pharmacist (251513) Industrial Pharmacist (251512) These […]
Travel Exemptions for Individuals with Critical Skills and Businesses in Critical Sectors
For all information on the Australian Governments current stance on travel exemptions visit their website. Critical skills and sectors To understand the circumstances under which The Commissioner of the Australian Border Force may grant an individual exemption to a non-citizen please review the Department of Home Affairs website. An individual can submit a request for […]
Hong Kong Nationals Provided Visa and Priority Arrangements By Australian Government
With the significant political unrest in Hong Kong for the last year, which resulted in new security laws being imposed in Hong Kong at the beginning of 2021. The Australian government has suspended the extradition agreement with Hong Kong and moved to offer new “safe-haven” type visas to Hong Kong residents currently in Australia. The […]
New Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP) Fact Sheet
The Department of Home Affairs has released a handy new fact sheet: Streamlining the Business Innovation and Investment (BIIP) that provides a concise overview of the pre and post 1 July 2021 program requirement changes that have now come into effect. The newly introduced requirements are in response to the Departments inquiry ‘Business Innovation and […]
Skilled Migration positioned to boost Australia’s COVID recovery
The occupations on the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL) have further expanded in a hope to combat the skills shortages bought on by COVID. Alex Hawke MP, The Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs has again today announced the inclusion of a range of skilled occupations on the Priority Migration Skilled […]
Increases To The Department of Home Affairs’ Visa Application Charges
From July 1, there will be an increase in the Visa Application Charges (VACs) across multiple visa categories by the forecast CPI of 1.75% rounded to the nearest $5.00. Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP) VACs will increase by ~11% as well as the 1.75% previous announced. The visas subclasses subject to these increases are: […]