457 visa updates – November 2017
There have been a number of 457 visa updates in recent weeks, despite the planned abolition of the visa in March 2018. Many of the changes to the Subclass 457 Temporary Work visa are expected to be replicated in the future Temporary Skill Shortage visa system after March 2018, as the government focuses on increased ‘integrity’ […]
RSMS 187 and ENS 186 visa processing times
The Department of Immigration & Border Protection (subsumed by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) on the 20th December 2017) has flagged that it has changed its approach to the Subclass 187 Regional Skilled Migration Scheme and Subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme visas processing times, in response to a number of factors in the current caseload. These […]
STSOL Occupation List Consultation
The Department of Employment is seeking feedback on potential changes to the Short-Term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL) to come into effect January 2018. Effective April 2017, the Skilled Migration Occupation Lists will be updated every 6 and 12 months. The Short-Term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL) will be updated every 6 months, in July and January, […]
Training Levy framework released
The government’s new Training Levy Bill, expected to take effect from March 2018, will abolish the current Training Benchmark system. The new Migration (Skilling Australians Fund) Charges Bill 2017 will require employers to make a Training Levy payment for each Temporary Skill Shortage visa (TSS), which will replace Subclass 457 Temporary Work program from March 2018, and the […]
Immigration compliance Bill reforms
The government has announced its intention to introduce a new immigration compliance and integrity Bill to strengthen the sanctions against employer sponsors who breach their obligations under the Sponsorship Obligations. The Bill will also enable the Department of Home Affairs to collect additional data on visa holders for data matching purposes and enable it to […]