PR carrot for semi-skilled workers under DAMAs, extended to south-west Victoria

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PR carrot for semi-skilled workers under DAMAs, extended to south-west Victoria

Announcements made this week will see the renewal of the Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) in the Northern Territory and a DAMA in south west Victoria, with more being considered. However, the bigger reveal is that these two DAMAs will come with it a pathway to a permanent visa, which is a significant development as semi-skilled workers have not been a feature of Australia’s skilled migration program for many years.

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Business sponsor shame list to begin 13 December 2018; Powers to request tax file numbers; Clarity on review rights for refused sponsored visas

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Business sponsor shame list to begin 13 December 2018; Powers to request tax file numbers; Clarity on review rights for refused sponsored visas

New regulations will come into force on 13 December 2018 that will see the Minister of Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs publish a list of sanctioned business sponsors, what obligation they breached, and the sanction they received.

The Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs will be able to request from visa applicants, sponsors, and nominators, tax file numbers of visa holders and former visa holders for many temporary and permanent skilled visas. The ramifications of this may see more visas refused and cancelled.

Lastly, amendments have been made to give more certainty to sponsored or nominated workers whose visa applications are refused to seek review at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

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On the horizon: TPP-11 countries to be exempt from 457/482 LMT; character test to be toughened

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On the horizon: TPP-11 countries to be exempt from 457/482 LMT; character test to be toughened

Upcoming change to labour market testing (LMT) exemptions for Subclass 457 – Temporary Work (Skilled) and Subclass 482 – Temporary Skill Shortage visas are due to come into effect on 30 December 2018. This will add signatory nations of the TPP-11 who have also ratified the agreement to the list of countries exempt under international trade obligations.

Also, the character test is set to toughen (pending the passage of legislation). The new provisions will add a category of designated offences to the definition of what is a substantial criminal record. If passed, visa refusals and cancellations based on character will most likely increase.

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Designated Area Migration Agreements slated for Cairns, Orana, and Warrnambool

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Designated Area Migration Agreements slated for Cairns, Orana, and Warrnambool

The Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, in a recent speech, has said that the progress of a number of Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMAs) made between state and territory authorities and the Department of Home Affairs (Home Affairs) may be finalised in the coming months. DAMAs are a type of labour agreement that are utilised for chronic shortages in mostly semi-skilled occupations and that can carry concessions over the standard requirements for a Subclass 482 – Temporary Skill Shortage visa.

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