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• Any 457 sponsorship, nomination or visa applications that are NOT listed in the relevant Instrument IMMI 17/040  (check any notes against your occupation) and NOT decided by 18th April 2017 will no longer be able to be approved. Refund of DIBP application fees may be available.
• Any new 457 applications lodged from 19 April 2017 onwards will have to have their occupation on the STSOL or MLTSSL occupation lists.
• If you are granted a 457 visa after 18 April 2017 off the STSOL list, it can only be granted for 2 years. There will be one (only) further extension allowed after that for another 2 years. You will not be allowed to apply for a permanent 186/187 visa under that occupation if it is on the STSOL.
• If you are granted a 457 visa after 18 April 2017 off the MLTSSL list, it can be granted for 4 years. You will be able to be apply for a permanent 186/187 visa after 3 years on a 457 visa if that company decides to nominate you.
• From March 2018 the new TSS visa will have replaced the 457 visa. You will need to have 2 years work experience before applying and your occupation will have to be on the STSOL or MLTSSL lists. If you are on the STSOL list you will also have to show you only want to stay in Australia temporarily.
• From March 2018 you need to have your occupation on the MLTSSL occupation list to apply for company/employer sponsored permanent residence. You will also need to commit to working for the company for 3 years, have an IELTS of 6+ and be under 45 years of age.

Some consequences of this:

1. Occupations such as cook and restaurant manager are on the STSOL list. While you can still be sponsored for 2 years by a restaurant on the 457 visa and gain another 2 year extension, you can no longer apply for a permanent visa unless it is added to the MLTSSL list for you being in a designated regional area.
2. Retail manager is still available in regional areas for the 187 visa at the moment. But from March 2018 this will not be the case, as this occupation is not on the MLTSSL list.
3. Most student graduates will not be eligible for temporary or permanent company sponsorship after March 2018 as you require at least 2 years FULL-TIME WORK EXPERIENCE first.

The Prime Minister and Minister for Immigration confirmed that existing 457 visa holders (as of 18 April 2017) will still be able to apply for a Permanent visa and will not be affected by these changes. (See News.com.au article)

Timeline of future 457 changes are:

from 19 April 2017 – 216 occupations removed and 59 others restricted, 24 occupations restricted to regional Australia, Occupational lists renamed, validity period for occupations on STSOL 2 years.

from 01 July 2017 – English salary exemption $96,400 to be removed, training benchmarks to be changed, mandatory penal clearance certificates.

before 31 December 2017 – collection of TFN for 457 visa holders for ATO data matching, publication of sanctioned sponsors.

from March 2018 – 457 visa abolished and replaced with TSS visa which will comprise the Short-Term(2 years) and Medium-Term stream(4 years).

Timeline of future 186/187 changes are:

from 19 April 2017 – CSOL condensed, 216 occupations removed, 24 occupations restricted to regional Australia, Occupational lists renamed as STSOL and MLTSSL.

from 01 July 2017 – review of STSOL and MLTSSL, IELTS 6 required in each component, changes in age (DE stream 45 years old, no change to TRT).

before 31 December 2017 – collection of TFN for 457 visa holders for ATO data matching, publication of sanctioned sponsors.

from March 2018 – the MLTSSL will apply to ENS/RSMS with additional regional occupations, Market salary rate will apply and meet TSMIT, eligibility period for PR extended from 2 to 3 years, at least 3 years’ work experience required, under 45 years of age, contribution towards training fund.

Minister Morrison has announced the processing of visas will recommence for residents of the Democratic Republic of Congo as the World Health Organisation (WHO) has now declared the West African nation Ebola free.

Processing of over 200 visa applications from that country had been paused during the outbreak. (more…)

A system fault has been identified in the ImmiAccount ENS 186 / RSMS 187 online lodgement system. Where an application for an ENS 186 is made for a company with an address in a regional area, the online system defaults to an RSMS 187 application.

The Department is aware of the problem and working to fix it. In the interim, urgent ENS nominations can be lodged using the system under the 187 default. You can contact the relevant PESE section to inform them of the issue with the processing and also log a complaint with IT Support at [email protected] (more…)

Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash, has announced today the release of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service’s new Tourist Refund Scheme (TRS) mobile and web applications.

Minister Cash said the new applications are intuitive and will help facilitate faster refund claims for Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Wine Equalisation Tax (WET) by departing passengers. (more…)

In October this year more people arrived from Australia than went there from New Zealand, and Prime Minister John Key says it’s `a big milestone’.

Source: 

AAP, SBS World News

24 NOV 2014 – 10:02 AM  UPDATED 25 NOV 2014 – 8:09 PM

Fewer New Zealanders are leaving for Australia and more Kiwis are returning home.

In October 17 more people arrived from Australia than went there from New Zealand, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key told reporters on Monday. (more…)

People could be denied citizenship or in some cases have their citizenship revoked over drug abuse or mental illness.

People could be denied Australian citizenship or have their citizenship revoked, under certain conditions, if they are ordered to undertake drug rehabilitation or a residential program for the mentally ill, under legislation that passed the House of Representatives on Monday.

The Australian citizenship and residential amendment bill will face a challenge in the Senate, where Labor and the Greens oppose it. (more…)

Below are links to information on the Department’s website on what tests and what scores are needed for the various standards of English.

Functional English

http://www.immi.gov.au/FAQs/Pages/how-can-i-prove-i-have-functional-english.aspx (more…)

Joint media release with the Australian Federal Police, the NSW Police Force, NSW Crime Commission and the Australian Crime Commission

29-11-2014 –

Six men have today been charged by the Joint Organised Crime Group (JOCG) for their involvement in the attempted importation of almost three tonnes of MDMA and crystal methamphetamine (ice) into Sydney.

This seizure is estimated to be worth up to $1.5 billion on the street. (more…)

Select Legislative Instrument No. 182, 2014 – F2014L01617 – Migration Amendment (Complementary Protection) Regulation 2014 has been released in readiness for changes expected to be made if the Migration Amendment (Protection and Other Measures) Bill 2014 is passed.

The Migration Amendment (Protection and Other Measures) Bill 2014 will clarify the ‘risk threshold test’ to applied when assessing protection visa applications based on Australia’s protection obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (the ICCPR) and the Convention againstTorture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the CAT). (more…)

The Migration Amendment (Character and General Visa Cancellation) Bill 2014 has been passed by both Houses of Parliament and will come into effect when Royal Assent has been given by the Governor General.

Schedule 1 of the Bill amends the character test provisions and Schedule 2 amends the general visa cancellation powers of the Migration Act 1958. The purpose of the amendments are designed to ‘strengthen the powers to refuse to grant, or to cancel, a visa on character grounds by inserting additional grounds on which a person will not pass the character test’. (more…)