According to information released by the Department of Home Affairs on 11 September 2020, under Freedom of Information request (FOI), the interim nomination allocations or States and Territories for Skilled Nominated visa (Subclass 190), Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (Subclass 491), Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa (Subclass 489) and Business Innovation and Investment Program for 2020-21 Program Year is as follows. 2020-21 Interim Allocation Subclass 190 State/Territory Skilled Nominated Subclass 491 and 489 Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Business Innovation and Investment Program Australian Capital Territory 250 45 4 New South Wales 550 150 200 Victoria 600 200 400 Queensland 200 200 160 Northern Territory 80 80 5 Western Australia 200 40 70 South Australia 300 600 180 Tasmania 250 400 5 Total 2,430 1,715 1,024 Under the Freedom of Information Act 1982, there is a general right of access to information held by Commonwealth Departments and Authorities. If you have any questions or are seeking more information, Get In Touch with us or call us on (02) 4626 100 to speak to one of our Registered Migration Agents in Sydney who can help you.
Business and Skilled Migration Queensland (BSMQ) has opened the State Nomination for Business Program and Skilled Migration Program from Tuesday 29 September 2020 until Monday 05 October 2020 to consider decision-ready applications in a COVID-19 priority area. While the Business Program is open to onshore and offshore applicants, the Skilled Migration Program is open only to onshore applicants in Queensland. During this period, only new Expression of Interests (EOIs) lodged on SkillSelect from Tuesday 29 September 2020 will be considered for nomination. Further, the applicants must be prepared to upload all supporting documents in 24 hours if an invitation is made. BMSQ will conduct priority processing for: Subclass 132 – Significant Business History stream Subclass 188 – Business Innovation stream Subclass 188 – Significant Investor stream Subclass 188 – Entrepreneur stream Subclass 491 – Small business owners’ pathway applications or where visa applicants have worked in their nominated occupation in a Regional Area of Queensland for at least 3 months Subclass 190 – where visa applicants have worked in their nominated occupation in Queensland for at least 6 month To know more, click here.
On 18 September 2020, Australian Government announced re-appointments of 16 members to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) comprising 1 full-time senior member, 3 full-time members, and 12 part-time members. The AAT is an Executive Tribunal that conducts independent merits review of administrative decisions made under Commonwealth laws. The Migration and Refugee Division of the AAT acts according to substantial justice and the merits of the migration cases, to resolve, in accordance with the law and its own published procedures, applications for review of a primary decision of refusal or cancellation by the Department of Home Affairs. The Attorney-General, the Hon Christian Porter MP said, “All of the appointees are highly qualified to undertake the important task of conducting merits review of government decisions.”
Migration (LIN 18/036: Period, manner and evidence of labour market testing) Instrument 2018, as amended by Migration (LIN 20/156: Jobactive – Period, manner and evidence of labour market testing) Amendment Instrument 2020 dated 31 August 2020 to include additional requirement for undertaking labour market testing (LMT) for various employer sponsored visas, has been compiled and registered on the Federal Register of Legislation on 30 September 2020. Accordingly, sponsors who are considering nominating overseas skilled workers for employment on a Subclass 457 (Temporary Work (Skilled)) visa, Subclass 482 (Temporary Skill Shortage) visa or Subclass 494 (Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional)) visa after 30 September 2020 will have to advertise the vacancies for the nominated occupations on JobActive, in addition to one or more other advertisements for at least 4 weeks. To access the full compilation, click here.
Migration (Approved Activities) Instrument (LIN 20/053) 2020 dated 25 September 2020 [“the Instrument”] specifies approved activities when voluntarily engaged in by detainees in Immigration Detention. The approved activities include activities for personal purposes such as gardening, cleaning, or painting; cooking and food preparation; community activities; educational classes and activities; computer activities; arts or crafts; excursions; religious services and cultural activities; and recreational activities such as games, physical fitness activities, reading, music, sport and sporting competitions, and television and movies. Engagement by detainees in any of the approved activities will not be considered to be performing work in breach of paragraph 235(3) of the Migration Act 1958. According to Section 2 of the Instrument, it comes into effect from 01 October 2020, i.e., the day after its registration on the Federal Register of Legislation. To access the full Instrument, click here.
Australian Citizenship Act 2007 and Australian Citizenship Regulation 2016, as amended by Statute Update (Regulations References) Act 2020 (No. 18, 2020) to update references to Regulations in the Commonwealth Statute law, have been compiled and registered on the Federal Register of Legislation on 29 September 2020 and 30 September 2020, respectively. The Commonwealth Statute laws updated include Age Discrimination Act 2004, Airports Act 1996, A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999, Australian Citizenship Act 2007, Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011, Customs Act 1901, Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, International Monetary Agreements Act 1947, Judicial Misbehaviour and Incapacity (Parliamentary Commissions) Act 2012, and Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004. The compilation of Citizenship Act has not incorporated the amendments made by Australian Citizenship Amendment (Citizenship Cessation) Act 2020 (No. 88, 2020) which amends the provisions under Australian Citizenship Act 2007 regarding Citizenship renunciation and revocation and Citizenship cessation determinations. However, these provisions are in effect from 18 September 2020 and are currently in force. To access the modified compilation of Citizenship Act, click here. To access the modified compilation of Citizenship Regulation, click here.
Canberra Matrix open to Canberra residents only. 457 visa / 482 visa holders: 16 invitations ACT 190 nomination: 10 invitations ACT 491 nomination: 6 invitations Matrix nominating Critical occupations: 206 invitations ACT 190 nomination: 147 invitations ACT 491 nomination: 59 invitations Invitations were not issued for an occupation if the monthly cap was met. The next Canberra Matrix invitation round will be held on or before 09 October 2020.
The Department of Home Affairs have released information on 08 September 2020 under Freedom of Information request (FOI) providing information on Subclass 189 visa applications granted between 01 March 2020 and 31 August 2020 categorised by occupation of the primary applicant. According to the information, the following number of visas have been granted: Month Visas Granted March 2020 750 April 2020 129 May 2020 136 June 2020 161 July 2020 172 August 2020 151 The Department has also released information specific to visa applications granted 189 points tested and NZ stream with occupation of Management Consultant (ANZSCO – 224711) as per the FOI request, including undecided visa applications for on hand. To access the full disclosure, click here.
The Department of Home Affairs has published ‘Skilled visa newsletters – September 2020’ on its website providing information on Global Business and Talent Attraction Taskforce, Skilled Regional visa, Business Innovation and Investment Program, and Employer Sponsor Program. The Department has provided detailed information including, COVID-19 concessions to assist prospective Skilled – Regional (Subclass 887) visa applicants, enquiries about the Subclass 485 Temporary Graduate Visas, applications processed by the Business Innovation and Investment Program team in Adelaide, Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy refund requests for Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) Visas Subclass 482, babies and the TSS visa, temporary employment changes in Subclass 457, 482 & 494 visa holders, arrangements for skilled workers from Hong Kong, and new Labour Market Testing (LMT) requirements. To view full newsletters, click here.
The Department of Home Affairs have released information on 14 September 2020 under Freedom of Information request (FOI) providing information on the number of Skilled – Regional (Provisional) Subclass 489 visa applications lodged, granted and refused for applicants within and outside Australia for the period between July 2019 and August 2020. According to the information, the following number of visas have been lodged, granted and refused during this period: Status Total Visas Applications Lodged (Within Australia) 3,448 Applications Lodged (Outside Australia) 6,475 Applications Granted (Within Australia) 5,382 Applications Granted (Outside Australia) 7,475 Applications Refused (Within Australia) 141 – 146 Applications Refused (Outside Australia) 348