On 05 August 2020, the Victorian Government has announced further support, in addition to previous financial assistance and a range of other government assistances, for temporary and provisional visa holders in the State. The Government has offered the ‘Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment’, announced by the Commonwealth Government, for Victorians who have no source of income because of self-isolation or quarantine due to COVID-19. The State also offers support for wearing face masks and coverings, including distribution of 2.1 million reusable face masks to vulnerable Victorians and agencies delivering services in the fight against COVID-19. This is in addition to previously announced financial assistance and other assistances including support for job seekers and renters, setting up AUD $45 million International Student Emergency Relief Fund for international students facing financial hardship during the crisis, relaxation of work hours, relief payments for temporary visa holders, support for multi-cultural and multi-faith families, and public housing support.
The Migration & Refugee Division at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) has released an online form for requesting an expedited decision for reviews of migration matters. An expedited decision may be made in favour of the review applicant, without conducting a hearing, when the AAT is objectively satisfied of the new evidence submitted on the relevant issues in dispute. To request an expedited decision, the following requirements must be met: The applicant applies for review of a visa refusal decision; and Refusal of visa was on grounds of one or more visa criteria not being met; and New documentary evidence to be submitted demonstrates the criterion or criteria are now being met. Requesting an expedited decision is not available for review of a decision about nomination or sponsorship of an activity, occupation, position or person; or if the criterion requires a subjective assessment of any matter, including determining the requirement of a genuine relationship for a partner visa or determining the requirement of a genuine temporary entrant for a student visa. To request an expedited decision at the AAT, click here.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), March 2020 quarter witnessed greater impact on tourism jobs than other jobs in the economy due to the impact of bushfires and COVID-19 as tourism activities tend to be labour intensive. Head of ABS Tourism Statistics, Amanda Clark, said, “The number of filled jobs in the tourism industry fell 3.0% between March 2019 and March 2020, while economy wide filled jobs grew by 1.7%… While many areas of tourism activity were adversely affected, filled jobs in Accommodation services fell the most decreasing 11,600 jobs between March 2019 and March 2020.” In this period, tourism jobs in Australia decreased by 21,900 (3%) compared to an increase of 243,900 (1.7%) in the overall economy.
04 August 2020, in a joint media release with Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management, the Hon David Littleproud MP, the Hon Michaelia Cash and Dr Sam McMahon, have announced that the Commonwealth and the Northern Territory Governments ‘agreed to conduct a trial aimed at addressing the labour shortages affecting NT farmers’. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on agriculture due to labour shortage in the Northern Territory, which relies heavily on seasonal workers and Working Holiday Makers for food growing, especially mango growing, the Governments have agreed on a targeted trial to meet the labour needs. As per the announcement, initially the programme will be open to Vanuatu citizens only, with possibility of adding more countries later. The Northern Territory Farmer’s Association has forecasted a shortage of 800 to 1,000 workers from August onwards. Minister Littleproud said, “This trial will see up to 170 workers under the Seasonal Worker Programme come to Australia to help with the 2020 harvest, with more workers to potentially follow subject to a review of the first cohort and approval for additional numbers by the NT Government.” Acting Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, the Hon Alan Tudge MP said, “With appropriate quarantine arrangements in place, seasonal and Pacific workers can continue to safely support Australian farmers facing critical workforce shortages…of course, farmers can only employ people under the Seasonal Worker Programme and Pacific Labour Scheme if they can demonstrate that no Australian is available to do the work.”
The business visitor stream of Visitor Visa (Subclass 600) allows you to travel to and visit Australia for business purposes. This visa facilitates conducting legitimate business visitor activities but does not extend to undertaking work for or providing services to an organisation, or selling goods or services directly to the general public. Eligibility for Business Visitor Visa You must: Meet the health and character requirements Not have debts to the Australian Government Have sufficient funds to support your stay in Australia Have a genuine intention to stay in Australia temporarily Perform only legitimate business visitor activities For this purpose, Regulation 1.03(a) of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) defines ‘business visitor activity’ as: “any of the following activities undertaken by a person: making a general business or employment enquiry; investigating, negotiating, entering into, or reviewing a business contract; an activity carried out as part of an official government to government visit; participation in a conference, trade fair or seminar in Australia unless the person is being paid by an organiser for participation;” Accordingly, any activities other than the above-mentioned ones are not permitted on this visa and may result in breach of your visa condition leading to your visa cancellation. Further, you cannot add dependant family members in your visa application. Each family member travelling with you must apply for a separate Visitor Tourist stream visa (Subclass 600). It is important to know that the Department may refuse to grant this visa if it is not in the best interest of an applicant who is a child, less than 18 years old. In addition to Business Visitor Visa, Electronic Travel Authority (Subclass 601) and e-Visitor Visa (Subclass 651) also allow you conduct legitimate business visitor activities, if you have a passport from an eligible country. These visas usually have an attached Condition 8115 which precludes visitors from undertaking work that may otherwise be undertaken by an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident or a temporary work visa holder. If you want to know more about business visas or are seeking any migration assistance, Contact Us or call us on (02) 4626 100 to speak to one of our Registered Migration Agents in Sydney to discuss your options.
According to sources, Australia’s net overseas migration has fallen from 232,000 in 2018-19 to 154,000 in 2019-20. Further, Australia is set to experience a dramatic drop in migration in the year 2020-21 where the net number of migrants is expected to be 31,000. Merrick Peisley, Principal Advisor at the Centre for Population said, “With net overseas migration expected to fall, regions that rely on overseas migration for population growth will likely be hardest hit.” He also said, “Australia’s population growth is set to be the lowest in over 100 years due to COVID-19.” Certain regions in Australia that rely heavily on migration to drive population growth or regions like Western Australia’s wheat belt area are among the adversely affected areas, hit the most by the border control measures adopted in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
On 26 July 2020, South Australian Government has announced that its Skilled and Business Migration programs will remain closed until further notice. Accordingly, the State nominations are closed until the nomination quotas are allocated by the Commonwealth Government for the 2020-2021 program year. Previously, the State had announced that the Skilled and Business Migration programs will remain closed until August 2020 in South Australia. With this announcement, the migration programs will remain closed until further notice in the State.
The Department of Home Affairs acknowledges multiple reports of scams involving impersonations of the Department that have been reported to ACCC’s (Australian Competition & Consumer Commission) Scamwatch, and recommends to stay alert and report the scams. ACCC Deputy Chair, Delia Rickard said, “Scammers are increasingly taking advantage of the financial difficulties and uncertainty generated from the COVID-19 pandemic to trick unsuspecting Australians…We are seeing two main types of scams impersonating government departments; fake government threats and phishing scams.” Usually, the victims receive a fake robocall pretending to be from a government department, such as the Department of Home Affairs, and the scammers try to scare and threaten people into handing over money. In the current year so far, 2,016 scams involving Department of Home Affairs impersonations have been reported, with losses amounting to over AUD $99,000. To report a scam on ACCC website, click here
In financial year 2019-2020, a record number of 204,817 people were conferred Australian citizenship, an increase of over 60 per cent from the previous financial year, where 127,674 people were conferred Australian citizenship in 2018-2019. In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Government has conferred citizenship to more than 60,000 people through online ceremonies, while small in-person ceremonies have also resumed since 03 June 2020. The top nationalities of people who were conferred citizenship are India (38,209), United Kingdom (25,011) and China (14,764). Hon Alan Tudge MP, Acting Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs said, “When someone becomes a citizen, they make a pledge to uphold Australia’s rights, liberties, laws and democratic values. It represents a willingness to integrate into our successful multicultural nation…Being an Australian citizen is an immense privilege, which brings both rights and responsibilities. I congratulate all those who have taken this important step.” According to the Department of Home Affairs, more than 5 million people have become Australian citizens since the introduction of concept citizenship in Australia in 1949 vide the erstwhile Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948 (Cth).
Migration (LIN 20/158: Class of Persons for Student (Temporary) (Class TU) Visa Applications) Instrument 2020 dated 24 July 2020 [“the Instrument”] specifies additional classes of persons applying for a Student Visa (Subclass 500) to whom the nil VAC (Visa Application Charge) applies. The Instrument provides that international students who held a valid Subclass 500 visa on or after 01 February 2020 will pay nil VAC while re-applying for a further Subclass 500 visa to complete their study if they were unable to complete it within the original visa validity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, current or recent students whose studies were affected by COVID-19 pandemic and their family members (combined applicants) have been included as the 2 new classes of persons to whom the nil VAC applies, in addition to the previously existing 7 classes. The Instrument repeals the previous Migration (LIN 20/099: Classes of Persons for Student (Temporary) (Class TU) Visa Applications) Instrument 2020 dated 24 February 2020. Further, the Instrument is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation on 29 July 2020 and as per Section 2 of the Instrument, it commences on the day after registration and accordingly, is in effect now. To access the full Instrument, click here.