On 14 July 2020, NSW announced support for temporary visa during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Government will fund AUD $4 million to provide temporary visa holders with access to food and supplies, medical support, telecommunications, transport and essential housing, and support specialist migrant and settlement services, including culturally appropriate case and support workers, transportation and outreach services to connect with isolated communities, and interpreting and translation services. This funding is in addition to the previous grants distributed as emergency relief to asylum seekers. Acting Minister for Multiculturalism, Geoff Lee said, “We know that specialist migrant and settlement organisations have had to really step up in extremely challenging times to support some of the most vulnerable in our society with their most basic necessities”. Temporary visa holders seeking support must apply by 4pm, Monday 27 July 2020. To find more information and check eligibility information, click here.
On 15 July 2020, NAATI (National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters Ltd) announced the addition of Telugu language in the Credentialed Community Language (CCL) testing. The applications are open from 22 July 2020 for undertaking tests in late August 2020. NAATI is the national standards and certifying authority for translators and interpreters in Australia offering CCL tests to assess the applicant’s language abilities at a community level. It is generally undertaken by the applicants who are looking to lodge a point-based visa application with the Department of Home Affairs. On successfully passing the test, the applicants are awarded 5 points. To see the full announcement, click here.
On 13 July 2020, Victoria announced closure of the skilled visa nomination program, for both the Skilled Nominated (Permanent) visa (Subclass 190) and the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (Subclass 491), for the 2019-20 program year as the State’s allocated quota has been exhausted. For 2020-21 program, Victoria is currently closed for accepting any nominations under the Skilled Migration program and the Business Migration Program until the nomination quotas are allocated by the Commonwealth Government. However, the applicants are able to lodge Expression of Interest (EOI) for State nomination under the Skilled Migration program and the State will continue to assess these applications.
The Arrangements for Child Visa Applications 2016/051 is amended vide the Migration (LIN 20/179: Arrangements for child visa applications) Amendment Instrument 2020 dated 15 July 2020 (“the Instrument”) registered on 16 July 2020. The Instrument amends a drafting error, where the option for an application for visa Subclass 445, for a dependent child outside Australia to be made outside Australia, was removed vide the Migration (LIN 20/049: Arrangements for child visa applications) Amendment Instrument 2020. Accordingly, an application by a dependent child of a visa holder of Subclass 309, 310, 445, 820 or 826 visa outside Australia can be made through Form 918. The Instrument has commenced from the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation and is now in effect. To access the full Instrument, click here.
For international students who want to live, study and/or work in Australia, Student and Graduate visas is the way forward. These include Student Visa (Subclass 500) which allows students to enter and study in Australia for up to 5 years, depending on length of the course, Temporary Graduate Visa (Subclass 485) which allows recent graduates to live and work in Australia temporarily for up to 4 years, after completion of studies, and the Student Guardian Visa which allows individuals who want to accompany and care for minors studying in Australia. According to Department of Home Affairs statistics, in the 2019-20 program year, 378,967 student visa applications (Subclass 500 and Subclass 570 to 576) and 75,033 temporary graduate visa applications (Subclass 485) were lodged as on 31 May 2020 (11 months). As there is no cap on the number of student visas that are granted by the Department, out of the total applications received, the Department granted visas as shown in the table below: Visa Subclass Applications received Visas Granted Grant Rate Subclass 500 and Subclass 570 to 576 378,967 323,522 85.4% Subclass 485 75,033 59,529 79.3% Total 454,000 383,051 84.37% Further, in the 2019-20 program year up to 31 December 2019 (6 months), 226,608 student visa applications (including temporary graduate visas) were lodged out of which the Department granted 200,403 student visas, which is about 88.4% approval rate. The graph below shows the number of student visa applications lodged by month – year on year 12 months rolling total basis. The graph below shows the number of student visas granted by month – year on year 12 months rolling total basis. From this data, we can infer that between 01 January 2020 and 31 May 2020 coinciding with the period of Covid-19 crisis, the Department has continued to received and process 227,392 visa applications. During this time, the Department has granted 182,648 visas at the approval rate of 80.3% which is a significant drop of 8% from the 88.4% rate in the previous 6 months (01 July 2020 to 31 December 2019). If you have any questions or need more information about student and graduate visas, Get In Touch with us or call us on (02) 4626 100 to speak to one of our Registered Migration Agents.
If you have ever received a visa refusal or visa cancellation, in certain cases, you may be able to appeal the decision to the Australian Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). The role of the Tribunal is to review the Department’s decision for refusing or cancelling your visa application. They will then determine whether the decision was decided fairly and on reasonable grounds. If not, the Tribunal can overturn the initial decision. If the matter is sent back to the Department for reconsideration, generally speaking, the Department will grant the visa or revoke the visa cancellation. The AAT can review certain decisions made under the Migration Act 1958: to refuse or cancel different types of visas to refuse to approve a nomination of an occupation, activity or position to bar, refuse to approve or cancel the approval of a sponsor Relating to requiring a security. The Migration Act and the Migration Regulations 1994 specify what decisions the AAT can review. Generally, the decision letter from the Department of Home Affairs will tell you if we can review the decision and if you are a person who can apply for a review. Unfortunately, the AAT cannot review every decision to refuse or cancel a visa review a decision to cancel a visa made personally by the Minister for Home Affairs or Minister for Immigration Review a decision if you are not entitled to apply for a review. If a delegate of the Minister decides not to revoke the cancellation of your visa, you can apply for a review by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). If you are in Australia, appeals have strict time limits. You must apply in writing within the time specified by the Department in our decision notice. This is usually the first day of the time period for lodging an application, which is the day on which you are taken to have been notified of the decision. This means that the time period ends on the prescribed number of days after the day on which you are taken to have been notified the decision.And, the other actions you can do is seeking judicial review if you believe the decision was not lawfully made. If your AAT application is successful, then your application will generally be remitted back to then Department for final determination and decision. The Department’s processing time for such applications is generally relatively short. However, processing times do vary significantly especially during these times as a result of the current pandemic we are all facing. It is important to note, however, that receiving an approval of your AAT appeal does not guarantee that your application will be approved. The Department will still need to re-check that all the relevant eligibility requirements are satisfied. There can be instances where a requirement such as a health or character requirement was not satisfied. If in the unfortunate circumstance your application for review at the AAT is not successful, then you will be notified that your current bridging visa will cease in a certain period of time. If this happens you can either seek a Ministerial Intervention or appeal to the Federal Court. Our Registered Migration Agents at Migration Centre of Australia have been in the migration industry for many years and have helped thousands of clients onshore and offshore. We are trained professionals in Australian Migration Law and we are trusted providers in the industry for our services. If you want to know more about visa cancellations and visa refusals, or you wish to speak to us directly about applying for a review or appeal of your visa, contact us today on (02) 4626 1002 or send us an email at info@migrationcentreofaustralia.com.au and one of my registered migration agents will be ready to help you.
Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is postponing the initiation of Australia’s first pilot program to offer International students a safe passage into the country ‘until there is a clearer picture around the COVID-19 trajectory’. According to sources, around 120,000 students are currently refrained from entering the country due to the border closure in response to COVID-19 pandemic. Professor Paddy Nixon, the Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Canberra said, “Given the ever-evolving circumstance of this global pandemic, we think it best to press pause on our plans to return a small number of our valued continuing international students who contribute so much to the vibrancy of our city and our campus”.
The Hon Josh Frydenberg MP, Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Australia has advised that an update on the economic and fiscal outlook will be provided on 23 July 2020. Earlier, in a joint media release with Senator the Hon Mathias Cormann, Minister for Finance on 20 March 2020, he had announced the Government’s decision to defer the 2020-21 Budget until 06 October 2020 in light of the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. The industry is expecting changes to the Migration Program planning levels due to the impact of COVID-19. Further, the updates to the skilled migration occupation lists for March 2020 as suggested by the Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business on 13 December 2019, have also been delayed. For the time being, the 2019-20 Migration Program continues to remain in place.
After the Migration & Refugee Division of the AAT issued COVID-19 Special Measures Practice Direction dated 27 April 2020 (“the Direction”) with effect from 29 April 2020, the AAT is now working towards resuming limited in-person hearings in the registries at Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart, Perth and Sydney. The AAT is preparing to schedule in-person hearings within the next few weeks for matters in which a remote hearing is not practicable and deferment is not an option.The AAT is considering to list in-person hearings in accordance with the Direction on a case by case basis. In appropriate matters, the AAT will contact the parties as to hearing arrangements. However, for the time being, most AAT hearings will continue to be conducted remotely via video conference or telephone.
The Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (“the IA-CEPA”) enters into force in Australia on 05 July 2020 vide the Notice of Entry into Force of the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement dated 25 June 2020 (“the Instrument”) According to the Preamble of the IA-CEPA, the countries recognise “that open, transparent and competitive markets are key drivers of economic growth, poverty reduction, job creation, innovation, expansion of productive capacity and human development”. International Trade obligations are relevant in migration context as labour market testing is not required in case of any conflict with these obligations. In this regard, the Migration (LIN 20/029: Determination of International Trade Obligations Relating to Labour Market Testing) Instrument 2020 dated 28 January 2020 provides a list of 14 agreements, including the IA-CEPA, that determines international trade obligations of Australia regarding labour market testing. To read the Instrument, click here. To see list of all Australia’s international trade obligations, click here.