In order to allow passage of the China free-trade agreement, the Coaltion government is considering Labor’s compromise proposals, one of which requires that that the income threshold for sc457 workers is increased from the current levels.

Labor has proposed an increase in the TSMIT under 457 scheme from a market rate of $53,900 to $57,000.

The proposal goes directly against the sc457 review committee’s recommendation that the TSMIT is frozen at $53,900 as well as DIBP figures showing that current average wages in the key industry sectors where sc457 workers are hired are well below Labor’s proposal.

If accepted, Labor’s compromise plan for passage of the China free-trade agreement would knock out more than one quarter of this year’s 457 visa program and price some regional areas out of the scheme, according to a report in The Australian.

It's official.

The Office of the MARA staff now refer to one another and to us as case officers.

Make no mistake.  We are now having our repeat registrations decided by DIBP case officers.

Please review the email we have received this morning from an RMA who is chasing up how their repeat registration application is going.

This is the response that the RMA received from the OMARA (which no longer use mara.gov.au emails by the way).

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "YYYY YYYYY" <yyy.yyyyThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. > [removed to protect privacy]
Date: 00/10/2015 0:00 AM [time and date removed to protect RMA]
Subject: [...........]Update on registration application CRM:0000000 [details removed to protect privacy]
To: "XXX XXXXX" <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. > [details removed to protect privacy of agent]
Cc: "ZZZZ ZZZZZ" <zzzz.zzzzThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. > [Office of the MARA case officer's details removed to protect privacy]

New measures are being considered by the government to crack down on businesses who exploit foreign workers - in particular by underpayment and unscrupulous conduct, according to a report in The Sydney Morning Herald.

Employment Minister Michaelia Cash is expected today to unveil a high-level ministerial working group that will look into implementing measures to protect vulnerable visa holders. Chaired by Senator Cash, the group will also include Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, Justice Minister Michael Keenan and Assistant Minister Kelly O'Dwyer.

According to the SMH, the new working group would look to build on the efforts of Taskforce Cadena which was established earlier this year to investigate illegal practices in temporary visa programmes, including the activities of labour hire companies and penalise employers exploiting foreign workers.

"Foreign workers are important contributors to the Australian workforce and we want to ensure they continue to view Australia as a great destination...We know that foreign workers are potentially more vulnerable to workplace exploitation and as such we have a responsibility to investigate additional measures to ensure their protection," Senator Cash told the SMH.

According to Senator Cash, the focus of the group will be on employers engaged in systematic underpayment of employees, rather than companies which accidentally do the wrong thing.

Are you ready for another case involving the AAT and “office equipment”? 

OK then, here we go! 

Suppose you have filed an application for merits review of the refusal of a visa application, but you don’t actually receive a fax notifying you of a hearing before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The Tribunal then proceeds to determine the matter in your absence.

Some times, you just can win no matter what you do!

And that is true even in circumstances where the application of the migration legislation may appear to work an “unjust result”!

A case that recently came before the Federal Court, Ahmed v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (2015) FCA 1059 (1 October 2015) provides a graphic illustration of how this can happen.