For all those people thinking about calling 131 881 to speak to someone in a DIBP call centre here are some tips:

PHONE CALL 1

1. Always ask the operator what their name is.  They may only give you a first name.

Migration Alliance is in receipt of information from a few different RMAs regarding ImmiAccount and missing documents.  The following email from an RMA best describes the core issue:

"I have noticed an issue today with online applications on my ImmiAccount

On a number of my lodged 457 applications, documents which had been attached during lodgement are subsequently missing from the uploaded document list.

Will Immigration minister, Peter Dutton show some heart? The Townsville boy whose mother’s visa was refused because both the delegate and the MRT considered that he would be a ‘burden on the system” has sent a letter to the minister together with a 4000 page petition with over 122,000 signatures pleading that he and his mother who have lived here for over 8 years are not deported because he suffers from autism.

Maria Sevilla is a nurse who works at the Townsville Hospital where she looks after stroke victims. Her son Tyrone suffers from autism, a developmental condition that affects, among other things, the way an individual relates to his or her environment and their interaction with other people. An estimated one in 100 people have autism; that’s almost 230,000 Australians according to Autism Spectrum Australia (ASPECT) the leading service provider for autism here.

Maria and Tyrone’s visa application was rejected by the DIBP whose decision was subsequently affirmed by the MRT. Both held that Tyrone would be a ‘burden on the system’. Apparently, neither properly gave regard to the individual circumstances of the applicants or how they could mitigate against the cost to Australian society with their personal contributions monetary or otherwise. There is no scope in the legislation for this:

“I consider that a hypothetical person with this disease or condition, at the same severity as the applicant, would be likely to require health care or community services during the period specified above" the MRTs judgement noted.

Queensland Disabilities Minister Coralee O'Rourke called DIBPs decision a "cold, heartless decision" and asked for it to be reversed.

Migration Alliance is in receipt of an email from Bruce Hatcher, RMA who would like agents and other members to please SHARE this with all your friends on FACEBOOK, TWITTER and LINKEDIN especially. 

Donate and help those in need.

There village is about 25km from Kathmandu City in the valley area. Many of the old houses have collapsed and the villagers are living in makeshift tents in the fields unable to return to their homes. There was an after-tremor last night of 6.7, and it was raining in the night. They will not get any aid quickly with roads and bridges damaged and their homes often being passed down from grandfather to father to son and having extended families of 3 generations living in each home, their only home! They need your help!

Globe-trotting Australian, New Zealand, British and Canadian nationals have launched a major lobby aimed at eliminating immigration controls between the four Commonwealth countries.

The online petition started by 27-year old James Skinner from the UK has gathered tremendous international support with the group now claiming to have some 70,000 supporters.

Calling themselves, The Commonwealth Freedom of Movement Organisation, the group proposes that the four countries have a similar agreements like the European Union and the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement between Australia and New Zealand. The group is telling their supporters to contact their local parliamentarians and media sources to push for freedom of movement between the four countries.

According to a report on the CBC, the group says the four nations are being considered because of their “shared language, government and common law legal system and similar cultural values.”

"We are virtually the same people," CFMO director James Skinner told CBC News, referring to the four countries. "The only thing that divides us is the cover of our passports.”

"We've had that Commonwealth tie for generations and decades in the past, we've stuck together through thick and thin. [We] share the same head of state, the same native language, the same respect for the common law," Skinner told the CBC.