Ms Dora Chin Tan (pictured far left) is now the acting CEO of the Office of the MARA.

Please scroll down to the bottom of the DIBP's top structure chart to view her name and position:

http://www.immi.gov.au/About/Documents/portfolio-structure-chart-02032015.pdf

All visas that are issued for “temporary skilled employment” in Australia, familiarly known as “457 visas” include a Condition 8107 which provides that the holder of such a visa must not cease employment for a period of more than 90 consecutive days. A breach of this condition can lead to cancellation of the visa under section 116 of the Migration Act.  And the effect of the cancellation of the primary visa holder’s 457 visa can result in the consequent cancellation of the visa entitlements of members of the visa holder’s family unit (spouse/partner and children) by “operation of law” under section 140 of the Act.

A case that was recently heard before the Migration Review Tribunal – 1417329 (2015) MRTA 150 – (decided on 4 February 2015) illustrates how the cancellation power may be exercised by the Department. The decision also provides some guidance on the kinds of evidence that may be put forward to avoid the cancellation on “discretionary grounds” (either in recent to a notice of intended cancellation that has been issued by the Department or in the context of an appeal against visa cancellation taken to the MRT).

The circumstances of the case were that the visa holder, a citizen of Bangladesh, had been granted a 457 visa to work in Australia as an accountant. Her husband and two young children accompanied her to Australia. The visa holder began work with her “standard business sponsor” in January 2013. However, the sponsoring company went into liquidation in October 2013, and, consequently, the visa holder stopped working for the sponsor. She did not immediately begin looking for new employment with a different sponsor, as the owner of her original sponsoring employer had assured her that he was planning to establish a new business and that he would re-employ her in that business. 

If you haven't already heard, a large number of Migration Agents are being approached by the Australian Tax Office to amend their tax returns for recent years and are under target for tax audits.

Imagine ATO auditors camping out at your business, demanding obscure receipts, and scrutinising your records.

Even if your books are a model of order and respectability, you’ll require the services of an accountant, a good one at that, to help you prepare for the onslaught. Your accountant will be required to expend intense and immediate effort; you’ll need to lean on their expertise through the audit process; and this support doesn’t come cheap.

So, if the stress of an audit wasn’t enough, preparing for an audit could end up costing your business big bucks.

Tax Audit insurance takes the financial sting out of a sudden and unforeseen tax audit. It covers the fees of an accountant (up to $10,000) in connection with tax audits.

For our Migration Alliance partners we are offering $10,000 worth of QBE Tax Audit cover for just $171 $121.

Save $50 when you take out Tax Audit Insurance cover with us.

To activate your discount, when you buy online enter MA50 in the Partner Code box or call us on 1300 249 268 and simply mention this email and we’ll get your cover in place today.

Thanks

The BizCover Team

When is the DIBP going to stop accepting visa applications from unregistered visa and migration brokers? New Zealand and Canada have done it.  Why can't Australia?

The homepage of the VIEC website states:

With a network of over 53 offices across Australia, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines and Sri Lanka and 43 offices in India, VIEC is one of the leading education consultants worldwide with a reputation of integrity & ethics.

No information on the offices across Australia can be found on the website.

The several aviation disasters of 2014 / 15, starting with Malaysia Airlines MH370 disappearance, along with saturation media coverage has led to much greater awareness of aviation safety and airline operations by the general public.

Those people who travel regularly are now asking more questions about safety and routing of their flights and there is evidence that savvy travellers are choosing their airlines more carefully before paying for a ticket.

Captain Desmond Ross has been one of the major contributors to international media technical commentary on the subject of aviation safety and security and is now receiving requests to speak at conferences and industry functions.