The picture above is my son hugging the screen of his grandad, Des Ross.

Captain Des Ross migrated to Australia from Ireland on the SS Orsova in 1961 as a young child.  Des Ross has become an international face in the media over recent years, providing expert commentary on the disappearance of aircraft such as the MH370.

Media organisations reporting on the MH370 have not necessarily been after quality reporting or information. They just want someone to fill in the story.  Some  media organisations aren't willing to pay to interview professionals and would prefer to find an armchair aviator who can make something sound half way correct. 

I have sent the following email in to the DIBP's head of policy and Manager for 457 visas in Sydney:

Thanks kindly.

Liana Allan

by Michael Jeremy - Registered Migration Agent and Migration Lecturer

Last month, February, I attended the Watermelon Festival in Chinchilla in Southern Queensland. My mate Terry has a watermelon farm and my interest in melons over the decades made Melonfest Chinchilla impossible to resist.

My professional interest in agriculture and horticulture in Australia also made this part of Queensland a must visit. Despite issues with oversupply making previous seasons tough for watermelon growers, Melonfest 2015 was reported a great success, with commercial Sydney and Melbourne television stations covering the event live.

Complaints have emerged that the Department of Immigration (DIBP) is recklessly dishing out wrong advice to callers on their helpline.

Faceless, unaccountable, just plainly wrong and recklessly dangerous. There is no other way to describe DIBPs Immigration Helpline. Or should we call it the "To-Hell-Line". The Migration Alliance has received complaints that DIBP's 131 881 helpline is dishing out bad advice to unwary visa applicants.

Callers who put down the phone after waiting 30 minutes may well be the lucky ones. It's like missing a doomed flight.

You have to wonder which is worse: advice from an unregistered practitioner or advice from DIBPs helpline? Or are they both about the same because they are often wrong and with no liability whatsoever.

RMAs (Registered Migration Agents) have complained that, everyday people call DIBPs 131 881 helpline with hope for some direction with their visa applications or status. Instead, they are misled with “wrong, incorrect, incomplete or half-baked immigration advice.”

#boycott131881

I have just called the 131 881 DIBP number three times and asked the same question three times.   Given the number of times the DIBP have wasted my time with pointless requests since 2001 (when I became an agent), I believe that I am perfectly entitled to ring the 131881 DIBP number and ask a question to test their knowledge and service.  This was my question:

I am married but me and my husband have been separated for 2 years.  I have been living with my new British partner for 12 months.  He is on a 457.  Can I lodge a spouse visa now?

131881 staff member 1:  No you need to be divorced first.