The tribunals are moving towards introducing email as a primary means of communication for all case related correspondence. From 13 October 2014, a single registry email address will be used for all case related communications between the tribunals, applicants and their representatives.

All valid email addresses provided to the tribunals for the purpose of current reviews will shortly be sent an email. The email will ask them to confirm that this is the email address that they wish to use as their primary means of communication with the tribunals.

Representatives who choose to communicate with the tribunals by email will receive all correspondence relating to their application via their nominated email address. A representative may contact the tribunals to update their email address at any time.

Australian unions have lambasted the Victorian government after it emerged that one of the companies building the controversial $6.8bn East West Link road has advertised a position that will help bring in overseas workers, according to The Guardian

Spanish firm Acciona, one of the East West Link contractors, posted a job advertisement for an immigration adviser on several Australian job boards, including Seek, prior to the project’s contract being signed.

“The person in the role will “collect required documentation” and lodge 457 visas for overseas staff members to work on the project, for a “busy” six-month period … the role will be based at Southbank in Melbourne and will provide “high quality immigration services and advice to the business”…” notes the report .

The state government has said the project will create 3,700 jobs and provide new apprenticeships for local workers. Ministers have also stressed that raw materials, such as steel, will be sourced locally.

Denis Napthine, the Victorian premier, said there were requirements in the East West Link contract for construction firms to use local materials and labour. However, some elements, such as the tunnel boring machine, will have to be sourced from overseas.

“I am unaware whether there is sufficient local expertise to man and operate that tunnel boring machine,” Napthine told Fairfax.

The new deal between the Palmer United Party and the Federal government to allow refugee families to live on mainland Australia for five years under a new visa called the Safe Haven Enterprise Visa (SHAV), could see some of the 30,000 asylum seekers sent to work in regions of Australia that are experiencing labour shortages and also to remote areas of Australia.

According to the Australian Human Rights Commission 6631 people live in some form of detention (as at June 2014) with 24,500 people permitted to live in the community on Bridging Visas while waiting for their claims for protection to be processed.

Now, these asylum seekers may be either told, encouraged or invited to apply for a new visa that will have them working in regional Australia, contributing to the local economy and paying taxes. They will have to stay off welfare benefits for at least 3 years in order to be eligible for ‘another type of onshore visa’ to possibly continue their stay which will unlikely be permanent. Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has said that the SHAV will not be a pathway to a permanent protection visa.

It is expected that these visa-holders will also have access to medicare, trauma counselling, translation services, and education for school aged children.

Clive Palmer described it as 'a win for refugees… And it's a win for regional Australia.'

A new notice is now on the NSW State Government website for the next application intake for the 190 visa.

Information includes that:

• NSW intake will open on 22 October with 1,000 places available
• Revised NSW Skilled Occupation List (excluding Accountants and the majority of ICT workers for the October 2014 intake)

NSW is hoping that the numbers are less than last time and the intake is more moderated. 

DIBPs service standard promise for partner visa processing is about 6 months for applications deemed low risk and up to 12 months or more for those who do not submit convincing applications and thus deemed high risk. Some RMAs have reported that the partner visa processing times are however much longer than what is promised and seem to be getting worse.

With partner visas, applicants are generally processed according to their risk levels. They are flagged as potentially high-risk where they are offshore applications from ‘high risk' countries as determined by DIBP; where the couples age differential is relatively large; where the relationship is under 3 years; and of course where the applications are unconvincing.

The onus is on the applicants to convince the decision-maker with compelling evidence that there is a ‘genuine relationship’.

"I have heard it said many applications prepared by the couple without professional guidance/assistance are manifestly inadequate and lead to refusals. This alone is often why a later professionally prepared appeal is successful… Perhaps the increase in refusals is due to an increase in couples preparing their own applications and I suggest this may well be driven by the increase in Partner Visa Fees,” says Robyn Oyeniyi, a prominent human rights campaigner and author of the book, Love versus Goliath on her website.

RMAs have also recently reported that processing times for Partner are going well beyond DIBPs promised standards. There have been suggestions that DIBP is “intentionally staggering visa grants across the program year, so as not to exhaust their entire allocation within the first few months,” according to RMA Mark Glazbrook in his website.