The following is the official press release from the Office of the Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, which has been sent to Migration Alliance:

The successful passage of a Greens’ disallowance motion has overturned the government’s attempts to scrap a range of essential, affordable family and carer visas.

“The Senate has voted to keep families living together and looking after each other in Australia,” the Greens’ immigration spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

Migration Alliance this week held its fifth SIV Masterclass in partnership with NAB in Perth, where along with Deloitte, Bruno Delfante, Manager Business Migration Centre, was keynote speaker.

Delfante shared with the audience of around twenty local migration agents, that they had relaxed their view in relation to the SIV Complying investment portfolios. The requirement that 75% must at the outset have direct economic benefit to WA has been restrictive, and their focus is much more on the long term view of how the applicant intends to contribute to the WA economy over the term of the temporary VISA and beyond. Essentially the WA government is interested in understanding the applicant’s broader financial position and future plans for investment, including business opportunities and buying a home in WA. 

Of the 53 WA nominated state applications so far, 17 have been granted visa approval. Initial applications listed state government bonds as the preference, however by approval stage with time to appreciate Australia’s investment environment, most have implemented managed funds and other investments.  All have made additional investments outside SIV with the lowest overall amount in excess of $12.5 million.

Are the universities luring students to Australia on false hopes? Despite there being little chance of finding a job after graduation, the high cost of the degree and the very real probability that the occupation may be taken off the skills occupation list, Accounting remains popular among international students, reports The Australian Financial Review.

In 2013, overseas accounting ­students made up the second-largest group of enrolled international ­students at both the undergraduate and post-graduate level, behind only business and management en­rollees, reports the AFR.

At the undergraduate level, ­international accounting students made up about 55 per cent of the more than 25,400 enrolled students, a ­percentage that is down from a peak of 64 per cent in 2011.

At postgraduate levels a 40 per cent jump in new overseas accounting students in 2013 was the sole driving force in the critical tertiary accounting education market, as local students continued to shun the field.

International students now ­dominate accounting courses, making up a record 79 per cent of the 17,600 enrolled postgraduate students in 2013, according to data from the federal Department of Education.

The recent fall of the Australian Dollar has seen those arriving and transferring money in to Australia from overseas receiving many more Dollars in return for their native currency.

Our foreign exchange partners TorFX informed us that two weeks ago a client moving to Australia from the UK would have received around $1.74 for their Pound, today (24/09/14) they could expect closer to $1.85. For a family transferring £100,000 from a house sale that would be the difference between receiving $185,000 against $174,000 – a difference of $11K!

TorFX can also offer forward contracts for clients who aren’t making the move yet but want to lock in the rate whilst it is a favourable high.

The DIBP’s blog has issued a reminder to students that DIBP takes any breach of work rights conditions on students’ visas seriously and suggests that even working over 5hours amounts to a breach that can lead to a cancellation of the student visa.

The purpose of the work conditions offered as part of a student visa is to provide an opportunity for international students to gain cultural experience during their stay in Australia, and help students improve their English language skills, notes the DIBP. 

“However it is important to recognise that international students should not rely on work in Australia to pay for the costs of their studies and living expenses,” the statement notes.

Most international students are restricted to a maximum of 40 hours work per fortnight while their course is in session and may only work unlimited hours during scheduled course breaks. These conditions protect students from the pressures of excessive work commitments which might mean that they are unable to finish their course successfully.

DIBP provided the following examples on how work conditions on a student visa operate: