Streamlined visa processing arrangements will be extended to students enrolled in advanced diploma level courses at low immigration risk providers, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, the Hon Scott Morrison and Minister for Education, Christopher Pyne said yesterday in a media release. Prior to this SVP arrangements, similar to those in place for universities, have been available to prospective students of selected low immigration risk education providers who offer bachelor, masters or doctoral degree level courses.

Minister Morrison said the streamlining of the visa application process for advanced diploma courses will benefit eligible students through simpler and faster visa processing, and is in addition to existing arrangements for eligible higher education sector students.

'This will enable eligible education providers in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector and higher education sector to directly access SVP. This will make study in Australia even more attractive to overseas students, while at the same time ensuring that immigration risk is appropriately managed,' Minister Morrison said.

Minister Pyne said that these changes will substantially benefit Australia's high-quality VET and higher education sectors, supporting the sustainable growth of Australia's international education industry while providing a vital boost to the economy.

'The number of international students seeking to study in Australia continues to rebound positively, with an increase of over 27 per cent in the number of visas granted to offshore applicants in the 2013-14 programme year,' Minister Pyne said.

NSW Trade and Investment's Industry and Innovation branch in conjunction with the Committee for Sydney have developed a fantastic booklet (electronic and hard copy) as part of the initiative to promote Sydney to globally mobile talent.    For more information see:  Sydney as a Global Talent Hub.

The booklet is called 'SYDNEY YOUR FUTURE STARTS HERE:  The official guide to living & working in Sydney'.

This is probly the best, most all-encompassing guide to a city I have come across during my time in the profession.

Here is a scenario to consider:

A miigration agent books into a 10 point blitz CPD event recently.  The event sold out well before the start of the event.

The migration agent turned up to the event, sat down in the seat and then realised that they had booked themselves into the wrong event and that they should have booked themselves into a Practice Ready Program instead. 

VEVO is now in lockdown for organisations which would like to search the visa status of employees or clients as of Saturday last week, 24 May 2014.

At the moment as a migration agent we cannot verify our clients immigration status in Australia.  We can only rely on the clients information after they have searched and provided us with the information, or access their information using their details. 

Negatives:  For migration agents we cannot verify the information which is being provided by clients in relation to their visa.  If we go through the access available - Visa holder access only - then it asks for either:

1/ Reference - Visa grant notification.

Nurses’ unions are complaining that thousands of nursing graduates are unable to find work in Australian hospitals. They say that each year about 8,000 Australian students graduate with a nursing qualification, but that there are around 3,000 nurses who cannot find work. In contrast, between 2011 and 2012, 3,095 foreign nurses were granted working visas in Australia, according to a report in the ABC.

"It can't be a coincidence that at the same time as thousands of new nurse graduates across the country are unable to get jobs, the same amount of people are getting jobs, coming in as temporary skilled migrants on 457 visas," Annie Butler, acting federal secretary of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, said speaking to the ABC.

However, Michael Roff, chief executive of the Australian Hospitals Association, says that overseas nurses are essential for filling more highly specialised jobs, ones that fresh graduate cannot perform.

"From the private hospital perspective, 457 visas are principally used to fill vacancies that require experienced nurses with an advanced level of skill, particularly in areas like intensive care, coronary care and operating theatres," he said.

The 457 visa skilled migration program is currently under review and the nurses’ union fears that restrictions on foreign nurses will be watered down, but Mr Roff argues that there is actually to much red tape in the visa program.

"In fact its harder for a hospital to employ someone on a 457 visa because nursing is one of two professions that have to be market tested," he said.