Australian Immigration Daily News

Home Affairs announced flexibility with the arrangements pertaining subclass 485 visa.

As part of the response to COVID 19 Pandemic, the Department have changed the requirements for a Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) visa for those who have been impacted by COVID-19:

• online study undertaken outside Australia as a result of COVID-19 travel restrictions will count towards the Australian Study Requirement for existing and new student visa holders

This change is available now.

The instrument operates to authorise a class of persons who are able to receive the Pledge of Commitment for Australian citizenship (pledge of commitment). Schedule 1 of the Act establishes the form in which a pledge must be undertaken. Subsection 26(1) of the Act requires a person to make a pledge of commitment to Australia before they become an Australian citizen, unless they meet the requirements set out in paragraphs 26(1)(a) to (c) of the Act.

Source: LIN20084.pdf and LIN20084-Explanatory-Statement.pdf

The Office of the MARA have sent the following email for distribution to RMAS:

Please see the following information from Immigration Programs Division. 

On 2 September 2020, the Acting Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, the Hon Alan Tudge MP, and the Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash, announced the introduction of a new priority skills list and strengthened labour market testing requirements.  

As the Federal Government shapes a budget blueprint to deal with the recession, it's got its eye on luring big foreign companies to our shores. It set up a taskforce with the goal of attracting advanced manufacturing, financial services, and health companies to call Australia home and create jobs. The Acting Immigration Minister is Alan Tudge, and the ABC radio stations have spoken earlier.

Below is the transcript from this interview:

TUDGE-Transcript----ABC-Global-business-and-talent-attraction-taskforce.pdf

The new, whole-of-government Global Business and Talent Attraction Taskforce will bring together experts from across the Commonwealth, States and Territories as well as the private sector, as part of the Government’s JobMaker plan.

Senior business leader, Peter Verwer AO, has been appointed as the head of the Taskforce and will be known as the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Global Business and Talent Attraction.

The Taskforce will operate as a ‘strike team’ to turbo-charge the creation of jobs by boosting our efforts to attract high value global business and exceptional talent. The initial focus will be on three key sectors: advanced manufacturing, financial services (including FinTech) and health.

Australia is strategically well positioned given its management of the pandemic and our relatively strong economy. We have always been an attractive destination due to our lifestyle, democratic system, clean cities and proximity to Asia. We can use those advantages to bring more global business and talent to our shores and help create more Australian jobs.

Source: New-taskforce-to-create-jobs-by-attracting-business-and-talent-to-Australia---International-businesses--exceptional-talent-will-be-encouraged-under-new-initiative-to-support-post-COVID-recovery--boost-local-jobs.pdf