Hiring professional exam sitters to help them pass the English test have helped several take advantage of Australia’s slow immigration and appeals process to remain in Australia for up to 5 years.

Details of the racket were revealed in a series of decisions by Australia’s Migration Review Tribunal, according to a report in the Courier Mail. It states that two dozen foreigners have been caught hiring professional exam sitters to help get them Australian residency, in a lucrative visa racket and 17 more have been found to have changed their scores to turn a fail into a pass.

Modest/Competent use of the English language is a minimum requirement for many visas to Australia.

According to the Courier Mail, the migrants were nabbed when photos taken of the professional exam sitters who took the English test didn’t match the passport photos of the cheaters.

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.'

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.

The department of immigration has appointed a new secretary who started his career in the department of defence and went on to develop strategic defence policies in recent years after having roles in foreign affairs and intelligence over a career spanning some 27-years.

Both the Prime Minister and Immigration Minister have emphasised that Michael Pezzullo’s defence and intelligence experience are essential for the department given its increasing focus on border protection.

Michael Pezzullo, the current CEO of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service and former labour foreign minister, Gareth Evan’s staffer, will take over the office of the secretary of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, from October 13.

"He has extensive experience in the public sector, predominantly in the Department of Defence in strategic policy and intelligence roles," Prime Minister Abbott said in a statement.

Mr Pezzullo will replace Martin Bowles, who was recently appointed Health Department secretary. Martin Bowles held the appointment as the DIBP secretary for about a year.

'Having worked closely with Mr Pezzullo in delivering the government's border protection reforms, and more recently on enforcing increased national security measures at the border, I welcome today's announcement,' said Mr Morrison in a statement.

MR Pezzullo joined the Department of Defence as a graduate in 1987. In 1992 he transferred to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, where he worked in the International Division. In 1993 he joined the staff of then Labour Foreign Minister, Gareth Evans QC, and remained in Parliament House until December 2001. In February 2002, he re-joined the Department of Defence, and in 2006 was promoted to the position of Deputy Secretary Strategy in that department. Between February 2008 and May 2009 he led the Defence White Paper team and was principal author of the 2009 Defence White Paper.