The Migration Alliance recently received a complaint from a first-year RMA facing the dilemma of losing registration because of the inability to meet the PRP-CPD requirement due to the lack of alternative providers.

First year RMAs are required to attend a Practice Ready Program (PRP) in their first year of registration in order for them to renew their registration. However, the OMARA has only approved 2 providers, MIA and Fragomen. Strangely, Fragomen offers the PRP in-house only thus leaving MIA with a monopoly. For some reason the MIA seems unable to keep up with the demand for the course suggesting perhaps that it is oblivious to the growth of the industry or incapable of supporting the growth. This is certainly another issue for current review of the OMARA to consider.

In a desperate plea for an additional grace period, the RMA has written to the OMARA stating:

“I have been trying for a while now to book for a PRP course which is a prerequisite for the first year registrants to renew their registration. Unfortunately, I was told that there is only one PRP provider in Sydney, which is MIA. All MIA PRP courses have been booked out for a while. They said that they can only have a limited number of students, and so they are not able to offer me a place before next year.  My MARA registration is due for renewal [in early] 2015… If I am not able to complete this PRP on time for my registration renewal, may I request to kindly grant me reprieve until the first PRP course is available in the new year”

The immigration department has launched a national campaign to investigate allegations of unauthorised payment to visa sponsors in return for visas, reports the office of the Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Senator the Hon. Michaelia Cash.

Minister Cash said although the overwhelming majority of people do the right thing, it is a small minority who don't abide by their obligations or attempt to defraud our migration programmes.

"Visa fraud is not acceptable and anyone who engages in this type of behaviour will face serious penalties," Minister Cash said.

"The campaign will involve an initial assessment of up to 100 visa sponsors who are subject to allegations that they have been in some way connected to receiving payment for arranging sponsorship for individuals under the 457 visa programme," said Minister Cash

"The previous Labor Government was quick to demonise the subclass 457 programme with broad, unsubstantiated claims of widespread rorting while failing to focus on increased compliance. In contrast, the Coalition Government is as tough on enforcing our immigration laws in the workplace as we are on our borders and has already achieved a significant escalation in compliance, investigation and integrity activities, across a broad range of immigration and visa product areas."

A public education component of the campaign Work visa scams. Don't pay the price will further educate visa sponsors about their obligations and remind visa holders of their rights and responsibilities.

A cumbersome and slow migration process in Australia is potentially causing the ‘best brains’ to look elsewhere with some experts saying that Australia is at risk of squandering the benefits of immigration, reports the SBS.

A sustainable migration conference in Adelaide has heard that Australia ‘can't afford to bask in past glories, as the fast changing immigration landscape means Australia faces stiff competition for the pick of the migrants” reports the SBS.

For decades, Australia's carefully planned migration policies have driven economic growth and social diversity - making the country both the desire and the envy of many.

Demographer Graeme Hugo from the University of Adelaide thinks Australia needs to start selling itself better or risk losing migrants to the growing Asian economies.

"There are now a dozen countries in Asia that have their own skilled migration program which competes with Australia. So it is a very, very changed landscape and with the Asian economy going do well and increasing to likely be by the end of this decade about a third of the global economy. This migration is going to increase” says Professor Hugo.

Australia’s migration program has in recent years been steadily skewing toward policies that aim to attract the ‘best and the brightest’. The skilled migration program has been enlarged with the processing largely focussing on streamlining in order to be more responsive and attractive. The question remains whether this will be enough given the emerging international competition to tap on this critical talented human resource.

The Australian paradox is that high unemployment levels are likely to remain despite the projected good economic growth in the coming decades. Experts warn that unemployment levels in Australia “is not a general problem, it's very specific to a particular group of disadvantaged people” and in fact Australia faces a severe labour shortage that could threaten Australia’s future economic growth, reports the ABC.

Low birth rates which is below replacement levels, an ageing workforce, an undersupply of skilled labour and a growing economy will lead to a severe labour shortage in Australia by the end of the next decade, warns one of the world's biggest management consultants. Boston Consulting Group has released a report predicting a shortfall of 2.3 million workers by 2030. The firm says Australia's economic growth risks losing momentum in the years ahead unless the country can find ways to plug the gap.

"One of the primary things we looked at was historical growth rates, and if we look back across the last 10 to 20 years for Australia, look at how we've grown - and it's been between 3 and 3.5 per cent GDP per year - if we project that forward, then Australia is going to be facing a labour shortage, and it's going to hit pretty badly by 2030" says the report.

Boston Consulting Group sees a range of solutions to ensure Australia's future economic growth is not threatened by an undersupply of workers. They include boosting skills training to lift productivity, as well as extending the Government's skilled migration program. The Government has also proposed another remedy - raising the retirement age to 70 by 2035.

Experts note that the economy and employers require high level skills and will need to get them from a well-trained workforces or a skilled migration programme. In contrast to this is the unemployment issue in Australia which experts say is linked to a specific group of people who need to upskill to help the economy.

University of Canberra labour economist Phil Lewis says, "I think our major problem is unemployment in Australia, is not a general problem, it's very specific to a particular group of disadvantaged people...What I would say is that, I think as long as we can find a solution to these people who are poorly educated, left school before Year 12, if we can get them skilled up to basics, generic skills, people skills, numeracy, literacy et cetera, that will go a long way to reducing unemployment."

Australia's Working Holiday Maker visa program which grew by close to 16% last year with the grant of over 258,000 visas, is set to grow more in the coming years with the addition of several new countries over the last year.

Portugal has now become the latest signatory to Australia’s Work and Holiday visa program. On 25 September 2014, Australia and Portugal announced that a new Work and Holiday arrangement for youth mobility was signed, establishing a reciprocal Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462) arrangement between our two countries.

This arrangement, when brought into effect, will allow up to 200 young adults from Portugal and up to 200 young adults from Australia to enjoy a holiday in each other's country, during which they may undertake short term work and study.

DIBP’s states says that in the coming months, Australia and Portugal will work closely together to implement the necessary legal and administrative processes to bring this visa into effect. The work and holiday arrangement will not commence until a start date has been agreed by both countries.

When a commencement date has been announced, eligible young adults from Portugal and Australia will be able to apply for this visa.