Australian Immigration Daily News

Northern Inland NSW updated requirements relating to subclass 489 – regional visas.  Updates include minimum pass mark in order to obtain a subclass 489 visa, removal of certain occupations from the regional list as well as criteria for obtaining a release letter (applicable to existing 489 visa holders)

To apply to Regional Development Australia Northern Inland for Skilled Regional Sponsorship the applicant is expected to make a commitment as well as to make a genuine effort to satisfy 489 visa conditions in the region – full-time equivalent employment for at least 12 months and living in the regional area for at least 2 years.

The applicant is expected to make genuine attempts to find work in Northern Inland NSW. If an applicant has applied from within Australia, NSW Government expects the applicant to relocate to the region within 3 months of receiving the Visa Grant Notice.

The Migration and Refugee Division (MRD) of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal will be hosting a series of Community Liaison events throughout November and December 2018.

The meetings are an opportunity for the MRD and its stakeholders to address matters that arise from the conduct of reviews or relate to the MRD’s operations in general. We will also provide you with update on the MRD’s caseload as well as legislative and corporate developments.

A representative from the Immigration Assessment Authority (IAA) will also be in attendance to provide an update and answer any questions regarding the IAA.

This is the annual report from the Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs and the Commissioner of the Australian Border Force (ABF) to the Minister for Home Affairs for the financial year ended 30 June 2018.

It is the first annual report published since the Department’s establishment on 20 December 2017.

The report covers the performance of the Department of Home Affairs and the ABF, which is established within the Department of Home Affairs for budgetary, employment and administrative purposes, but is operationally independent.

Migration Agents might want to be aware of this first reading which was put to the Senate yesterday by Senator Anning.  I am not sure if this has hit main stream media yet, but to me this seems nothing short of a xenophobic, racist, bigoted move!  Here it is and below is the extract from Hansard:

BILLS Plebiscite (Restricting Non-European Migration) Bill 2018

First Reading

The TOEFL iBT® test score requirements for those who must provide an approved English-language test result to achieve Migration Agent registration have been revised. 

The revision, which took effect 1 January 2018, brings the TOEFL® test requirements for migration agents into line with score equivalences used across the Department of Home Affairs.

The new TOEFL iBT requirements are an overall score of 94 and minimum section scores of: