Australian Immigration Daily News

Federal Government has taken a major step towards delivering on its commitment to strengthen Australia’s ties with the Pacific family

Quote attributable to Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Honourable Penny Wong:

“The Government is committed to making a uniquely Australian contribution as partner of choice for the countries of the Pacific – demonstrating we are reliable, we turn up, show respect, listen, and are transparent and open.”

Quote attributable to Minister for International Development and the Pacific, the Hon Pat Conroy:

“The Pacific Engagement Visa is an important change in our permanent migration system and is an important way of building people-to-people links with the Pacific family and deepening ties to the region that’s our home and critical to our future.

We will continue to listen to our partners in the Pacific and Timor-Leste as we finalise the design of the Pacific Engagement Visa and look forward to further discussions.”

17 FEB 2023: DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS: Statement on Aggregate Sentences Act 2023 - On 17 February 2023, Migration Amendment (Aggregate Sentences) Act 2023 (the Aggregate Sentences Act) which amends the Migration Act 1958 (the Migration Act) came into effect 

The Aggregate Sentences Act responds to the Full Federal Court judgment in Pearson v Minister for Home Affairs [2022] FCAFC 203 (Pearson). The central finding of the judgment was that a single aggregate sentence, being a single sentence imposed for multiple offences, cannot be relied upon when assessing whether a person has a ‘substantial criminal record’ under s 501(7)(c) of the Migration Act, with consequences for the application of the character test.

The Aggregate Sentences Act amends the relevant provisions of the Migration Act, and makes it clear that an aggregate sentence can be relied upon for the purposes of considering if a person has a substantial criminal record, which is relevant to the application of the character test. The Aggregate Sentences Act also validates, with retrospective operation, past decisions that would otherwise have been invalid because of the Pearson decision.

Source: Statement-on-Aggregated-Sentences-Act-2023.pdf

Accredited Specialist Immigration Lawyer, Owen Harris has agreed to present a 1 hour CPD event this Friday the 17 February at 12PM:

Transitioning TPV/SHEV Holders to Resolution of Status Visas 

To book into this event please click here.

This event will sell out so it is first come first served.  The CPD event is Category A.

Migration Queensland is inviting agents/lawyers (onshore and offshore) and direct applicants (onshore and offshore) to register clients or themselves, for consideration of priority processing.

Applicant requirements: 

1. Must provide a decision-ready application (ie. all documents must be ready to upload immediately upon an invitation being issued).
2. Must meet all Queensland nomination criteria. Please review skilled criteria via the links below:

MQ - Skilled workers living in Queensland

Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) subclass 482 visa holders who have been in Australia for at least one year between 1 February 2020 and 14 December 2021 are able to apply for permanent residence through the Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream of the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) subclass 186 visa.

Applicants must also meet all other nomination and visa requirements for the TRT stream of the ENS visa.

In addition to Short-term stream TSS visa holders, the Government is advising that this pathway is also available to Medium-term stream TSS visa holders with an occupation on the Regional Occupation List.

This pathway is currently available for two years from 1 July 2022.

Source: PR-pathwat-for-TSS-sc482-holders-with-an-occupation-on-the-Regional-Occupation-List.pdf