Australian Immigration Daily News

All practitioners need to be aware of a recent requirement to document all instances of staff or client complaints:

Please access the attached form and implement immediately.

Larney v Minister for Immigration & Anor [2018] FCCA 2707 is a recent decision of the Federal Court out of Western Australia.

www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/single/2019/2019fca0700

This was a case where the applicant for the visa asserted that he had no previous "relationships" and that the fact of there being 2 children as a result of those relationships did not mean that he had a "relationship"  (spouse or defacto) and on that basis PIC4020 was not enlivened.

I do not know what is happening but perhaps there has been a rip in the space time continuum.

An unbelievable number of enquiries from both practitioners and individual applicants who seem infected by a virus which sees them lodge an application onshore, get a BVA but then travel and get stuck offshore.

One of my clients who had a complex and at that stage unresolved application for review, rang me on after Christmas and said, "They wont let me board my flight".

A recent decision of the Full Federal Court will be of interest to practitioners

http://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/full/2019/2019fcafc0079

Minister for Home Affairs v G [2019] FCAFC 79 by reason of its discussion of the role of the ACI's  (Australian Citizenship Instructions)

South Australian State Government published further information in relation to their Designated Area Migration Agreements, both of which are due to commence on 1 July 2019.

Briefly, the designated area migration agreement (DAMA) programme has been developed to supplement the workforce strategies of states, territories and regions, to support economic performance and help them adjust to changing economic conditions.  The DAMA is a two-tier agreement: the first tier consists of an overarching five-year deed of agreement with a designated area representative setting out occupations, ceilings and concessions; and the second tier comprising individual labour agreements with direct employers.

The overarching nature of a DAMA allows employers streamlined access to a broader range of overseas workers than available through the standard subclass 482 visa programme (as well as permanent residency in some cases), without the need to individually negotiate terms and conditions. DAMAs are attractive to small businesses which may not have the resources to develop a labour agreement directly with the government.