Australian Immigration Daily News

How can you tell if your client has not been given a fair hearing by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal?

Or to put the question in “lawyer’s terms”, how can you tell if the Tribunal member has been guilty of bias, and has therefore fallen into jurisdictional error, so you can get the case sent back to the Tribunal for another, hopefully fairer, hearing?

Well, like a lot of things in life, it may all be a matter of degree – sometimes bias can smack you in the face like a bucket of ice water, and sometimes it may be more difficult to identify.

March 15th holds particular significance to many international students who have recently completed their studies.  This date in most cases signals expiry of their student visa.  By now most students would have completed their studies and received or about to receive their qualification.  These bright individuals are about to enter the next chapter of their journey living in Australia.  Naturally, the question on the minds of student visas holders wishing to remain in Australia and their employer where applicable is “Where to from here?”

If you are employing a student visa holder, there certain considerations to bear in mind:

• Have you conducted a VEVO check and kept record on file;
• Can you document the number of hours worked by student visa holder during the study session;
• When is the visa due to expire, it may not necessarily be March 15^th; and,
• What visa options are available to continue employing a student visa holder

If you are a holder of a student visa, it is worthwhile considering whether:

OK everyone, hang on to your hats!

Are you ready to read about a really interesting case about partner visas?

The answer better be yes, or I will go on strike (just kidding of course!)

After a long period in the dark, light is finally being shone on Australia’s domestic violence endemic. You may have noticed the harrowing adverts on television and accompanying sweep of law reforms. You may also feel like you have no power to help - after all, domestic violence is in the domain of social workers and doctors right? Wrong. While not traditionally thought of as a ‘first port of call’ for domestic violence victims, migration agents may be the only professional that a victim confides in.

It is likely that you deal with more domestic violence victims than you think, with migrants forming an overrepresented constituent of victims. A recent article highlighted that at any particular point in time, up to half of the domestic violence victims staying in emergency accommodation are on a visa.[1]

Migrants are particularly vulnerable to getting stuck in a domestic violence situation for a myriad of reasons:

The Subclass 485 Visa enables overseas graduates to live, work and travel within Australia temporarily after they’ve finished their studies. This visa was designed to help develop the skills graduates gained during their studies within Australia, as well as making them more employable upon their return to their home country. In 2013, this visa was broadened to make studying at an Australian university more appealing in such a competitive global education market.

When applying for this visa, applicants must provide evidence that they have made appropriate arrangements for health insurance in Australia for the duration of the visa processing period, and for the duration of their visa, once it has been granted.

If you have clients who are applying for a Temporary Graduate Visa Bupa’s overseas visitor covers meet Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) health insurance requirements and also include the following benefits: