About 40% of the migration Tribunal’s caseload consist of dealing with Partner Visa refusals by the department of immigration, according to the latest figures from the AAT. Has the hike in the partner visa application charge resulted in applicants attempting this complex application on their own?

RMAs have also recently reported that processing times for Partner Visas are going well beyond DIBPs promised standards even with the department announcing that its currently taking up to 15 months to decide on the first stage of a partner visa application.

There have been suggestions that DIBP is “intentionally staggering visa grants across the program year, so as not to exhaust their entire allocation within the first few months. There are also suggestions that staff cutbacks and an increase in the number of low quality applications is increasing processing times.

"I have heard it said many applications prepared by the couple without professional guidance/assistance are manifestly inadequate and lead to refusals. This alone is often why a later professionally prepared appeal is successful… Perhaps the increase in refusals is due to an increase in couples preparing their own applications and I suggest this may well be driven by the increase in Partner Visa Fees,” says Robyn Oyeniyi, a prominent human rights campaigner and author of the book, Love versus Goliath on her website.

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A newly published study about labour funded by Australia’s federal government has shed light on women who immigrate to Australia on Partner Visas. As we know, Partner Visas are granted to people if their spouses already have an Australian skilled immigration visa. Many of the women who come to Australia through these visas are highly skilled, with great education and professional experience. Research has shown however that they are not really participating in the work force. The government researchers who did the study say that with more government support they can be a great asset to Australia.

Skilled labour immigration’s advantages

The skilled labour that comes to Australia through immigration provides a lot of benefits to Australia. The local economy is not saturated with job seeking people.  This means there are many posts for which skilled labour is required. The immigrants study in their own countries and also gather a lot of professional experience in their own countries.

What do you think about the visa cancellation powers in the Migration Act? 

Considering Australia’s origins as a “convict colony”, where people from the UK were essentially sent into what was “permanent exile” for committing criminal offences, is this a practice that we should be following today? 

What if somebody has spent their entire life in Australia since early childhood? 

Australia is one of the most sought after countries for immigration. People from all over the world try to get into Australia somehow. The general consensus seems to be that people come to Australia because they can earn more money here and get more services here. While this is indeed one of the reasons, it cannot be the main reason because there are many countries with much stronger economies and better welfare than Australia. Why do people leave all of Europe and North America to come to Australia? As someone who talks to a lot of people interested in migration, here is what we have learned:

The Culture

Australia has, somehow, one of the most tolerant cultures in the world. We say somehow because there hasn’t really been an active campaign to create this culture; we have never seen a government agency or anyone else intentionally promoting tolerance. The culture has just always been this way towards immigrants. This doesn’t mean that Australia has no racism issues at all; rather that the issues are very minor when compared to other countries.

Integration 

The one arena where Australia seems to beat most of the world is immigrant integration. There is a large amount of immigration happening towards UK as well but the problems in UK are a whole other dimension. UK literally has immigrant ‘ghettos’; areas where the majority population is of immigrants. They don’t really integrate into the culture of UK and instead cause a lot of trouble for the general populace. They have issues with extremism, racism, and sexism. Australia, on the other hand, has not created such ghettos. People who migrate here become part of mainstream Australian culture.

It will be luxurious, close to major universities, promising a great deal of communal spaces for study and gatherings but the self-contained rooms will be about the size of a carpark lot.

Three proposed skyscrapers opposite RMIT University in Melbourne city could house up to 1600 students, but these students could be living in spaces as small as 12 square metres, according to a recent report on Domain.com.au.

With more students expected to flood into Australia in the coming years, developers have started to set their sights on development sites close to the major universities in Melbourne. According to the Australian Financial Review (AFR), the student housing market is worth about $20 billion.

There are advanced plans for at least five new high-rise towers in the Melbourne CBD catering to university students. London based Scape Student Living is leading the charge, with a proposal for Melbourne’s largest and tallest student housing project. Scape has reportedly paid $560 million for several prime sites in Melbourne and Brisbane.

Scape told Domain that after six years of development it has designed rooms that fit storage space, a kitchen with cooker, sink and fridge, at least a double bed, and a “pod bathroom” with a toilet, shower and space for toiletries.