Complaining that an increased population would not spread out across the Australian continent but instead concentrate in the narrow fertile strip along the east coast, former NSW Premier and Foreign Minister under the Labor government has made a plea to drastically cut Australia’s migration program.

Media reports did not indicate what type of research or economic modelling Mr Bob Carr based his notions on when he took a swipe at current policies which take in about 190,000 permanent migrants a year.

Mr Carr said the country's population was far greater than "what we need and what we can absorb, environmentally and economically…And it's based on a flawed economic model — that is, we need to build up a domestic population.” Mr Carr's comments came after Australia's population officially hit 24 million shortly after midnight on Tuesday.

Speaking to the media in Sydney, Mr Carr chose to compare Australia to Indonesia stating that, "Our rate of population growth is higher than that of Indonesia, which has got developing-world status.” He made no mention that the median age in Indonesia is about 28 years with life expectancy of 71 years and a fertility rate of 2.47. In Australia the median age about 38 years with life expectancy at 82 years and a fertility rate well under replacement levels and at its lowest levels in 10 years.

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The mountain just got a whole lot higher for anyone who may be seeking to challenge a decision by the Minister to cancel a visa on character grounds. 

As I have discussed on this blog, there have been very few cases where a visa holder has been successful in persuading the Federal Court to set aside a cancellation decision.  

And now, just yesterday, the Full Court of the Federal Court has reversed a Federal Court decision in favour of the visa holder: Minister for Immigration and Border Protection v Stretton (2016) FCAFC 11 (15 February 2016). 

The number of undocumented workers in Australia is estimated to be in excess of 100,000. The potential pool of visa holders with no or limited work rights is huge, including millions of visitors and students. Their circumstances, leave many of them thinking that they are without rights to the wages and conditions enjoyed by the rest of the workforce, and allow them to be exploited by unscrupulous employers, according to an article in The Conversation.

This is a growing phenomenon, but not a new one. The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) reports a 10% increase in visa overstayers in the two years to 2013, to 62,700. 

In 2011, the federal government-commissioned Howells review described non-citizens working without permission as, “in simple numerical terms … the most significant problem facing Australian immigration authorities”.

A recent landmark study on overseas workers has revealed that almost four out five Chinese student visa workers in Sydney are paid below the minimum wage, with two out of five paid just $12 an hour or less. The study found that all those working as waiters were underpaid.

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The new year is well and truly in full swing and hopefully by now you have your savings plan bedded down and underway for the year! Onto that goal! To help you on your way we are going to provide some tips on getting the best value for your business insurance.

Make sure you're covered!

Always check your insurance cover levels to see whether you have the right levels of cover! Importantly know that it’s not a good idea to reduce cover just to save money (being under-insured could cost you a lot more in the long run). If your business has changed you could be over insured.  Changes are based on a whole host of things – growth, changing stock types, levels and cover. On the flip side if your business has grown you could be underinsured - whilst you might be making a saving today, if you need to make a claim in the future and you don’t have enough cover, you could be in financial hot water!  

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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