Australian Immigration Daily News

A Thai woman under the age of 30 entering Australia is likely to be pulled aside and questioned at length at immigration about the purpose of her visit. Africans in the Flemington and North Melbourne area are 2.5 times more likely to be stopped by police than other groups despite having a lower crime rate.

Young Chinese parents have complained to the Human Rights Commissioner that their online orders for baby formula were cancelled because of their names and that some shops had signs in English which state a limit of 4 tins, but the signs written in Mandarin state the limit is 2. Supermarket giant, Woolworths which is at the centre of the baby formula saga denied any racial discrimination, and put it down to ‘ticketing error’.

Recently, New South Wales Greens Member of Parliament Mehreen Faruqi and her husband were entering the US through Los Angeles Airport. Unlike other passengers on the flight, Faruqi, a Pakistani-born Australian, and her husband were questioned for almost an hour about their previous travel and how they obtained their Australian passports. While US authorities allege that Ms Faruqi was selected for additional processing on the basis of random selection, the facts at hand point to something different, notes a recent report in the Huffingtonpost.

One might think that once an applicant has been granted a subclass 189 visa for independent skilled migration, their future in Australia is all “blue skies” and “clear sailing”: at that stage, they would have a right to permanent residency in Australia and would likely be on a pathway to Australian citizenship, as would any family members included in their visa application.

Right? 

Well, a recent decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal illustrates that “it ain’t necessarily so”: 1509158 (Migration) (2016) AATA 3022 (11 January 2016). 

Reflecting on the first day he arrived in Australia, Iranian man Dr Sina Jamali says that becoming an Australian citizen was "a dream come true"

Speaking to the ABC, after receiving his citizenship certificate, the engineering researcher from the University of Wollongong said the country had been incredibly welcoming since he arrived in 2011.

"Back on the first day when I arrived at Sydney airport there was a cab driver taking us from the airport, and at the time I thought I should try and pretend I had some sort of accent," he said.

To help new arrivals to Australia, particularly refugees settle in, a new smartphone app was launched this month to provide information and tools which aim to help them navigate their new lives. The New Roots app provides tips for everything from staying fit to eating well and finding a job, according to a report by the UNHCR.

The New Roots app, which has been given the thumbs up The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) was developed by Settlement Services International (SSI) and Beyond Blue in Australia with funding from the Movember foundation.

Among other features of the app are tips for emotional well-being and guides to managing finances and contacting emergency services in Australia, according to the UNHCR report.

What will Australia’s population will look like in 2050? The reality is that it would have an overwhelming number of ageing retirees unless, immigration levels are maintained if not increased in order to slow the country’s rate of ageing, according to a recent report on the SBS.

The simple reason is that migration introduces ready-made young labour to the economy and deals with the problem of an ageing local population, prominent Australian demographer, Professor Peter McDonald told the SBS. A report by the Migration Council of Australia last year said that Australia needs to attract more skilled migrants in the order of 250,000 a year to boost the economy and sustain future growth.

With the current migration policies focussing on skilled labour, the Australian migration program systematically and continuously introduces working aged adults with the relevant skills to help prop up the economy and deal with the country’s ageing population.