Australian Immigration Daily News

Quotes Attributable to Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus:

In 2013 the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Slavery, Slavery-like Conditions and People Trafficking) Act 2013 inserted new offences of forced marriage and harbouring a victim, and the standalone offences of forced labour and organ trafficking into the Criminal Code. The legislation also amended existing definitions to capture a range of slavery-like exploitative practices and forms of coercion.

These new laws made clear there is no place for modern slavery in Australia and empowered law enforcement agencies to disrupt, investigate and prosecute these crimes. A decade on from becoming a criminal offence in Australia forced marriage is now the most reported slavery-like offence to the Australian Federal Police.

Source: Marking-new-modern-slavery-offences---10-years-on.pdf

The purpose of this instrument is to update LIN 22/019 to reflect changes to the approved form, place and manner for making an application for a Special Eligibility (Class CB) visa application. Specifically, the instrument amends the address to which an application for a Special Eligibility (Class CB) visa must be sent.

Source: LIN23014.pdf and LIN23014-Explanatory-Statement.pdf

The below information and OSAP---Website-Factsheet.pdf has been provided by the Trades and Recognition Section within the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations for your information. 

Following consultation with assessors across Trades Recognition Australia (TRA), stakeholders including TRA-approved Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) and automotive industry representatives, TRA will be initiating changes to its OSAP and Migration Skills Assessment (MSA) programs.

Removal of OSAP countries of passport

The leading change will be to remove countries of passport for automotive occupations from the OSAP program where those countries do not correspond with countries of passport for those occupations listed under the TSS program.  This change was agreed to following engagement with automotive industry representatives regarding skills assessments and countries that have similar qualification standards to Australia, together with TRAs desire for consistency. 

Under the Temporary Graduate Work visa (subclass 485), the post-study ‘stay and work’ period for eligible graduates of listed qualifications will increase, as follows:

• Four years for Bachelor degree graduates, up from two years previously.

• Five years for Master degree graduates, up from three years previously.

• Six years for PhD graduates, up from four years previously.

Source: Post-study-work-rights-extension---qualifications-announced.pdf

The Autonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011 (the Regulations) make provision for, among other things, the proscription of persons or entities for autonomous sanctions. The Instrument, made under regulation 6 of the Regulations, designates persons and entities for targeted financial sanctions and declares those persons for the purposes of travel bans. The Minister made the designations and declarations being satisfied that the persons and entities:

- are responsible for, or complicit in, the threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine (item 9 of the table at regulation 6) (the Ukraine criteria); or

- are, or have been, engaging in an activity or performing a function that is of economic or strategic significance to Russia (paragraph (a) of item 6A of the table at regulation 6) (paragraph (a) of the Russia listing criteria); or

- are a Minister or senior official of the Russian Government (paragraph (b) of item 6A of the table at regulation 6) (paragraph (b) of the Russia listing criteria).

The human rights compatibility of the Instrument is addressed by reference to each of the human rights engaged below.

Source: Autonomous-Sanctions---Designated-Persons-Russia-and-Ukraine-2023.pdf  and

Autonomous-Sanctions---Designated-Persons-Russia-and-Ukraine-2023---explanatory-statement.pdf