Following the successful SIV cocktail events held in Sydney and Melbourne,  Migration Alliance is delighted to invite migration agents who practice in, or have an interest in Significant Investor 188 and 888 applications to an exclusive event by our sponsors NAB Private Wealth in association with PwC Private Clients to be now held in Brisbane.

We are also very pleased to announce that Business and Skilled Migration Queensland will be presenting at the event and will be providing information on the Significant Investor Visa and the Queensland state nomination process.

NAB Private Wealth and PwC Private Clients Team will provide an overview of how they can assist your SIV clients. This event will provide you with the information on investment choices as well as the depth and breadth of expertise that NAB Private Wealth, NAB Migrant Banking and PwC Private Clients can bring to you and your clients.

This event provides an exclusive opportunity for you to understand more about the investment choices and tax considerations for your clients and targets. There will also be an opportunity for you to engage one on one with experts from NAB Private Wealth and PwC Private Clients to answer any specific queries that you or your clients may be facing.

Register your interest today, spaces are strictly limited to ensure that all agents get the opportunity to speak with Business and Skilled Migration Queensland, NAB Private Wealth and PwC Private Clients.

Event Details:

Time:                     Wednesday 19th March

                             Registration 5pm

                             Event starts 5.30pm and finishes at 7. 30pm

Location:               NAB Head Office

                             Level 24

                             100 Creek Street

                             Brisbane Qld

Light refreshments will  be provided.

RSVP Using the following link - Register Here

Nab awards:

For the views of other agents please read the comments on this blog article.

Migration Alliance member RMAs might be interested in this email I just received from a fellow agent:

Hi Liana,

PHOTO: Grant rate of student visa applications decided in the three month period between 1 July 2013 and 30 September 2013 by citizenship country and client location. (Supplied: Australian government)

The ABC reports that the number of Indian students coming to Australia is rapidly rising with the number of higher education visa applications lodged by students in India to study in Australia more than doubling from 1,987 to 4,148 in the year to September 2013.

India's growing economy has pulled hundreds of millions of people into the middle class and has given them the means and the drive to pursue higher education, reports the ABC.

"Students are no longer just going to Australia seeking permanent residency, they are actually going there to get a quality education," Rhian Thomas, group vice president at The Chopras education services company in New Delhi, said.

Migration Alliance expresses it's condolences following the tragic death of Margaret Tannous, a former DIBP officer, RMA and much loved member of Migration Alliance.

She was an outstanding professional and keen advocate for the rights of migration agents and regular attendee at LTA CPD events. 

Our thoughts are with her family at this time.  Words cannot express how much she will be missed by this profession.

With the Department of Employment stating that there is no shortage of accountants in Australia and calling for accounting to be taken off the Skilled Occupation List for migrants, peak industry bodies and employers alike warn that the shortage will become apparent as the economy picks up.

More new graduates are having a hard time finding work and companies now can afford to be choosy about who to hire, reports The Australian Financial Review.

"Accounting has already been flagged by the Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency, which develops annual advice on the skilled list for DIBP as an occupation now considered a “borderline” inclusion on the list. The agency is doing a special investigation in the supply and demand for accounting skills." says the report.

It’s argued that the link between accountancy and permanent visas has resulted in the number of international ­graduates finishing undergraduate accounting degrees skyrocketing by 500 per cent between 2001 and 2012.

However the number of Australians studying accounting has fallen 20 per cent since 2001. Peak accounting bodies are thus concerned that if the foreign stream should slow as the Australian economy picks up, a shortage may become apparent.