Australian Immigration Daily News

The Australian Government is yet to allocate nomination quotas to states and territories for the 2020/21 program year.

The Northern Territory (NT) was provided a very small interim allocation, which has now been depleted. This means that the NT Government is currently unable to issue nominations under the General Skilled Migration (GSM) program.

In light of this, the NT GSM program is now suspended until further notice for all new applications. Applications for nomination under the Business Investment and Innovation Program remain open.

The Australian Border Force (ABF) is pleased to advise that the first tranche of 120 modern slavery statements (statements) submitted to the ABF’s Online Register under the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (the Act) have now been published. A media release from the Assistant Minister for Customs, Community Safety and Multicultural Affairs, the Hon Jason Wood MP, announcing the publication of these statements is available here. 

The publication of these first statements marks a new era of business transparency and is a vital step forward for Australia’s efforts to eradicate modern slavery in our supply chains. These statements have been submitted before the legislative deadline for reporting, which varies from 31 December 2020 to 30 June 2021 depending on the financial year of the reporting entity.   

The ABF is closely monitoring the quality of statements and has released two additional guidance notes to highlight good practice reporting trends and common reporting errors and provide additional clarity around describing consultation processes in statements. 

The JSCOM has tabled its final report into the Working Holiday Maker Program.

“During this inquiry, the Committee received highly compelling evidence on the ongoing importance of the Working Holiday Maker program to Australia,” Committee Chair Julian Leeser MP said.

“Working Holiday Makers make a significant contribution to Australia, not only through their tourism spending, but by supplementing the seasonal workforce, and through cultural exchange,” Mr Leeser continued.

This report builds on the findings of the interim report and calls for the measures taken in response to that report to be promoted.

Source: Committee-affirms-value-of-working-holiday-maker-program.pdf AND Final-report-of-the-inquiry-into-the-working-holiday-maker-program.pdf

The following information is found on the Department of Home Affairs website, updated on 28 November 2020:

From 19 September 2020, a number of concessions will be available for certain visa holders impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 concessions are to help you continue on your visa pathway if you have been disadvantaged by COVID-19 border closures, business restrictions or the economic downturn.

The following email has been received today:

The Morrison Government is making further changes to the Family visa program to support applicants impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Government has been working over recent months to minimise the impact of COVID-19 on visa holders and has already introduced a number of arrangements to support those who have been impacted. This includes providing visa holders flexibility to remain in Australia, or to continue their visa pathway even if they have been unable to travel due to the current international border restrictions.