Australian Immigration Daily News

Designated Area Migration Agreements – The Future of Immigration?

Last year no doubt has been challenging both for Migration Agents as well as businesses trying to fill in skills shortage.  The introduction of subclass 482 visa has seen a decline of 28%  of sponsored visas granted, leaving businesses with severe skills shortage.

The government’s response is to enter into a Designated Area Agreement (DAMA).  By way of background, the Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) programme has been developed to supplement the workforce strategies of states, territories and regions, to support economic performance and help them adjust to changing economic conditions.

NSW has reopened applications for nomination under the federal government’s Business Innovation and Investment Program.

Applications now open 

Applications for nominations for the following visas have been reopened:

• Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) – Business Innovation stream
• Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) – Investor stream
• Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) – Significant Investor stream
• Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) – Entrepreneur stream
• Business Talent (Permanent) visa (subclass 132) – Significant Business History stream
• Business Talent (Permanent) visa (subclass 132) – Venture Capital Entrepreneur stream

Applications for the following visas continue to be open and will be assessed:

• Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) – Business Innovation Extension stream
• Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) – Significant Investor Extension stream
• Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa (subclass 888) – Business Innovation stream
• Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa (subclass 888) – Investor stream
• Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa (subclass 888) – Significant Investor
• State / Territory Sponsored Business Owner visa (subclass 892)
• State / Territory Sponsored Investor visa (subclass 893)

For more information visit the Visas and Migration section of the department's website.

Requirements for persons to give assurances of support for visa entrants

7 Application of this Part

This Part is made for the purposes of section 1061ZZGB of the Act in relation to persons who give assurances of support for visa entrants.

Taken from the doorstop interview in Melbourne today this is part of the transcript, authorised by Greg Hunt MP, Liberal Party of Australia, Somerville, Victoria:

JOURNALIST: Would Australia consider giving the young Saudi Arabian girl in Bangkok a visa? 

GREG HUNT: Look, I spoke with Minister Coleman last night. He worked very, very hard to ensure that the United Nations High Commission for Refugees began an expedited assessment process for Miss Alqunun. He has been successful in securing that process. So I want to thank and acknowledge the work of David Coleman on that front. We’ll await the findings in terms of refugee status but he has indicated that he is very, very, very focused on this process, on ensuring that it proceeds rapidly, and if it is found that she is a refugee then he’ll consider it with a very, very open mind.

The Department of Home Affairs (including its independent operational arm, the Australian Border Force, referred to in this notice together as ‘the Department’) will exchange data with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to identify whether business sponsors are complying with their sponsorship obligations (eg, paying visa holders correctly) and whether temporary skilled visa holders are complying with their visa conditions (eg, to work only for an approved employer, and to work only in the approved occupation). Where non-compliance is identified further compliance action may be taken (eg consideration given to cancellation of a visa or the approval of a sponsor).

In this data exchange program the Department is the source and primary user agency whilst the ATO is the matching agency. The Department will provide to the ATO

• biographical details, including name, address and date of birth of clients who are, or were in the three most recently completed financial years, holders of Temporary Work (Skilled) (subclass 457) or Temporary Skills Shortage (subclass 482) primary visas; and
• details of the these clients’ business sponsors

These details will be electronically matched against ATO data holdings. Where there is a match, the ATO will return income and employment data for the relevant individual(s) to the Department. Data will be exchanged on a periodic basis. It is estimated that the total number of records shared will be around 680,000 which represents around 280,000 individuals.