Australian Immigration Daily News

Sometimes, there are situations where it is extremely difficult, if not practically impossible, to get a visa application successfully “across the line”.  

That’s something that I don’t like to say (and perhaps I should have written that sentence in “invisible ink”!).

As lawyers and RMAs, we’re used to being able to find solutions and fix problems. 

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.

Students caught cheating risk being failed, expelled and having their visas cancelled as University administrators step up investigations on ‘essay farms’ from where students buy essays and assignments to make the grade.

Last year, media reports revealed that thousands of students were buying essays and completed assignments paying up to $1000 for the ‘service’. Companies like MyMaster and Assignment King were reportedly openly advertising their services in Mandarin on various community websites.

The Australian National University which managed to pick-out some 51 fake assignments last year is now warning students not to put their future at risk as they will be failed and expelled should the fraud be uncovered. According to a report in The Canberra Times, the ANU has launched another major investigation into the matter, this year.

As my colleague Jerry Gomez has pointed out in his post in the Migration Alliance blog on 12 January 2016, there were a record 580 visa cancellations on character grounds in FY 2014 - 2015. 

The table that Jerry has included with his post reflects that some of the countries where the visa holders originally came from are places where there has been a history of war or civil or political conflict.  These countries include: Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Lebanon, Fiji and Vietnam. 

So, it is natural to wonder, when one looks at that table, how many of the people who had their visas cancelled on character grounds may have originally entered Australia as “refugees”.