Australian Immigration Daily News

A nationwide study involving 5000 international students has found the majority are experiencing serious wage theft with three in four students earning below the minimum casual wage and one in four earning less than half the minimum.

‘International Students and Wage Theft in Australia’ is the latest report from UTS Law Associate Professor Laurie Berg and UNSW Associate Professor Bassina Farbenblum who co-direct the Migrant Worker Justice Initiative.

It builds on their 2016 national survey of temporary migrant workers. This new study finds that, despite efforts from the Fair Work Ombudsman over the last three years and stronger penalties against employers, it is still ‘business as usual’ in terms of the exploitation of international students.

Source: International-Students-Wage-theft.pdf 

We are delighted to announce that SearchMyANZSCO, the leading migration tool in Australia and New Zealand, is onboard with us and is regarded as the most “user-friendly” platform for all migration agents.

We’d like to bring your focus on the convenience that SearchMyANZSCO provides for your daily tasks such as:

• Occupations Search

Today the High Court unanimously allowed an appeal from a judgment of the Federal Court of
Australia. The issue raised by the appeal was whether an invalid certificate purportedly issued by a
delegate of the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection ("the Minister") under s 473GB of the
Migration Act 1958 (Cth) was "new information" within the meaning of s 473DC(1) of the Act. Section
473GB relevantly provides that the Minister may issue a written certificate certifying that certain
information given by the Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection ("the
Department") to the Immigration Assessment Authority ("the Authority") as part of the "fast track
review process" established by Pt 7AA of the Act should not be disclosed because it would ground a
claim of public interest immunity by the Commonwealth. Section 473DC(1) relevantly defines "new
information" to mean "documents or information" that "were not before the Minister when the Minister
made the decision [under review]" and that "the Authority considers may be relevant".

The first respondent's application for a protection visa was refused by a delegate of the Minister and this
decision was referred to the Authority for review under Pt 7AA of the Act. The "review material"
provided by a delegate of the Secretary of the Department to the Authority included a "Draft IMAPS
Identity Assessment Form" ("the Identity Assessment Form"). A certificate was purportedly issued
under s 473GB(5) ("the Certificate") certifying for the purpose of s 473GB(1)(a) that disclosure of the
information contained in the Identity Assessment Form would be contrary to the public interest
"because it is a Departmental working document". The Authority affirmed the delegate's decision and
an application for judicial review was dismissed by the Federal Circuit Court.

ORDER

Skills Assessment Authorities

Latest updates announced by various Skills Assessment Authorities 

ACS 262112: ICT Security Specialist

Applicants applying under the ICT Security specialist ANZSCO occupation code will be assessed based on separate criteria to the other occupations in this Unit Group 

Acceptance of Electronics subjects in ICT qualifications: Analogue and other non-ICT related electronics subjects will no longer be accepted when assessing qualifications. Applicants may provide a subject/course outline to support an assessment of Electronic related subjects which we will consider. 

The role of a practitioner in preparing an application or a matter before the AAT is crucial.  All practitioners are always bound by the Code of Conduct therefore it is important that a practitioner understands their duties and obligations towards clients.

What is a client?

Deciding who your client is in a migration advice engagement is often the first critical question to be answered. Getting this right will help set you on the right path. Getting this wrong, or not taking the time to consider it, may lead to potential confusion, misunderstanding and disputes. Each year the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA) receives a number of complaints and queries which may not have arisen had this question been considered carefully by the RMA.