Australian Immigration Daily News

The following email has been received from NSW Treasury this afternoon:

NSW Treasury will begin accepting for NSW nomination for the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491) on Monday 15 June 2020. 

Announcement--NSW-nomination-for-Skilled-Work-Regional-visa-subclass-491.pdf

On 3 June 2020, the Australian Government has prohibited the export relating to equipment that could be used in the efforts to stop the spread of COVID19, this includes the following items:

• disposable face masks
• disposable gloves
• disposable gowns
• goggles, glasses or eye visors
• alcohol wipes
• hand sanitizer

In certain circumstances, exemptions to the abovementioned items may apply if:

• a person departing Australia takes a reasonable quantity of the items for personal use
• This exemption also applies to goods loaded as ship’s stores where the quantity is reasonable for personal or crew use
• the items are exported to a relative of the person for the relative’s personal use, and the export is not by international mail
• the items are exported by a humanitarian organisation, and the export is not by international mail
• the items are manufactured by the exporter, and the export is not by international mail
• export of the items is in line with the exporter’s normal business activities (and the exporter has an ABN and is registered under the GST Act) and the export is not by international mail. For example:
• they traded in these items (or similar forms of personal protective equipment or hygiene products) before 30 March 2020. This applies to companies that have regularly exported these types of goods or distributed them within Australia
• they export these items to a company they regularly export to or to a related entity (such as an Australian company exporting to an overseas branch or office of that company)
• they entered into a contract to export these goods prior to 30 March 2020
• the items are imported into Australia solely for the purpose of export to another country (transhipment) and remain in customs control while in Australia

Exporters who are eligible for an exemption should provide, or be willing to provide, evidence of their eligibility to their customs broker for assessment by the Australian Border Force, if required.

Fraud within the Visa and Citizenship Programmes is a high risk for the Department. People may present bogus documents, conceal information or provide false or misleading information where they would otherwise fail to meet the criteria for a visa. They may commit fraud to facilitate people smuggling, human trafficking, drug trafficking or terrorist operations.

Public interest criterion (PIC) 4020 is intended to significantly increase the level of integrity in visa applications by providing a strong disincentive to those considering giving, or causing to be given, a bogus document or information that is false or misleading in a material particular. It also requires applicants to satisfy the delegate as to their identity.

PIC 4020 is one of the Public Interest Criteria in Schedule 4 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (the Regulations). Where PIC 4020 is among the criteria for grant of a visa, unless the requirement to satisfy PIC 4020 is waived under PIC 4020(4), it must be met in order for the visa to be granted. Failure to satisfy PIC 4020 is grounds for visa refusal not for visa cancellation.

Department of Home Affairs has released latest information to assist specific industries as well as employers hit by the ongoing pandemic.  As we continue to climb out of the lockdown, certain concessions are nonetheless required in order to ensure that the roadmap to recovery.

Agricultural sector:

Home Affairs and the Border force will apply flexible arrangements to allow critical workers, including Seasonal Worker Programme and Pacific Labour Scheme participants and Working Holiday Makers, to extend their stay in Australia:

As States are continuing to administer migration programs despite the impact of COVID-19.  The State of Tasmania has confirmed that a degree of flexibility will be applied to applicants genuinely affected by COVID-19 employment stand-downs before or after meeting the mandatory 6 month full-time employment.

This means that each application will be considered on its merits and also the industry sector, depending on whether the sector is critical to the needs of Tasmania.

Tasmania will consider the main factors when issuing nomination: