Australian Immigration Daily News

The report comprises two chapters as follows:

- Chapter 1 outlines the administrative details of the inquiry, background to the inquiry, and the key provisions of the bill.

- Chapter 2 discusses the key issues raised by submitters and witnesses. It also sets out the committee's views and recommendations in relation to the bill.

Source: Migration-Amendment-Strengthening-Employer-Compliance-Bill-2023.pdf

The Australian Government has announced it is closing the Temporary Activity visa (subclass 408) Australian Government endorsed events (COVID-19 Pandemic event) – referred to as the Pandemic Event visa. See Closure of the Pandemic Event visa (homeaffairs.gov.au) 

From 2 September 2023, the Pandemic Event visa will only be open to applications from existing Pandemic Event visa holders. Pandemic Event visa holders will be able to apply for a subsequent visa after 2 September 2023 until the visa is fully closed by February 2024. 

All other visa holders will be ineligible for the Pandemic Event visa from 2 September 2023. 

Changes to the structure and delivery of the Migration Agents Capstone Assessment (Capstone) will commence from October 2023. The changes include:

• consolidating the current two written assessments into one written assessment
• extending the oral assessment
• reducing the cost of the Capstone from $2690 to $2156
• reducing the number of intakes from four (4) to three (3) each year

Further information about the changes is available on the OMARA website (Further Capstone information (mara.gov.au)) and on the Legal Training Australia website (Migration Agents Capstone Assessment - Legal Training Australia - Legal Training Australia) 

Quotes attributable to Federal Minister for Education Jason Clare:

“International student numbers are almost back to where they were before the pandemic. That’s a good thing. International education is an extraordinarily valuable national asset.

“But there are also challenges in international education. As students have come back, so have some dodgy and unscrupulous players who are trying to take advantage of them.

“This change will work to stop predatory ‘second’ providers from enrolling students before they have studied for the required six months at their first provider.

“This will help ensure the integrity of one of our biggest exports while cracking down on dodgy operators.”

Source: Action-to-end-rorts-in-international-education.pdf

Subregulation 2.07(5) of the Migration Regulations provides that if an item of Schedule 1 to the Migration Regulations prescribes a criteria or requirements by reference to a legislative instrument made under subregulation 2.07(5), the Minister may, by legislative instrument, specify the following:

• an approved form for making an application for a visa of a specified class;
• the way in which an application for a visa of a specified class must be made;
• the place at which an application for a visa of a specified class must be made; and
• any other matter

Source: LIN23049.pdf and LIN23049-Explanatory-Statement.pdf