Australian Immigration Daily News

The Morrison Government is responding to changing workforce needs by inviting stakeholders to provide their feedback in the review of the skilled migration occupation lists.

The skilled migration occupation lists underpin a range of employer-sponsored, points-tested and state-nominated visa programs and are reviewed regularly. The Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business is seeking public submissions on proposed changes to the lists.

Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash, said the consultation process will ensure the skilled migration occupation lists meet the needs of employers across Australia. “My Department started consultation in September, with over 200 stakeholders attending meetings across states and territories,” Minister Cash said. “As part of this consultation the department is working closely with stakeholders to identify new and emerging occupations — like data scientist and blockchain manager — not currently reflected on the lists.

Today the High Court, by majority, allowed an appeal from the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia concerning whether a decision of the Immigration Assessment Authority ("the IAA") was infected by apprehended bias. The majority held that the decision was infected by apprehended bias because the IAA considered material provided by the Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection ("the Secretary") which was irrelevant to the review and prejudicial to the appellant. 

A majority of the High Court held that the provision of the extraneous material to the IAA gave rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias. The IAA was required to consider the review material provided by the Secretary, which included the extraneous material, and said that it had done so. A fair-minded lay observer might think that consideration of the extraneous material might lead the IAA to have a bias against the appellant, possibly by thinking, consciously or subconsciously, that the appellant was not a fit person to hold a visa or that he would be a danger to the community. This might lead the IAA to make a decision otherwise than on the merits of the appellant's application. The IAA's decision was therefore quashed and the matter remitted to a differently constituted IAA.

Source: HCA-CNY17-v-Minister-for-Immigration-and-Border-Protection--Anor.pdf

The Global Talent Independent program (GTI) represents a new way of approaching highly skilled migration to Australia.  The program is designed to strengthen Australia’s ability to compete for the world’s best and brightest skilled migrants and support Australian businesses of the future. 

The Hon David Coleman MP, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, formally launched the GTI program on 4 November 2019 and announced the eligibility requirements for candidates to be invited to apply.  

These include that a GTI candidate:

Migration makes a substantial contribution to Australia’s economic prosperity, national wellbeing and social cohesion.  It impacts across many aspects of Australian life including employment, education, population, and infrastructure. Australia’s permanent Migration Program is designed and managed to support Australia’s interests. Migration contributes to the economy by bringing in skills, innovation and international connections, as well as consumers of local goods and services.

Cultural diversity continues to be one of Australia’s greatest strengths and all Australians share the benefits of our multicultural society. Aligning permanent Migration Program settings with Australia’s needs and integrating new migrants into society is important in achieving social cohesion outcomes.

When planning Australia’s permanent Migration Program, balances must be reached between economic, social and demographic objectives. Setting the right balance depends on the quality and strength of the evidence available. We encourage you to make a submission to help strengthen Australia’s Migration Program and ensure it delivers for all Australians over the long term.

NEW ANNOUNCEMENT – The 491 Small Business Owners (SBO) Pathway is now OPEN as at 11 December 2019. 

This option can be used to reward small business owners in regional Queensland for investing in the local business community and provides employment opportunities for local residents.

Further details of the 491-SBO can be found in the following links: