VEVO is now in lockdown for organisations which would like to search the visa status of employees or clients as of Saturday last week, 24 May 2014.

At the moment as a migration agent we cannot verify our clients immigration status in Australia.  We can only rely on the clients information after they have searched and provided us with the information, or access their information using their details. 

Negatives:  For migration agents we cannot verify the information which is being provided by clients in relation to their visa.  If we go through the access available - Visa holder access only - then it asks for either:

1/ Reference - Visa grant notification.

Nurses’ unions are complaining that thousands of nursing graduates are unable to find work in Australian hospitals. They say that each year about 8,000 Australian students graduate with a nursing qualification, but that there are around 3,000 nurses who cannot find work. In contrast, between 2011 and 2012, 3,095 foreign nurses were granted working visas in Australia, according to a report in the ABC.

"It can't be a coincidence that at the same time as thousands of new nurse graduates across the country are unable to get jobs, the same amount of people are getting jobs, coming in as temporary skilled migrants on 457 visas," Annie Butler, acting federal secretary of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, said speaking to the ABC.

However, Michael Roff, chief executive of the Australian Hospitals Association, says that overseas nurses are essential for filling more highly specialised jobs, ones that fresh graduate cannot perform.

"From the private hospital perspective, 457 visas are principally used to fill vacancies that require experienced nurses with an advanced level of skill, particularly in areas like intensive care, coronary care and operating theatres," he said.

The 457 visa skilled migration program is currently under review and the nurses’ union fears that restrictions on foreign nurses will be watered down, but Mr Roff argues that there is actually to much red tape in the visa program.

"In fact its harder for a hospital to employ someone on a 457 visa because nursing is one of two professions that have to be market tested," he said.

From November, the Test of English Language as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) internet-based test and the Pearson Test of English Academia (PTE-A) will also be accepted by the DIBP for the purposes of immigration.  Will the new tests make a difference? Have your say.

One thing that comes to mind on this matter is why hasn’t Australia developed its own English Language testing standard that is acceptable to DIBP and the Universities? After all, Australia is the world’s most popular destination for an education in English and even immigration.

Alternative tests of English have been available for some years now, but only for student visas. The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the Pearson Test of English Academic (Pearson) and the Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) from Cambridge ESOL (Cambridge) have been accepted tests for Student visa application purposes since 2011.

However, the takeup rate of the alternative tests in students visas have been low indicating that the IELTs stranglehold may continue for a while yet. A DIBP report on the matter states that whilst, the introduction of alternative English language tests has delivered more choice to Student visa applicants who need to prove language proficiency, the take-up rate of alternative English language tests has been relatively modest with alternative English language tested Student visa applicants representing 3 per cent of all Student visa applicants who submitted an English language test during the first 12 months of operation.

There are serious flaws in VEVO allowing people to create false read-outs as to their status in Australia.

When a search is made for the immigration status of a migrant, VEVO doesn't validate the name put into the system against the passport number and visa grant number and date of birth.

For example, this morning, one of my staff was checking VEVO for a client of ours who today has became unlawful.  My staff member mistakenly put our client's partner's name into the VEVO check instead of the client's name.  She also mistakenly put the client's partner's passport number (a 457 visa holder) instead of the client's passport number.  She then put the date of birth of the partner as well.

This is what the VEVO online system asks for:

10-May-2014-IELTS-Results-Delay-Communication-to-Candidate.pdf

See the above attachment which came with an email this morning from the Macquarie University IELTS Test Centre to a migration agent's client in Sydney, NSW Australia.

This is the wording inside the attachment along with the IELTS logo on the top: