The ABC Mildura-Swan Hill yesterday announced a migrant scam warning.

This time a couple living in Victoria have been taken for a ride.  Ten thousand dollars has been provided by the couple to a 'recruitment agency' masquerading as an agency that can also obtain visas....a company that doesn't exist!  Now the couple risk being deported.

'Green International' were apprently pretending to be migration agents. 

Perhaps if the Office of the MARA spent some of our registration fees on advertising and promoting the use of registered migration agents, how to find them, where to find them, where  the public can find information on the OMARA website etc, it would aid in public education and avoid situations like this.   The Office of the MARA has a responsiblity to protect the consumer.  They should be advertising and promoting our services, especially given we pay them a huge fee every year.

News has just come in to Migration Alliance from Qantas Corporate:

Qantas and China Southern airlines have signed a codeshare agreement!

This is the very first reciprocal codeshare agreement between the two airlines.  Great news for Australia as ot means that there will be a lot more travel and many more options for Qantas customers who want to travel to China.  This deal willl also increase and improve tourism opportunities for Australia.  With new tourists come new visas, and with new visas, come new temporary migrants and with new temporary migrants come more permanent visa applications.  From little things big things groow.
         
As part of the agreement Qantas customers are able to book China Southern flight services from Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth to Guangzhou.  Guangzhou is China's biggest transport hub and third largest city.  Qantas customers will then also be able to travel on Qantas codeshare services to another four onward locations (cities) China - Xiamen, Fuzhou, Ürümqi and Kunming.

Qantas has a current strategy to offer premium options for customers flying between Australia and Asia, in particular China.  For the ever-increasing plethora of customers travelling to China for business and pleasure, the latest Qantas / China Southern codeshare will make their travel easier and expand the available destinations.

Qantas states:

'This announcement follows other recent initiatives to boost the strength of Qantas' offering into Asia, including schedule changes to improve onward connections, lounge upgrades in Singapore and Hong Kong and a major upgrade of our A330 fleet starting from late 2014.'

Qantas is in the fantastic position of having strategic relationships with the three biggest airline carriers in China:

Migration Alliance is having it's AGM on 19 December at 2:00pm in Sydney Australian EST.

Please find the details in the link below:

Notice-of-Annual-General-Meeting-for-Migration-Alliance-Dec-2013.pdf

TAKE THIS SURVEY

The Australian Treasury estimates that the number of Australians aged 65 and over is expected to increase rapidly, from around 2.5 million in 2002 to 6.2 million in 2042.

That is, from around 13 per cent of the population to around 25 per cent. For Australians aged 85 and over, the growth is even more rapid, from around 300,000 in 2002 to 1.1 million in 2042.

At the same time, growth in the number of people of workforce age is expected to fall from around 1.2 per cent per annum over the last decade to almost zero in forty years' time. In 2002 there were more than five people of working age to support every person aged over 65. By 2042, there will only be 2.5 people of working age supporting each person aged over 65.

On 22 November the National Disability Service conducted a Roundtable to discuss skills needs for disability service providers and NSW passed a law transferring government disability services to the non government sector.

Demand for Child Care services for children aged 0-5 in Australia has never been higher.

Live-in caregivers are people who are skilled and qualified to provide care for children, the elderly or people with disabilities in private homes without supervision.  This survey examines the case for a Live-In Caregiver Programme in Australia.

A Live-In Caregiver Programme is currently operating in Canada.

TAKE THIS SURVEY

Mr Peter Van Vliet, Assistant Secretary, Migration Policy and Programme Branch made a presentation regarding the Skill Stream at yesterday's Consultation at the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, Level 5, 300 Elizabeth Street, Sydney.

The following were the most pertinent points which arose out of the presentation and round table discussion which followed:

The skill stream makes up 68% of the migration programme.