The government’s recently passed legislation enacting the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) has officially been given the go-ahead, after receiving Royal Assent earlier this month on 22 May. This means that the government’s new regulations—which are set out in The Migration Amendment (Skilling Australians Fund) Act 2018—concerning labour market testing requirements, the nomination training contribution charge,… Read More

A Rockhampton-based company is currently facing legal action over the alleged underpayment of several temporary foreign workers. Last month the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) launched a legal action against the Rockhampton business, Alertvale Pty Ltd, in the Federal Circuit Court. The company—which operates several businesses in the mining and heavy industry sector—had previously sponsored two… Read More

On Tuesday May 8, the Australian government successfully passed two bills through the Senate that ratified the proposed Skilling Australians Fund legislation (SAF) into law. The successful passing of the Migration (Skilling Australians Fund) Charges Bill 2017, and the Migration Amendment (Skilling Australians Fund) Bill 2018 will see an estimated $1.5 billion made available—with matched… Read More

The Australian Greens party have publicly announced that they intend to shoot down the Coalition government’s proposed changes to visa sponsorship rules, by launching a disallowance motion in the Senate. A spokesperson for the Greens has said that the party is confident that the bill will find support from minor crossbenchers if Labor can be… Read More

On Tuesday this week, the Australian Senate will introduce the Migration (Skilling Australians Fund) Charges Bill 2017, and the Migration Amendment (Skilling Australians Fund) Bill 2018 for parliamentary debate. The legislation—which is officially due to be debated in Parliament on May 8—was tabled last year to introduce a new tax levy on skilled sponsored visas. The… Read More