Earlier this month the NSW Labor party announced the adoption of a radical new policy which would see businesses that exploit or underpay workers placed on a “name and shame” register, as well as being disqualified from tendering for state government contracts, and a possible 14 year prison term. The Labor party will also move… Read More

A group of farmers working on the rural fringes of Melbourne are pushing to be added to the postcode list that controls where backpackers can work as a means of qualifying for a second-year extension on their WHM visa. The farmers claim they are struggling to find local workers and deserve the same rights as… Read More

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) has confirmed that wait times for Australian visas and citizenship applications are only going to worsen, thanks to hundreds of staff cuts, a massive spike in the number of lodgements being made, and the ongoing shift to greater automation. The secretary for the Department of Immigration, Mike… Read More

Several business leaders and one of the world’s top economic experts have delivered a stinging critique of the Coalition government, labelling them a threat to the economy and accusing them of treating foreign nationals as “barbarians”. The managing director of Coca-Cola Amatil, Alison Watkins, CEO for Woodside Petroleum, Peter Coleman, and the president of GE,… Read More

ALERT_UPDATE 1 July Changes The Department of Immigration of Border Protection (DIBP) has maintained their position of ‘Australia first’ with the highly anticipated 1 July changes released over the weekend. Whilst many of the changes were expected, some were unexpected. Click the link above to download our comprehensive overview.  

Occupational musical chairs continue with revamped skilled list for sponsored visas, whilst exemptions access for English and Skills are removed for others The Department of Immigration of Border Protection has today released their updated skills occupations list for sponsored visas, with the new Medium and Long‑term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL) and the Short‑term Skilled Occupation… Read More

The Department of Immigration has released statistics showing that there are more than 64,000 “unlawful non-citizens” who are currently living in Australia. Research has shown that at least two thirds of these foreign nationals have overstayed their allotted time in Australia for more than two years after first entering legally. There are also reports of… Read More

A Brisbane-based Coffee Club franchisee has been fined more than $180,000 for exploiting a temporary foreign worker and forcing him to back-pay more than $18,000 in wages. The Coffee Club Franchisee, Saandeep Chokhani, also threatened to have the Indian cook’s 457 skilled worker visa cancelled if he failed to comply. Action was taken against Chokhani… Read More

The Department of Immigration has announced the launch of a new long-term multiple-entry visa stream for Singaporean nationals, making it easier for them to travel to Australia for business or pleasure. Beginning January 1st 2018, the Visitor (Subclass 600) visa will allow holders to visit Australia for up to three months at a time, and remain… Read More

The government has announced the rollout of a new “parental” visa, which will allow the foreign-born parents of citizens to live in Australia for a temporary period of up to ten years. The temporary sponsored parent visa—which was announced by the government as part of the federal budget—will begin in November this year, with 15,000… Read More