NEWS & FAQs

Employment Opportunities in Canberra, Australia

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 21:03:25 +0000

ActewAGL is a Canberra based multi-utility company offering electricity, natural gas, water and wastewater services.

We have been advised by the skilled and business migration team in Canberra that they are seeking to recruit 8 senior engineers. ActewAGL will be willing to consider supporting the right candidate to obtain a Temporary Business Long Stay Subclass 457 visa, followed by permanent residence.

If you are a senior engineer and you are interested in migrating to Canberra, please get in touch with your CV.

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Sort Out My Visa is a registered and licensed Australian and NZ visa specialist, providing visa and migration services to individuals and families wanting to travel to, conduct business, work or live in Australia or New Zealand. Visit Sort Out My Visa for more information.

Canberra (ACT) Sponsorship List Update

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:52:53 +0000

Today the ACT Government (Canberra) has announced changes to its State Sponsorship List: 160 occupations have been removed from the new list and 5 occupations have been added.However, despite the removal of a large number of occupations, migration agents will be able to approach the ACT for sponsorship for unlisted (off the list) occupations.

The government has also introduced significant changes to its criteria and guidelines, including removal of financial criteria.

More information about these changes will be available on the ACT website shortly.

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Vetassess – Practical Assessments for Trades – Schedule for the UK

admin — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:50:10 +0000

VETASSESS has announced that, subject to demand, it will be conducting the following practical assessment events on the 25 February 2012 and 28 April 2012 in College of North West London, London, UK.

Please note that these are the last dates which may be available before changes to the skilled migration programme on 1 July:

25 February 2012 – Assessments for the following trades:

Bricklayer
Carpenter and Joiner
Carpenter
Electrician (General)
Plumber (General)
Airconditioning and Refrigeration Mechanic
Diesel Motor Mechanic (Heavy Vehicle Road Transport)
Motor Mechanic (Light Vehicle)
Sheetmetal Trades Worker
Welder (First Class)

28 April 2012 – Assessments for the following trades:
Bricklayer
Carpenter and Joiner
Carpenter
Electrician (General)
Plumber (General)
Airconditioning and Refrigeration Mechanic
Diesel Motor Mechanic (Heavy Vehicle Road Transport)
Motor Mechanic (Light Vehicle)
Welder (First Class)

These practical assessments form the second part of a two stage skills assessment process for visa applicants in the above occupations.

If you are considering applying fro a visa before 1 July, and on the basis of skills in the above occupations, you should get your applications for a skills assessment in as soon as possible to avoid missing out an assessment on the above dates.

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Wanted Down Under

admin — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 17:49:14 +0000

We are very happy for our clients Mr and Mrs Stitt who will be featured on the Wanted Down Under series on the 9th of January (Episode 6). Mr & Mrs Still were guided in the visa process by Lauren and successfully obtained their visas in June last year.

We wish them the best of luck in Australia.

Click here for more information about the series:

Wanted Down Under

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Favourable Changes to the Australian Student Visa Programme

admin — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 10:30:17 +0000

The Department of Immigration (DIAC) has begun implementing changes to the existing Australian student visa programme, as per recommendations by the Knight Review of the existing Student Visa system.

Some changes that have already come into force include:

- Lowering the financial requirements for certain student visa applicants to having to show $36 000 less in the bank when applying for a visa than previously.

- Extending the time new PhD students can continue to stay in Australia while their thesis is being marked.

- Allowing prepaid homestay fees to be included in the financial requirements assessment for a student visa.

Further changes, including a new post student work visa, will be introduced in July 2012 and in 2013.

For more information about these changes to the student visa programme, click here.

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Australian State Sponsored Visas – Links to State Sponsorship Lists

admin — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 12:53:17 +0000

Victoria has overnight updated its list of occupations for the purposes of state sponsorship nominations.

Below is a link to the Victorian list of currently sponsored occupations, as well as the links to the occupations being sponsored by the remaining Australian States and Territories:

VICTORIA

ACT – Canberra

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

NEW SOUTH WALES

the list:

http://www.business.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/5788/STNI-Update-List-of-Occupations-22.09.11.pdf

regional:

http://www.business.nsw.gov.au/live-and-work-in-nsw/visa-and-migration/skilled-regional-migration

TASMANIA

QUEENSLAND

List

http://203.210.126.185/dsdweb/v4/apps/web/secure/docs/4498.pdf

NORTHERN TERRITORY

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Skills Shortages In Australia Mean That More Companies Will Be Looking to Recruit From Overseas

admin — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 09:10:04 +0000

According to the Australian Institute of Management there is an acute shortage of skilled Australian workers in the construction, engineering, marketing and sales sectors. This means that Australian employers will be likely to step up their recruitment of overseas skilled workers.

The shortages are due to the continuing growth of the Australian economy, the continued growth of the mining sector, but also due to the failure of the education system in ensuring that school leavers are properly trained via apprenticeship schemes.

Click here for the full article and here for more information from Reuters.

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ACT (Canberra) State Migration Plan (SMP) Update

admin — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 13:36:09 +0000

A new SMP Occupation List July 2011 for Canberra (Australian Capital Territory) will come into effect on Monday 11 July 2011.

There have being minor changes made to the July SMP List:

131112 Sales and Marketing managers: Limited
135111 Information and Technology Manager: Closed
139912 – 19 Other Specialist manager: Limited
261111-263113 Computing Professionals: Closed

The new list will be available here:

http://www.business.act.gov.au/skilled_and_business_migration/SMP_Occupation_List

In addition, the ACT Government is undertaking a survey of the occupations in demand in Canberra and will be updating the new list when the results of the survey have been processed. A further updated list may therefore be published in September, when there is expected to be significant changes to the list of occupations.

The RSMS Guidelines have also being updated to incorporate the minimum salary of $49,330. The minimum salary comes for RSMS visa applicants will come into effect Monday 11 July 2011.

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Australian Skilled Occupation Lists to Change on 1 July

admin — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 11:50:52 +0000

The Australian Department of Immigration has announced that the following changes will be made to the skilled occupations list (SOL) on 1 July:

These occupations will be removed from the SOL schedule 3 as of July 1st 2011:

251411 Optometrist
251412 Orthoptist
324111 Panel Beater
324311 Vehicle Painter

These occupations will be added to the list on 1 July:

234914 Medical Physicist
251311 Environmental Health Officer
251312 Occupational Health and Safety Adviser
251511 Hospital Pharmacists
251513 Retail Pharmacists
271111 Barrister
271311 Solicitor
323211 Fitter (General)
323212 Fitter and Turner
323213 Fitter-Welder
323214 Metal Machinist (First Class)
399111 Boat Builder and Repairer
399112 Shipwright

So what does this mean?

If you were planning to apply for a skilled visa on the basis of the SOL Schedule 3 list only, and not on the basis of state or employer sponsorship, and your occupation will be removed off the list on 1 July, you may no longer be eligible to apply for a Skilled Independent visa and may have to rely on either a state sponsorship or sponsorship from an employer.

You must therefore apply for your skilled visa prior to 1 July (Australian time) to avoid being caught out by these changes.

If, on the other hand, your occupation will now be added to the SOL, then you may be eligible for a skilled independent visa rather than having to rely on state or employer sponsorship. We would therefore advise that you re-assess your options accordingly.

For further information about this legislative change please click here.

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South Australian State Sponsorship List – Amended

admin — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 12:17:13 +0000

Immigration South Australia has advised that due to having reached the planning levels for the 2010-11 Program Year, these occupations are no longer listed on the list of occupations currently available for sponsorship:

225213 – ICT ICT Sales Representative
262112 – ICT Security Specialist
323111 – Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (Avionics)
333212 – Solid Plasterer

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