General Skilled Migration Adelaide Processing Information
11 March 2010IMPORTANT NOTICE
Changes to Priority Processing – 8 February 2010
Direction No. 45 – Order of consideration – certain skilled migration visas
The Migration Act 1958 contains powers by which the Minister can consider and finalise visa applications in an order of priority that the Minister considers appropriate. Departmental officers are required to follow this Ministerial direction, which applies to every stage of visa processing.
The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, has set new processing priorities for certain skilled migration visa applications. The direction came into effect on 8 February 2010 and applies to new applications lodged on or after 8 February 2010, and those already lodged or in the final stages of processing, and replaces the previous Priority Processing Direction (No. 42) which commenced on 23 September 2009.
The new priority processing arrangements apply to the following visa programs:
· The Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS)
· The Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS)
· General Skilled Migration (GSM).
The following GSM visa subclasses are exempt from the priority processing
provisions specified in Direction 45:
· Skilled – Recognised Graduate Subclass 476
· Skilled – Graduate Subclass 485
· Skilled – Designated Area – Sponsored (Residence) Subclass 883
· Skilled – Regional Subclass 887.
Applications for these visa subclasses will be processed in the order in which they are received.
The following GSM applications are exempt from Direction 45
· applications that have been remitted by the Migration Review Tribunal for reconsideration;
· applications where it is readily apparent that the criteria for grant of the visa would not be satisfied;
· applications by members of the family unit of a person who holds a temporary or provisional GSM visa (subsequent entrant applications).
· visa applications for a Skilled – Regional Sponsored Subclass 487 visa where the applicant holds a Skilled – Independent Regional (Provisional) Subclass 495 visa, Skilled – Designated Area-sponsored (Provisional) Subclass 496 visa, Skilled – Regional Sponsored Subclass 487 visa or Skilled – Regional Sponsored Subclass 475 visa at the time they
apply.
The Skilled Migration visa processing priorities
Under the Ministerial Direction, the following processing priorities (with highest priority listed first) apply:
1. Applications from people who are employer sponsored under the ENS and the RSMS.
2. Applications from people who are nominated by a State/Territory government agency under a State Migration Plan agreed to by the Minister.
3. Applications from people who are nominated by a State/Territory government agency and whose nominated occupation is on the Critical Skills List (CSL).
4. Applications from people who are neither nominated nor sponsored under Priority Groups 1,2 or 3 but whose nominated occupation is listed on the CSL.
5. Applications from people who are nominated by a State/Territory government agency whose nominated occupation is not listed on the CSL
6. (i) Applications from people whose occupations are listed on the Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL); as well as
(ii) Applications from people who are sponsored by family and whose nominated occupation is not listed on the CSL.
7. All other applications are to be processed in the order in which they are received.
The complete list of occupations on the CSL is available on the department’s website:
http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/pdf/critical-skills-list.pdf
Application Processing Times – GSM Applications
Information on application processing times is published on the department’s website at
http://www.immi.gov.au/about/charters/client-services-charter/visas/8.0.htm
If your application is in any of priority groups 2, 3 or 4, it is estimated that your visa application will be finalised within 12 months of your lodgement date. Please note that processing times can be affected by circumstances beyond the department’s control.
If your application is in any of priority groups 5, 6 or 7 and you have applied for an offshore GSM visa or intend to apply for an offshore GSM visa, it is unlikely that your application will be finalised within 3 years of the date of the application.
If your application is in any of priority groups 5, 6 or 7 and you applied for an onshore GSM visa or intend to apply for an onshore GSM visa, it is unlikely that your application will be finalised within 2 years of the
date of the application.
Please note that your nominated occupation is the occupation you nominated at the time you lodged your application and cannot be changed.
Application processing times are indicative only and are based on the current visa application rate, the current Priority Processing Direction, and the availability of places in the Migration Program.
Please do not contact the Department to request your application be exempted from the Minister’s Priority Processing Direction. Departmental officers must adhere to the Minister’s Direction and you will be contacted by the Department when your application is allocated to a case officer.
Processing priorities are subject to change. Any changes to these priorities or processing times will be updated on the Department’s website at: http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/whats-new.htm
Priority Processing Exemptions
Visa Subclasses 476, 485 and 887 are exempt from the priority processing changes. Applications under these subclasses will continue to be processed in the order in which they were received by the Department – the following subclass by application lodgement date identifies cases currently being considered:
Visa Subclass
· Skilled – Recognised Graduate Subclass 476
VF 476 (paper): 22 February 2010
VF 476 (e-lodged): 22 February 2010
· Skilled – Graduate Subclass 485
VC 485 (paper): 5 May 2009
· Skilled – Regional Subclass 887
VB 887 (paper): 16 February 2010
Other Processing News
CHANGES TO THE SKILLED MIGRATION PROGRAM
In addition to the new Priority Processing Direction the Minister has announced other changes to the GSM Program. Information about these changes has been published on the Department’s website at:
http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/whats-new.htm
MEDICAL RESULTS
If you have undertaken your medical examination at Health Services Australia (HSA), please do not post your medical results to us unless your case officer requests you to do so. Please store your results in a secure place and do not open the sealed envelope.
LINKS
General Skilled Migration – What’s New
http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/whats-new.htm
Critical Skills List
http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/pdf/critical-skills-list.pdf
Last updated: 11 March 2010
Emigrating to Melbourne? We offer airport pickups / meet and greet services, furnished rental accommodation, suburb tours and settlement assistance.Immigration minister welcomes international education review
11 March 2010The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, today welcomed the final report of the Baird Review on the legislation governing international education.
It is most pleasing to note Mr Baird’s support for the Rudd Government’s changes to the skilled migration program announced on 8 February 2010.
The skilled migration program changes will encourage overseas students to focus on obtaining a quality education from a high quality provider by removing incentives for students to apply for a course simply in the hope of being granted permanent residence.
Under the changes, the wide-ranging migration occupations in demand list was revoked and will be replaced mid-year by a new and more targeted skilled occupations list to be developed by the independent body, Skills Australia.
The new skilled occupations list will be tightly focused on high value skills that will assist in addressing Australia’s future skills needs. It will deliver a mix of skills across the professions and trades in areas such as healthcare, engineering and mining.
International students currently studying in Australia who hold a vocational, higher education or postgraduate student visa will still be able to apply for permanent residence if their occupation is on the new skilled occupations list.
Students currently studying a course in an occupation that is not on the new skilled occupations list will have until the end of 2012 to apply for a temporary skilled graduate visa which will enable them to spend up to 18 months in Australia to acquire work experience and find an Australian employer willing to sponsor them.
It must be remembered that a student visa is just that: a visa to study. It does not give someone an automatic entitlement to permanent residence.
International students should be focused on obtaining a good qualification from a quality education provider in a field in which they want to work. The changes will in no way impact on international students coming to Australia to gain a legitimate qualification and then return home.
Similarly, Australia’s migration program is not and should not be determined by the courses studied by international students.
Australia will continue to welcome international students and provide an opportunity for those who have the necessary qualifications and skills to find an Australian employer willing to sponsor them for a permanent visa.
Emigrating to Melbourne? We offer airport pickups / meet and greet services, furnished rental accommodation, suburb tours and settlement assistance.Australia Skilled Migration Visa Changes February 2010
11 February 2010The changes announced and implemented on Monday 8th February 2010 by the immigration minister, Chris Evans, constitute the most fundamental reform of Australia’s skilled migration program in more than two decades. Senator Evans has not only addressed an immediate and thorny issue – the problematic link between permanent migration and the marketing of Australian education – he has also signalled a major rethinking of the how Australia selects skilled migrants for permanent residency. (Family and humanitarian migration are not affected by the changes.) There will be a great deal of pain for some organisations and for many individuals as a result, and the full consequences will take many years to be felt. Some pressing problems remain – most notably the blow-out in processing times for non-priority visa applications already in the system – but the attempt to shift policy onto a new footing is driven by a strong and defensible rationale.
Politically, the changes enable Senator Evans to portray the government as “taking back control of immigration” (though from whom he does not say). This is a useful message in an election year when “population” is emerging as an issue. But this is not poll-driven policy. The changes are the result of reviews, underway within the immigration department for months, which have prompted fresh thinking and provoked intense debate within the bureaucracy and within cabinet. The outcome represents a significant victory for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship over the much bigger and generally more powerful Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. When the policy was contested in Canberra corridors, the heavyweight departments of Treasury, Finance and Prime Minister and Cabinet all came down on Immigration’s side.
The changes confirm and entrench a shift from a “supply-driven” to a “demand-driven” migration program. In other words, rather than migrants volunteering themselves to be future residents of Australia, Senator Evans is building a system in which employers, including state and territory governments, select and sponsor the migrants that they think they will need. This is a significant refinement of the bias towards skilled migration that has characterised Australian policy since the late 1980s. It is probably the most far-reaching change since the Hawke government implemented major recommendations of the 1988 FitzGerald report on immigration policy, led by former diplomat Stephen FitzGerald.
For anyone unfamiliar with the complexities of the migration program and its array of visa subclasses, the changes are difficult to understand. Even though the department has had almost two months to prepare for the minister’s announcement (the changes were approved by federal cabinet before Christmas), many of the “plain language” explanatory documents posted on the department’s website are almost incomprehensible for the uninitiated.
Stripped of the department’s convoluted language, Senator Evans’s most dramatic act has been to scrap the Migration Occupation in Demand List. Created in 1999, MODL was a list of occupations deemed to be in short supply in Australia by the Department of Education, Employment, and Workplace Relations. Aspiring migrants with qualifications and experience in the occupations on the list would score extra points in the migration points test, and this could swing the balance their way in determining whether or not they qualified for permanent residency.
The minister was convinced that the MODL had been compromised. He and his department saw it less as an evidence-based evaluation of skills shortages in the economy than as an expression of successful lobbying efforts by businesses to advance their own interests. Evidence for this view can be seen in the way the MODL has expanded over time, from fewer than thirty occupations in 2004 to more than a hundred in 2009.
Crucially, the interaction of the MODL with other policy measures distorted Australia education-for-export industry. In 2001 the Howard government allowed international students graduating from Australian colleges and universities to apply for permanent migration onshore (that is, without first returning to their home country). This was done partly to address skills shortages and partly to give Australian colleges and universities an edge over their rivals in the competitive international education market. Visa applicants also received additional migration test points for having studied in Australia. In 2005, amid continuing business complaints about skills shortages, the Howard government added seventeen new occupations to the MODL, which were mainly trades and engineering related.
The combination of these measures produced an unanticipated boom in vocational courses, especially in cookery, hairdressing and accountancy. The best colleges offered high quality training; the worst were nothing more than visa factories. The number of foreign students undertaking these vocational courses sky-rocketed. As they completed their studies and applied for permanent residency they contributed to the creation of a huge bulge in the migration program and serious backlog in visa processing. Last year, for example, 170,000 people applied for permanent migration to Australia but the current annual intake has only 108,000 places. The backlog of applications awaiting processing has grown to 145,000, including 12,000 applications from cooks. (To put this figure in perspective, there are only around 36,000 cooks currently employed in the Australian economy.) An even larger number of accountants is waiting in the pipeline, and hairdressers also feature prominently.
The government cannot simply turn these migrants away. Almost all of them have passed the points test, amassing the magical 120 points necessary to qualify for permanent migration. But because there are too few places on offer in the migration program, the government has categorised certain classes of application as low-priority, essentially putting them on indefinite hold as they wait in a queue that does not move. This week’s changes will not get the queue moving again, though they may have stopped it from growing even longer.
Senator Evans could have tried to address the distortions in the education-for-export industry by tinkering once again with MODL – by dropping certain occupations from the list, for example. Or he could have tinkered with the migration test by reducing the number of points awarded for MODL occupations and boosting points for qualities like workplace experience.
Instead, he has gone much further. By scrapping the MODL, he has weakened but not entirely severed the link between education exports and migration outcomes. Vocational colleges that depended heavily on the dangled carrot of permanent residency to lure overseas students into their courses will now go bust. Other colleges will be forced to downsize dramatically and rely more heavily on domestic students. But universities offering longer degree courses that lead to professional qualifications could still find that the prospect (though not the guarantee) of permanent migration makes their offerings attractive to overseas students.
Those with the most to lose from the changes are the students themselves. Many have invested tens of thousands of dollars in an Australian education in the hope of securing a permanent visa. To ease their plight the minister has put in place transitional arrangements, in force until the end of 2012, which mean that many of those already in the system will be processed under the old MODL and points test rules. On completing their course, students can also apply for a temporary skilled-graduate visa (subclass 485) which enables them to live and work in Australia for a further eighteen months. In theory this should enable students to gain the practical work experience they need to boost their application for permanent residency. In practice, though, it may not work out that way.
There are three reasons for this. First, there is already such a huge backlog in immigration processing – the queue already mentioned – and the government has given no indication that it has any way of working through the applications on hand. The priority processing arrangements already put in place will be adjusted, but not in a way that changes the outlook for applicants currently stuck in the pipeline. Onshore migrants have been told to expect a wait of at least two years before a decision is made in their case, unless they can find an employer who will sponsor them. Students who apply for permanent residency without a sponsor will go to the back of the queue.
Secondly, while they wait, there could be further changes which will knock applicants out of the queue altogether. As part of the most recent reforms the minister has moved to render void some 20,000 visa applications made before 1 September 2007, using a process known as “capping and ceasing.” (The minister has the power to “cap” the number of visas that can be issued in a particular category in a particular year and, once that number is reached, any pending visa applications are deemed to “cease,” as if they had never been made.) Applicants who are capped and ceased will have their visa application charge of between $1500 and $2000 refunded by the government, although they will still be massively out of pocket for associated costs like fees for medical tests and migration advice. It is not clear whether the minister could easily apply to the same “cap and cease” measures to knock more recent applications out of the queue, but his actions do send a message that the government can find ways to retrospectively shift goalposts when it really needs or wants to.
The third reason that foreign student graduates will find it hard to use the extra eighteen months to gain permanent residency is that it will be much more difficult for them to have their Australian qualifications recognised. On 1 January the federal government introduced the Job Ready Program, which requires foreign graduates of Australian vocational colleges to complete a four-stage assessment of their workplace skills, including racking up twelve months’ full time employment on award wages, in their nominated trade, with an Australian employer. The employer must be willing to provide details of their progress towards “job readiness” by completing monthly log book entries online. The process, overseen by Trades Recognition Australia, will cost the applicant around $4500 in fees. This is on top of the $2525 visa application charge paid to Immigration and is a dramatic increase from the previous cost of about $300 for skills assessment.
There is a great irony here. Australia has marketed itself to the world as a purveyor of high quality education and training, yet it now has so little faith in the quality of the vocational sector of this industry that international graduates must go through a rigorous and expensive new assessment system – one that does not apply to domestic graduates of the very same courses.
It is likely that a significant number of foreign graduates will fail to jump through all the Job Ready hoops within the eighteen-month window offered by a 485 temporary visa, which is not renewable or extendable. Many may not even try. Instead they will continue to work in undesirable jobs in the service economy – driving taxis, staffing checkouts or doing the late-night shift in convenience stores. When their visas expire they will be expected to leave Australia, but they may not be happy to do so. Expect a surge in appeals to the Migration Review Tribunal in about a year and a half.
The government will eventually replace the MODL with a refined Skilled Occupation List, or SOL, drawn up by the independent agency Skills Australia. The list will be announced in April and will take effect from 2010. In consultation with the Commonwealth, the states and territories will be able to draw up their own migration plans and augment the national SOL with occupations that may be specifically relevant to their own local economy (foresters in Tasmania, perhaps, or welders in Western Australia). Migrants who have employer sponsorship or state or territory sponsorship under a migration plan will receive top priority in visa processing.
But a listing on the SOL will not confer extra points towards the migration test, which is itself now under review. Nor will it act as a magnet for international students to undertake particular courses in Australia or for education providers to offer such courses. Rather the government is aiming to identify a range of occupations and professions that are of critical importance to the nation’s development. In the minister’s words, these will be occupations that “we can’t afford to risk… being in short supply” and which demand skills that “take considerable time and diligence to acquire.” Senator Evans says that the MODL was “delivering self-nominated migrants from a narrow range of occupations with poor to moderate English language skills who struggle to find employment in their nominated occupation” (think taxi-drivers with a diploma in accountancy). He expects that the new SOL and a revised points test will result in “a wider mix of professions and trades” coming through the migration program “to supplement the national skills base.”
The minister has also flagged the creation of a pool of potential immigrants who submit their qualifications and experience for consideration without making a formal visa application (or paying the associated high fees). Employers and states and territories will be able to trawl through this pool to find people with occupations and skills to meet their workforce needs. They can then sponsor these migrants through the visa process.
Over time, the proportion of sponsored skilled migrants will rise, and those coming to Australia independently will fall. Urgent short term vacancies will be filled through the existing temporary migration categories, such as the 457 skilled worker visa, which have expanded dramatically over the past decade. Temporary migration is now a permanent feature of the migration mix, and it is expected to rise and fall with the economic cycle, helping smooth out the lags that emerge between the demand for skills in a growing economy and the ability of the education system to deliver appropriately trained workers.
THESE ARE the essential elements of the “demand”-driven model that Senator Evans is promoting, and he has a found a powerful metaphor to describe it. The old MODL system was “like pulling a ticket number from the dispenser at the supermarket deli counter” and serving everyone in turn. In theory, everyone who amassed 120 points in the migration test would eventually get “served” with a visa. A better model for selecting skilled migrants, he says, is the university entrance process. Places are limited, so they will be given first to those most suitable and best qualified rather than those who have waited the longest.
From the standpoint of Australia’s national interest this is a sound argument, but there are still significant problems to be resolved before we can move away from the supermarket deli counter to fish selectively in the pool of migrant talent. For a start, the changes do not resolve the matter of the 12,000 cooks and all the other visa applicants who have passed the points test and who are stuck in the processing pipeline. They pulled a ticket from the dispenser and most of them were given the impression that their cases would be finalised in less than twelve months. They are not making progress because the government has given priority to other categories of migrants, especially those directly sponsored by an employer. The applicants stuck in the queue – both onshore and offshore – have shelled out thousands of dollars in fees and charges yet they must live in a state of anxious uncertainty.
Senator Evans makes no apologies for this. “A number of commentators have criticised me for leaving people in limbo under the priority processing arrangements,” he says. “I say to them it is my duty in the national interest to give priority to those applicants who offer Australia the most.”
The latest changes also appear likely to have some unintended consequences. Experienced migration agents are already pointing out that the new rules could prevent nurses on temporary 457 visas from becoming permanent residents. Until now, a foreign nurse under forty-five years of age with competent English could easily mount a strong independent application for permanent migration, especially after gaining some work experience in Australia. With the abolition of the MODL that nurse has lost twenty points towards the migration points test and will probably fail to cross the 120-point threshold.
For the managers of vocational training colleges that cater to international students, for students themselves, for anyone with a skilled visa application already in the system and for migration agents who offer professional advice on moving to Australia, the minister’s announcement will feel like yet another sharp, sudden and arbitrary tilting of the playing field in the government’s favour. But in the longer term Senator Evans’s reforms hold out the prospect of a more stable, more predictable and more rational system. In the meantime, expect many more difficulties ahead as the ripples of the announcement wash through peoples’ lives. •
Peter Mares presents The National Interest on ABC Radio National and is an adjunct fellow at the Institute for Social Research at Swinburne University.
Emigrating to Melbourne? We offer airport pickups / meet and greet services, furnished rental accommodation, suburb tours and settlement assistance.Skills Australia to Provide Advice on New Skills Migration Occupation List
10 February 2010The Australian Government has asked Skills Australia to provide advice on the development of a revised list of skilled occupations to be used for general migration purposes. The new Skilled Occupation List (SOL) will be published by 30 April 2010 and will come into effect from mid 2010. The new SOL will streamline arrangements by having in place one skills list to replace the current skilled occupation list, the Migration Occupations in Demand List and the Critical Skills List.
Skills Australia (www.skillsaustralia.gov.au) is an independent board comprised of experts from industry, economics and education. Its role is to provide advice to the Federal Government on Australia’s current, emerging and future workforce development and skills needs.
The Chair of Skills Australia, Mr Philip Bullock said “A targeted skilled migration program is, and will continue to be, very important in ensuring Australia has the skilled workforce it needs for our future economic and social development and prosperity. The request of Skills Australia to provide advice on the Skilled Occupation List brings general skilled migration into the fold of national workforce planning. This will better ensure that skilled migration complements the efforts to develop Australia’s existing and future workforce — through the provision of high quality education and training for new and existing employees, the effective use of the skills in the workplace and a holistic approach to workforce development in Australia.”
The new Skilled Occupation List (SOL) for migration purposes will be developed by Skills Australia. It will focus on specialised occupations that require a long lead time of formal education and training and where the economic impact of not having those skills is significant.
Skills Australia will use the latest industry, education and employment statistics and trends and information supplied by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship and the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. The final advice to the Government will be considered within a broader context of Australia’s ongoing and future workforce development and skills requirements.
The new list will aim to ensure Australia’s General Skilled Migration program is focused on high value skills that will help address future skills needs.
Emigrating to Melbourne? We offer airport pickups / meet and greet services, furnished rental accommodation, suburb tours and settlement assistance.Removals – Shipping Furniture to Australia by PSS
9 February 2010Why Choose PSS International Removals?
PSS International Removals is a family business specialising in moving families to Australia, we understand how stressful it can be relocating your family and your sentimental belongings to the other side of the world. For this reason we offer each customer a personalised service by assigning a professionally trained team of Removal Co-ordinators who take a personal interest in your move and assisting you every step of the way. We have been established for over 28 Years and we have successfully handled thousands of moves to Australia, PSS are not an ordinary removal Company because we ONLY HANDLE International removals, we do not handle moves in the UK.
Because we specialise, we are able to offer you a second to none service. All our packers are trained export packers so whichever crew walks through your front door from whichever of our depots you are going to get the best standard and the greatest care & attention when packing your fragile sentimental items.
We have prepared a guide below detailing things to know when you first start your relocation.
How to make your move to Australia go smoothly
When to start the process
The correct time to start organising quotations and compiling information about your International Removal to Australia is between 3 and 6 months before your intended departure or earlier. Don’t leave it until the last minute or you may end up being limited by which International Removal Companies can arrange it in time, this can easily cause you unnecessary stress, especially during a time when you are also organising flights & house sales etc
How do you decide which Companies to select?
Unlike most household services the locality of the International Removal Company to your address is not a major issue. If you were moving within the UK, for economic reasons you would normally go for a domestic removal company located near where you live, however in most cases the quality and cost of an International removal is not affected by the locality of the remover to your address, it is more a question of the number of International removals the company handles to Australia that will reflect the quality and cost of your International removal. It is also very important for you to feel comfortable with the removal company you are selecting, after all this is YOUR MOVE & you need to feel assured that the company fulfils your requirement. Of course there are risks involved in any removal especially when being transported by Sea. It’s important that the crews which export pack, wrap and load your goods into the shipping containers are highly experienced. PSS crews do nothing else, so we like to think they are the most experienced in the market
Why is it so important to get a Removal Company who specialise in International Removals?
There are a large number of differences between an ordinary UK removal where your possessions are loaded on to a van, driven to another house and unloaded. An international removal should consist of every item being export packed using extra strength packing materials and then stacked and shipped inside a Shipping Container. The main differences being the export packing and the knowledge and experience involved in Shipping, Customs clearance etc.
What’s important to look for when selecting International Removal Companies?
Firstly look for Companies who are members of FIDI plus attained FAIM accreditation and are also members of BAR but make sure they are members of the BAR Overseas Group as only members of this group are covered by the IMMI pre payment guarantee scheme. The following 3 points are a good basic starting point:
1. QUALITY ASSURANCE
The ultimate independent Quality Assurance standard for the International Moving Industry is FAIM ACCREDITATION. Controlled by FIDI the most prestigious International removals association, FAIM Quality assurance is recognized throughout the world.
2. FINANCIAL PROTECTION
BAR Overseas is the specialist branch of the British Association of Removers for International Removals and members are covered by the Advance payment Guarantee Scheme (I.M.M.I.).
3. INTERNATIONAL REMOVAL COMPANY
A specialist international moving company with all staff and packers fully trained in handling International Removals.
Once you have selected the International Removal Companies you wish to quote on your move, its then time to arrange for a FREE NO OBLIGATION estimate. Be prepared to wait a few weeks for an appointment because the more popular and experienced International removers are always busy and estimators appointments are normally booked up at least 2 weeks in advance and in some cases more than this. It’s like going out for dinner at a popular restaurant, you would need to book well in advance as they tend to get booked up fast.
What do I tell, the estimator and what do they need to see?
The estimator should complete a full packing inventory of everything you wish to take including a generous allowance for cartons for all the small items.
(It’s important that the estimator sees all the small items and not just the furniture, to make their assessment of the volume as accurate as possible)
Advise the estimator of any items that you are unsure whether or not to take, because the estimator can offer you a separate estimate for adding those items to your move. In some cases customers have found it cost effective to add their sofa or bed to their consignment.
The estimator will of course be pleased to give you information or advice regarding the packing or customs requirements for any items you are considering to take; but their main task is to assess your packing requirements, volume and complete a full list. Many questions may arise later and this is why it is important for you to have a real professional team of expert Move Coordinators to answer them. The estimator will also provide you with either written or verbal information about there company (normally contained in a brochure) and advice concerning any special packing they recommend for particular items.
PSS International Removals have a brochure and we would be pleased to provide you with one.
Written Estimate
Once the estimator has completed their survey detailing the goods you are planning to take with you, you should receive a written estimate within a few days, always wait until you have received the written estimate and have checked it thoroughly before you book your International Removal.
Sometimes as a result of the quotations you receive, you may decide to add or subtract items from your removal and you need time to discuss this with the Companies who have estimated. You will also need time to decide which International Removal Company you are going to use. These days it is rare for someone to decide on which Company to use just by looking at the price, invariably people will want to telephone or email the Company and ask more questions or seek clarification on certain points. When you finally make your decision you will probably find that the popular and most professional International Movers require around one months notice to book the actual packing and removal date.
Use the following check list to ensure that you have written confirmation of the most important points.
1. There should be a list of items which you must check to ensure that the estimate covers everything you are taking.
2. There should also be a cubic volume. This is important as many of the services included are based on volume and this is very useful when comparing quotations.
N.B. In many instances the price quoted will change if the list of items or the cubic volume changes.
3. Any special packing requirements for a particular item are included.
4. All Door to Door costs have been included e.g.: Australian terminal charges, unloading, and presentation to Customs etc. Most important ensure that delivery to your residence and unpacking is included, if your residence is beyond the standard quotation radius of 30 miles from the port check that the extra delivery charge has been included either by stating an increased mileage radius or by naming the town where you are going to live.
Managing your International Removal
Most International Removal Companies have specialised departments and allocated staff to deal with any questions or queries. If you do have any questions or queries our Removal Coordinators would be glad to assist you. We normally find that customers build up a rapport with our Move Managers & Coordinators and liaise with them regarding any matters that may arise. This can include:
• Arranging and issuing new or amended quotations to account for any changes you may decide to make
• Advice on which items need cleaning for quarantine, or items which will be subject to quarantine inspection.
• Why certain packing materials must not be used on removals to Australia, in particular wooden packing cases must be made from treated timber and display a forestry stamp, the use of polythene and plastic wrapping materials should be avoided on items which could be damaged by excessive heat and condensation.
• Information regarding Storage and any ancillary services that may be required
• What you need to do before the packers arrive e.g. clearing the loft, sorting cupboards and drawers etc.
Shipping and transportation
There are basically two means of shipping your household goods to Australia:-
Smaller removals will be consolidated with other customers removals destined for the same Australian Port and shipped in Shared Container loads. It is important that the International Remover you select regularly handles a large number of these otherwise your goods can be waiting in the UK for some time before there is sufficient volume to fill the container. The transit time of a shared container removal will normally be between 8 and 12 weeks.
Larger removals will be shipped as Full (Sole use) Container Loads. The major advantage with these is that the actual shipping container is transported to your UK residence, loaded with your packed items and sent immediately on the first vessel sailing to Australia. There are four different types and sizes of container available for shipment to Australia, they are 20ft NOR (Non Operational Reefer) 20ft GP (General Purpose) 40ft GP (General Purpose) 40ft HC (High Cube). Your International Mover will advise you of relevant options and costs. The transit time for Sole use containers is normally between 5 and 7 weeks
The Export Packing is a very important aspect of the whole operation, export packing materials are considerably stronger than the materials used in domestic removals, also export packing and loading Household goods into Shipping Containers is a highly specialised skill which is only acquired by training and experience.
What happens when my goods arrive in Australia?
When you sign up for a door to door removal the UK Company you contract is totally responsible for all aspects of the removal process right up until your goods have been installed in your new home in Australia. It makes no difference to the contract or to the service you receive whether this partner Company in Australia has the same trading name as the UK Company or not. Most experienced International Removers move families around the world and have experienced professional partners in many Countries who will handle the importation, delivery and unpacking. Whilst it does not make any difference to your removal what name they trade under it is worth knowing whether the destination partner also has FAIM accreditation as this is an internationally recognised quality standard.
Quarantine inspection charges
All shipments entering Australia are subject to a government quarantine inspection which is carried out by AQIS; Quarantine inspection charges can in certain circumstances also include location or presentation handling costs. These charges cannot be included in the removal quotation because they are largely based on the amount of time taken by the inspectors or any treatment required. Any charges will always have to be paid after arrival in Australia. The decision as to whether your consignment is examined is solely that of the Quarantine Officer. Quarantine officers have the right to order fumigation, steam cleaning or any other treatment they deem necessary to any items, in such circumstances the charges for this treatment will also be charged to you.
Exact Quarantine fees applicable for your shipment can only be known once your consignment arrives as the examination is assessed locally. However PSS will be pleased to offer you a guideline of the costs involved with a Quarantine examination. Please note that they are only guidelines, based on the size of your shipment or types of items shipped. Any guideline Quarantine fees can change depending on the extent of examination and if any fumigation or treatment is required. If you are planning on sending any items that have been in contact with the soil or grass, please ensure these items are thoroughly clean and in some cases disinfected before shipment. This can help to speed up your clearance and possibly reduce your Quarantine charges. There are also certain wooden items which are subject to inspection such as Bamboo, cane, wicker furniture/baskets, a full list of items are listed in one of our brochures.
If you have any questions regarding which types of Visa’s qualify for free entry of Duty & GST, please contact New Zealand customs or alternatively one of our Move managers or Move Coordinators will be glad to assist you.
For further information please visit the website of PSS International Removals http://www.pssremovals.com
Visa applications cancelled
8 February 2010ABOUT 20,000 people will have their visa applications cancelled as the Rudd government launches a crackdown in the skilled migration program.
In a move likely to inflame political sensitivities over the treatment of Indian students, the government is expected to deny migrants any opportunity of achieving ”back door” permanent residency through the skilled migration scheme.
The changes to be unveiled today will see 20,000 current applications binned; an overhaul of the queuing system that identifies occupations in demand and creates a points system; and state governments will be asked to develop new migration plans.
The Immigration Minister will also gain new legal authority to set a maximum number of visas for a single occupation.
The cancelled applications apply to all offshore general skilled migration claims lodged before September 2007. Refunding 20,000 visa applications will cost taxpayers about $14 million.
Given the changes could have a significant impact on many foreign students already in Australia, the government will introduce transitional arrangements to apply until 2012. Foreign students who have a qualification for an occupation no longer considered in demand will get to apply for a temporary 18-month visa, allowing them to gain work experience.
The 18 months will also give a foreign graduate time in which to find an employer willing to sponsor their application as a skilled migrant.
If they are unsuccessful in that attempt, they will have to return to their country of origin.
The overhaul of the system will set a new list of occupations in demand.
The new system is expected to favour skilled workers including nurses, general medical practitioners, mechanical engineers and teachers instead of groups such as cooks and hairdressers.
Employers are supportive. Yesterday, Australian Industry Group chief executive Heather Ridout said: ”The changes should result in a better connect between permanent residency and addressing Australia’s critical skills needs.” In a frank speech to be delivered this morning, Immigration Minister Chris Evans will argue that the skilled migration program has not been working in Australia’s economic or demographic interests.
”The program has been delivering self-nominated migrants from a narrow range of occupations with poor to moderate English language skills who struggle to find employment in their nominated occupation,” Senator Evans will argue. Senator Evans will acknowledge the impact of the changes on foreign students, but argue they can still gain residency if they gain qualifications in professions that are in demand. He said the current tensions and misunderstandings have been made worse by unscrupulous migration agents.
”[These agents] have been misleading many international students into believing that a course in Australia gave them an automatic entitlement to permanent residence,” Senator Evans said. ”It does not, and it will not.” Senator Evans will also argue that the government supports skilled migration and continues to want migrants, ”be they from India, the United Kingdom or China – our three largest source countries or elsewhere”.
”We want skilled migrants on terms that work both for Australia and for the migrants themselves. We need a program with integrity and direction.’
Emigrating to Melbourne? We offer airport pickups / meet and greet services, furnished rental accommodation, suburb tours and settlement assistance.New migration changes leave students in limbo
8 February 2010The Federal Government has acknowledged some overseas students will be angry as it revamps Australia’s skilled migration rules.
Immigration Minister Chris Evans is immediately scrapping the list of jobs used to pick migrants, replacing it with one more focused on highly-skilled work, meaning some overseas students will lose the chance to apply for permanent residency.
If the job they are studying for is not on the new list, foreign students will not be able to apply for a permanent residency visa unless an employer will sponsor them.
Senator Evans says in recognition of the problems the changes could cause for colleges and existing overseas students, he is temporarily allowing them to spend 18 months in Australia after graduation to work and seek sponsorship from employers.
He has also announced that around 20,000 people who applied for skilled migrant visas before September 2007 will have their applications cancelled and their fees refunded.
Senator Evans says the current list of jobs is distorting the economy.
“We had tens of thousands of students studying cookery and accounting and hairdressing because that was on the list and that got them through to permanent residency,” he said.
“We’ve found that a lot of highly-skilled people with higher education degrees or a lot of overseas experience aren’t passing the points test where people with a lower-level qualification and some education in Australia were.
“So we want to make sure we’re getting the high-end applicants.”
Senator Evans says the Government will announce the size of the migration intake for the year in the May budget, but Opposition Immigration spokesman Scott Morrison says the Government should not cut the proportion of skilled migrants.
“What I wouldn’t want to see is a retreating on skilled migration – a lowering in the number of people proportionally that are coming under the skills program versus the family program,” he said.
“Because the greater percentage come on the family program – that’s higher levels of benefits that have to be paid out, higher levels of strain on the health system, higher levels of strain on other forms of assistance that is provided.”
Mr Morrison says he will be watching how the Government handles the backlash from colleges and students.
“It’s quite clear that there will be many colleges I suspect that will go out of business,” he said.
“There’ll be people who are currently studying courses who’ll find themselves caught between a rock and a hard place, and we’ll find out just how well the Government’s thought through these changes when they impact on the ground and we see the details of them.”
The changes have angered the education industry.
Colleges offering courses for overseas students say they are already doing it tough because of the controversy over violence directed towards Indians.
The chief executive officer of the Australian Council for Private Education and Training, Andrew Smith, says the viability of some institutions may be threatened.
“Our members deliver courses across a whole range of areas … but we’ve seen significant drop off in demand for Australian education from overseas over recent months, for a range of reasons, and we expect that this will further dampen that demand and there may well be job losses,” he said.
“We’ve had a global financial crisis. We have had serious reputational damage done to Australia’s image overseas.
“So people in the industry will now be very grateful that current students are able to have their arrangements continue, but they will also be very worried about the lack of information about what will happen beyond the release of the skilled occupation list.”
Removal of MODL (Migration Occupations in Demand List) February 2010
8 February 2010Removal of the MODL
On 8 February 2010, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, announced the outcomes of a review of the Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL). The review found that the existing MODL needed to be revoked and replaced by a more targeted skilled occupations list to better meet the demands of Australia’s labour market.
The revocation of the current MODL will not affect those who at the date of announcement:
• hold a Skilled—Graduate (subclass 485) visa, or have a pending subclass 485 visa application and are yet to apply for a permanent or provisional General Skilled Migration (GSM) visa, or
• have a pending GSM visa application.
New Skilled Occupation List from mid-2010
On 8 February 2010, the minister also announced the replacement of the current Skilled Occupation List (SOL) in the second half of 2010, with a new list of targeted occupations determined by the independent body, ‘Skills Australia’. As the new SOL will be a comprehensive, targeted list, the current Critical Skills List will be revoked.
The new SOL will come into effect from mid-2010 and will apply to all applicants lodging visa applications made on or after this date, except to GSM applicants who at the date of announcement ( 8 February 2010):
• hold a Skilled—Graduate (subclass 485) visa, or had a pending subclass 485 visa application and had not yet lodged an application for a provisional or permanent GSM visa and who make an application by 31 December 2012, or
• have a pending GSM visa application.
In addition, the new SOL will not apply to people applying for a Skilled—Graduate (subclass 485) visa who at 8 February 2010 hold a:
• Vocational Education and Training Sector (subclass 572) visa
• Higher Education Sector (subclass 573) visa
• Postgraduate Research Sector (subclass 574) visa.
However these student visa holders will be required to have an occupation on the new SOL to apply for a permanent GSM visa.
GSM applications lodged before 1 September 2007
Under section 39 of the Migration Act 1958, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship has the power to set a maximum number of visas of a class that may be granted in a particular financial year.
On 8 February 2010, the minister announced he would set a maximum number of offshore GSM visa applications made before 1 September 2007 that could be granted. Once this number is reached, any applications awaiting a decision will not be considered and the application returned to the applicant or their authorised recipient. These applications will be taken not to have been made.
Refunds of the visa application charge (VAC) will be made to the payer of these charges for affected visa applicants.
Changes to General Skilled Migration February 2010 A Quick Guide
8 February 2010On 8 February 2010, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, announced the following changes to the General Skilled Migration program:
* the outcomes of a review of the Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL)
* the replacement of the current Skilled Occupation List (SOL) in the second half of 2010
* offshore GSM visas made before 1 September 2007 would be capped and ceased
* priority processing arrangements
* skills assessment requirements for GSM applicants nominating a trade occupation.
More information is available on the department’s website.
See:
Changes to the General Skilled Migration Program (362KB PDF file)
Outcomes of the Migration Occupation in Demand List Review – Frequently Asked Questions (373KB PDF file)
Onshore International Students (435KB PDF file)
Changes to Offshore General Skilled Migration Visa Applications Received Before 1 September 2007 (409KB PDF file)
Changes to the Current Skilled Occupation List (368KB PDF file)
Revoking the Critical Skills List (337KB PDF file)
Changes to Priority Processing Arrangements – Frequently Asked Questions (406KB PDF file)
General Skilled Migration (GSM) Points Test Review (377KB PDF file)
Changes to the Skills Assessment Requirements for GSM Applicants Nominating a Trade Occupation (417KB PDF file)
The critical points about the changes to General Skilled Migration are:
a) Current applicants who applied on or after 1 September 2007 aren’t affected – their points and eligibility are locked in and in most cases their processing priority will remain the same until 30 June 2010 at least.
b) People who applied before 1 September 2007 are subject to “cap and kill” legislation, ie the Department is going to process a certain number (not yet announced as far as I know) and then terminate the rest, in which case all application fees paid to the Department of Immigration will be returned to those applicants (directly or through their agents).
c) Current onshore students will not be able to claim MODL points however they will benefit from a complex suite of measures designed to protect them (and the international student industry). The Department will announce the new skilled occupation list by 30 April 2010 (taking effect on 30 June 2010) and most graduates who have not yet applied for a general skilled migration visa will need to wait until then to determine which pathway they should pursue. The Department does not need to announce transitional measures for students whose visas are expiring on 15 March 2010 since those students are able to lodge a subclass 485 (temporary graduate) visa and then change their nominated occupation for their permanent visa application.
d) People planning to apply for General Skilled Migration as of 8 February should consult a migration agent – those who hold positive skills assessments but have not yet applied for their visas will be able to apply however should their nominated occupation not be on the new Skilled Occupation List then their application will most likely be refused.
e) The MODL is dead for new applicants – except for the continued operation of the Critical Skills List which will still give IT MODL skills priority until then.
f) There is still more information needed to clarify many of these points, in particular I would expect inputs from the Minister’s speech later today, and also from the Migration Institute of Australia. In the meantime, the major links are all here: http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/gener…df/faq-sol.pdf
Emigrating to Melbourne? We offer airport pickups / meet and greet services, furnished rental accommodation, suburb tours and settlement assistance.New MODL will be annnounced on Monday 8th February 2010
6 February 2010THE federal government is set to overhaul Australia’s skilled migration program, but industry bodies fear it will throw the flagging international education sector into further disarray.
The changes, due to be announced by Immigration Minister Chris Evans on Monday, will include amendments to the ”migration occupations in demand” list, which sets out areas where skilled workers are needed and awards ”points” to migrants applying to work in these areas.
The changes, which are aimed at meeting the country’s long-term skill needs, are being heralded as ‘’significant policy reforms” by Immigration Department secretary Andrew Metcalfe.
Senator Evans will detail the changes in a speech to industry and union representatives, including the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, AiGroup, the Minerals Council of Australia and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union.
The government is also expected to reconsider January 1 changes to the temporary ”457” category of visa, which businesses have criticised for impeding the ability of Australian employers to recruit desperately needed workers from overseas.
In private discussions, immigration officials have said the government would support changes that place a greater focus on employer-sponsored visas, and give state governments power to import workers under state sponsorship visas.
Though points migrants earn for working jobs on the demand list are small, they can tip the balance between being eligible to live in Australia and not being admitted. An industry source said skilled migrants under 30 most frequently used the points system.
The changes are expected to break the link between permanent residency and trade occupations, such as hairdressing and cookery, currently on the demand list and attractive to overseas students wishing to stay on in Australia. ”It’s a very sensitive area,” the industry source said. ”The problem is, we can’t compel students to work in the job for which they train.”
The implications for Australia’s $17 billion education sector are significant.
The changes could dash the permanent residency hopes of foreign students enrolled in a sector already battling college foreclosures and bad publicity for attacks on Indian students.
”In the short term, registered training organisations could face closure and bigger providers like TAFE could take a big financial hit,” the source said.
The Skilled Migration Consultative Panel was due to complete its review of the migration occupations in demand list in late 2009. It last met on January 21 to discuss imminent changes.
At the meeting, immigration officials told interest groups the current points test for migrants would be revised as it was inefficient in responding to employers’ immediate skills needs.
The changes are expected to take effect from midnight the day of the announcement, with industry warned of a surge in applications from people wishing to take advantage of the current system before it changes.
The chief executive of the Australian Council of Private Education and Training, Andrew Smith, said he hoped the review factored in the value of the education sector to the economy and looked after students.
”We’d be concerned to ensure that changes have appropriate transition arrangements so students have certainty and disruptions to this vital sector are minimised,” Mr Smith said.
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