Australian Immigration News March 2010

Upcoming Australian Immigration Seminars

SOUTH AFRICA:

Johannesburg:

Seminar: 11 March at 7pm at the Michelangelo Hotel
Consultations: 12, 13, 14, 21 and 22 March
Register for this Australian Immigration Seminar.

Durban:

Seminar: 15 March at 7pm at the Riverside Hotel
Consultations: 16 and 17 March
Register for this Australian Immigration Seminar.

Cape Town:

Seminar: 18 March at 7pm at the Commodore Hotel
Consultations: 19 and 20 March
Register for this Australian Immigration Seminar.

SINGAPORE:

Seminar: 13 March at 10am at the Orchard Hotel
Consultations: 14, 15 and morning of 16 March
Register for this Australian Immigration Seminar.

MALAYSIA:

Seminar: 16 March at 7.30pm at the Hilton Hotel
Consultations: 17, 18 and morning of 19 March
Register for this Australian Immigration Seminar.

Migration - The Philosophical Debate Rages Downunder

The Global Financial Crisis (GFC) has changed the way that we view the world. We no longer believe "greed is good" [Gordon Gecko-Wall Street] and that unfettered capitalism always produces good outcomes. We no longer view Bankers as Mary Poppins type characters that wear bowler hats, pinstriped suits with brolleys in hand. So too have Governments reconsidered the role that immigration should play in the economy.

The large volumes of migrants that Australia was prepared to accept [this year 170 000 people applied for permanent residence in a program that only has 108 000 places] as part of the concept of a "big Australia" are now regarded as passe and rather “discerning” is now in vogue.

In February of this year the Minister of Immigration announced the most profound changes to Australia's skilled migration program in more than 20 years and signalled further changes to be implemented later on this year. Whilst the changes that were announced on 8 February [the abolition of the migration occupation in demand list] will have a profound effect, it is the more subtle change in migration philosophy that will have more far-reaching and long-term effects on the future immigration paradigm and ultimately the selection of new migrants.

The cynics amongst us might view the timing of these changes in an election year as opportune. No government ever lost votes in an election year by promising to protect jobs for its citizens. In fact, protecting jobs is probably the most common phrase to emerge from political parties from Moscow to Washington post GFC.

The 8 February changes indicate 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 the new model [in its planning phase only] will be built upon employers and state and territory governments, selecting and sponsoring the migrants that they think they will need.

The biggest change on 8 February was to scrap the migration occupations in demand list [MODL]. This list was implemented in 1999 and was supposed to represent occupations in short supply. Would be migrants with work experience in occupations on the MODL list would score bonus points often representing the difference between success and failure in qualifying for one of the general skilled migration visas. In fact 65% of the successful primary applicants in the general skilled migration program scored MODL points. The list grew from 30 occupations in 2004 to more than 100 in 2009.

Obtaining qualifications in an occupation on the MODL list was often seen as a pathway for international students to acquire permanent residence and led to a huge growth in Australia's tertiary education sector to the $15.5 billion sector of the economy it is today.

International students often chose courses that were the shortest and cheapest, not with a view to career development in those vocations but often as a means to obtaining permanent residence. I wonder how many of the cooks and hairdressers that graduated from Australian tertiary institutions are working in those areas today. There are reported to be 12,000 applications from cooks in the system but only 36,000 cooks country employed in Australia.

Instead of reducing the number of occupations to appear on the MODL list or altering the number of points obtainable for having work experience in a MODL occupation the list has been scrapped completely. The implications of this change will be catastrophic for those that earned their crust from exporting education+ residency to overseas students.

Although perceived as the pariah of immigration policies MODL is not the only culprit in the Australian qualifications for residence paradigm. Concessions waiving the requirement to have recent work experience for those studying for two year qualifications in Australia and bonus points given to anyone completing an Australian qualification also contributed to this skew in the demographic of those obtaining residence visas in Australia as did the 18 month work visa that these students could acquire so that they could ratchet sufficient work experience to qualify for points.

Students for qualifications perceived as having little benefit to the Australian economy such as hairdressers and cooks have been viewed as the culprits in the debasing of general skilled migration outcomes however they were not the architects of such a policy. Perhaps the line from Field of Dreams "build it and they shall come" is appropriate. Politicians built the edifice that allowed [encouraged?] students to study for short courses that allowed them to qualify for residence visas.

Not only has the abolition of the MODL list kicked the stool from under the student migrant but the job ready program now requires foreign graduates of Australian vocational colleges to complete a four stage assessment of their workplace skills, including racking up 12 months full-time employment in their nominated trade with an Australian employer. Not only will this delay the residence application date but will cost an additional $4500 in fees.

Back To The Future - Changes Signalled

Primary applicants are required to have recent work experience [12/24 months work experience in one of occupations on the skilled occupations list] and also have a positive skills assessment in one of the occupations on the skilled occupations list. One doesn't acquire any bonus points but these are basic requirements in order to be able to have one's GSM visa considered.

On 8 February the Minister indicated that a "more targeted" skilled occupation list will be announced on 30 April and will take effect from midyear. This skilled occupations list will accommodate fewer occupations. It will be supplemented by migration plans listing occupations that state governments will sponsor that might be particularly relevant to their own economies.

The purpose of the skilled occupations list will be to identify occupations that are of critical importance to the development of the Australian economy and are likely to still encompass senior managers, engineers, healthcare workers, teachers etc. but some of the associate professional occupations currently on the list such as hotel or motel manager or office manager might be casualties of the shorter skilled occupations list.

The Minister also announced a review of the context of the way in which points are calculated for the general skilled migration visas. Issues such as the current age limit [45] and who can act as sponsor for one of the GSM visas are some of the issues under consideration. For more detail in this regard you can look at http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/pdf/points-test-discussion.pdf

The present skilled migrant program consists of three parts:

General skilled migration – a points test, that allows migrants to qualify for residence visas without requiring offers of skilled employment;

Business migration for specific profiles of business people likely to replicate their entrepreneurial success in Australia and

Employer nominated scheme -- for those skilled workers sponsored by reputable employers

The big daddy of the skilled migrant program namely general skilled migration has been put on a severe diet whereas the employer nominated scheme has been given a dose of steroids and business migration has been largely left alone.

The philosophy behind this change is that employers and state and territory government migration plans will be in a better position to determine who will be of benefit to them and thereby best served to develop Australia's economy. At the same time the Australian Government, through its general skilled migration program will still be picking winners abroad who don't have offers of employment but in fewer numbers and far more selectively.

It is difficult to fault the philosophy behind this demand driven migration program however there are a few caveats that one should bear in mind --

1. Employers and their agents [recruitment consultants] aren't particularly interested in hiring those that don't have work visas or residence visas. One only has to scroll through the seek website http://www.seek.com.au/ in order to verify this fact.

2. Will the new "more focused" skilled occupations list accurately represent the range of occupations and professions that are of critical importance to the nation's development? Just as the MODL list was corrupted by involvement by industry lobby groups and the educational sector there is no reason why any government list cannot suffer from the same consequences [the chaos or entropy theory]

3. Any artificial tinkering with immigration policy will have consequences beyond the scope originally intended. This is the "build it and they will come" philosophy. Giving employers more say in determining who will comprise a larger percentage of the skilled migration program will have a greater number of employees requesting their employers to sponsor them for an employer nominated scheme application. Expect more "rorts" such as employees leaving their employers shortly after obtaining residence, lower salaries than those contracted for being paid, instances where the creation of jobs made to fit the list of occupations [ENSOL] rather than the jobs accurately reflecting the needs of commerce and industry in Australia are only some of the unintended consequences that could eventuate with an ENS on steroids.

I've been in the immigration industry long enough to see different migration models come and go. Migration models often announced with much fanfare are subject to so much refinement that they, like a patient plastered with band aids are announced DOA much like the now deceased MODL list. I'm sure that the demand driven model envisaged by the Minister will be announced with much fanfare and ultimately suffer the same fate as the MODL list. Immigration policies seem to have a lifecycle that lasts as long as it takes to expose its flaws to such an extent that it becomes an embarrassment to the government.

The country attributed with the most successful immigration policy in history namely the United States built its economy upon the huddled masses of Europe hardly had a sophisticated migration policy in place during the 19th century. It was built upon the philosophy of accepting healthy risktakers and left them to sink or swim. It's difficult to think that any government in post-financial crisis would ever contemplate a model such as this as it has too many of the hall marks of excess, of unfettered capitalism.

Colin Adno & Associates – Property Lawyers

IMMagine Australia and IMMagine New Zealand is the product of a merger between Colin Adno & Associates, Lawyers and Migration Agents of Melbourne and Protea Pacific Limited of Auckland. This merger took place on 1 January 2009.

The Law firm continues to operate with a predominant slant toward Property Law and Conveyancing. The firm represents large and small property developers from 6 to 350 properties per project. Families and first home owners form a large part of our client base as well.

Conveyancing is the administrative and legal procedure involved in the transfer of ownership of property from one person to another. The law associated with conveyancing is complex. It entails a number of steps, beginning with the contract of sale and vendor's statement and ending with the settlement, stamp duty, registration of the Certificate of Title and reporting to you.

Simple, straight-forward clerical task, right? Wrong! Conveyancing isn't only about routine paperwork, ticked boxes, signatures and keys to the front door. It's a complex, exacting process comprising a range of mandatory and legal requirements. And, to complicate it further, these differ with every transaction, so there's little room for error.

Essentially, there's a lot that can go wrong and if it's not left in safe, qualified hands it sometimes does. The smallest oversight or mistake can delay the settlement or worse still, turn out to be costly. There are many cases involving both buyers and sellers paying the price (and losing thousands of dollars in the process!) for those elementary conveyancing bloopers.

The hard-earned lesson? Play it safe and entrust your conveyancing to an experienced property conveyancing lawyer.

If you need any further information or would like to discuss your purchase or sale of a property in Australia, please contact Colin Adno.

The Australian Economy – Envy Of The World!

Australia is the "envy of the world". This is what Treasurer Wayne Swan said in response to The National Accounts figures released at the beginning of March 2010. The Australian economy has grown at the fastest pace in nearly 2 years growing a sharp 0.9% in the December quarter; rising from 0.3% in the previous quarter.

These figures take the annual pace of growth of the Australian economy to 2.7%, which is close to the historical growth trend of 3% per annum.

In response to these figures, the Reserve Bank became the first central bank in the G20 to raise interest rates this year, taking the official lending rate to 4%; this is the 4th raised in rates in the last six months. It is anticipated that further rate increases will occur in 2010.

Wayne Swan said: "Overall, today's National Accounts show that Australia's economy continues to strengthen, underpinned in part by the fiscal stimulus, and increasingly by a recovery in private sector demand.”

CommSec Equities economist Savanth Sebastian said the Australian economy was now in its 19th year of expansion, the major world economies remained plagued with troubles. "Without a doubt, Australia currently has the strongest economy of any developed or advanced nation," Mr. Sebastian said. "Manufacturing is expanding, housing construction is lifting, the unemployment rate is sliding, confidence levels are consistently high, public debt levels are healthy and economic growth is heading back to trend."

The resilience of the Australian economy, taking into consideration the sharp slowdowns in North American and Europe has surprised economists and financial markets. Even the Treasury's official forecasts predicted in its midyear review that GDP would be running at 2.75% in 2010 - 11. This has impacted on the Australian dollar which is now trading aboveUS90 cents.

Westpac Banking Corporation economists said the outlook for the Australian economy was positive. They said: "the upswing in housing construction and the ongoing surge in public investment will be key growth engines in 2010. An improved world environment and rising terms of trade will also be supportive. This, and the rebounding capacity utilisation levels to, or a little above, average, will encourage an uptrend in underlying business investment."

A further indication that the Australian economy is doing well is evidenced by the fact that the Australian property market continued to show signs of strong recovery over the last few weekends, with the total auction revenue significantly higher than the same time last year.

Auction clearance rates in Sydney reached 75.3% last weekend (up 2.1% from the previous week), while Adelaide clearances were 76.5% (up 18.6% from the previous week). According to Australian Property Monitors, total weekend auction revenue for Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide was up A$146 million on the same time last year.

The top-priced sale was a three bedroom home in Melbourne's Toorak, which sold for $4.7 million. The number of properties sold at auction also rose from the previous week, with an additional 382 properties listed in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. Adelaide had twice as many properties listed as the same weekend last year.

President of the Real Estate Institute of Australia, David Airey, said the increases in sale prices and total properties listed reflected the "surging confidence" in the housing sector, despite further interest rate hikes expected in coming months. He said that after the financial crisis, Australians were more interested in investing in property than on the stock market.

Investment Properties In Australia

IMMagine Australia and Colin Adno and Associates are able to introduce their clients to unique property investments in Australia. These are generally land developments that are first offered to preferential purchases before they are offered to the general public.

In most cases, the properties include vacant land, land and building packages, completed units or townhouses as well as off-the -plan developments which offer significant Stamp Duty savings.

Please contact us if you are interested in purchasing an investment property in Australia and we would be more than happy to provide you with some prospective properties we are able to offer at this point in time.

Remember that before purchasing any property in Australia, you should first have the contract of sale and vendor's information statement checked by one of our property lawyers; it is usually too late to make any changes once you have already signed the contract. There is an old Latin maxim – Caveat Emptor which means, "Let the Buyer Beware"; this is highly relevant when buying property has the amount of money involved is usually significant.

Also, until you are a Permanent Resident of Australia, you may be required to apply for permission to purchase property in Australia from the Foreign Investment Review Board. Once again, this process can be handled by one of our competent property lawyers.