Skilled workers will always be needed for Australia.
The Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship are coming under constant criticism for the changes being made to the Australian immigration program which now includes suspension of General Migration Visas.
Most of the criticism accuses the DIAC of not giving visa applicants enough notice on the changes, something the DIAC seem to be very good at doing. Back in September of last year the DIAC made changes to the priority processing system that affected not just new applicants but existing ones too. This change was implemented so swiftly that many state governments struggled to explain it to their sponsored visa applicants.
Many changes since then have made it more difficult for migrants with general skills to get into Australia. The MODL was scrapped in February and it was announced that most visa applications lodged before September 2007 will not be processed and applicants affected would receive refunds. Around 20,000 prospective migrants to Australia are thought to have been affected.
The Government and the DIAC made it clear that they were focusing on highly skilled migrants to Australia and that this would be reflected in the new Skilled Occupations List which would gradually replace the CSL. The SOL as it would be known, would be available to view at the end of April and would replace the CSL mid 2010.
As prospective migrants eagerly awaited the new SOL to find out if their occupation was listed, the DIAC released a statement on the 30th of April saying that talks with Skills Australia were still continuing and so the SOL would not now be released until May. Yesterday’s unexpected announcement of the suspension of GSM visas came as a shock and a major blow for those applicants who were trying to beat the changes and submit their applications before the SOL comes into effect.
The DIAC claim that too many applications are being submitted and the supply of general skilled migrants to Australia is outstripping demand. However some critics are arguing that this has been the case for a long time, hence the changes to the immigration program. Instead of taking a firm line on GSM visas from an early date, the DIAC have instead been constantly moving the goalposts costing applicants time and money. Gollywobbler on Embrace Community had this to say: “As far as suspending the offshore GSM program is concerned, it is the one step which the Minister for Immi should have taken as long ago as November 2008. He had the chance to do it back then but he preferred to fool around with the details instead of preventing the backlog of GSM applications from rising still further.”
Members of communities such as the Embrace Community and Poms in Oz have expressed their shock and anger over the sudden changes, with many people left in tears. “We are really highly anxious of our fate.” comments Zaman on the Embrace Community.
So is there no hope for future applicants? Christopher McGrath from McGrath Migration Lawyers remains positive about the changes: “I believe we will end up with a strong migration policy, but leaner and tighter. Australia relies on migration, it cannot reach its potential without migration. The new State migration program will open doors. DIAC will continue its intake albeit in a different way and skilled people will always be needed. The new points test coupled with the new SOL will highlight the way. Folks, don’t despair, watch this space.”
New applicants have until midnight tonight to lodge their applications before the suspension is enforced. After that the DIAC will consider no other applications until the end of June – unless the suspension is extended. All eyes and hopes will now rest on the new SOL when it is released this month. Meanwhile come and debate this issue, get support and advice from our friendly community members.
Love Australia? Let us keep you informed...
- Join the Embrace Australia community today. Have your questions answered by our experts, start your own blog, get vital migration information and gain valuable insight from those who have already made the journey.
- Subscribe to our RSS Feed and have all our daily news and features delivered straight to your news reader.
- Join our mailing list -
