The Government has made changes on the Temporary Skilled (Subclass 457) based on their response to the 457 Integrity Review. You can view the Government's response here: https://www.minister.immi.gov.au/michaeliacash/2015/Pages/457-reforms-boost-integrity.aspx
Below is the list of changes by the Government.
The Government
For more information, click Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457)
The Department and the Ministry for the Arts, Attorney-General’s Department are undertaking a review of the Temporary Work (Entertainment) visa (Subclass 420). The review is in support of the Australian Government’s commitment to reducing the burden and cost of unnecessary or inefficient regulation imposed on individuals, business and community organisations.
The review invites comments from interested parties in relation to key components and deregulation opportunities of the Subclass 420 visa.
Email your submission to: subclass420review@arts.gov.au no later than 5pm AEST 23 February 2015.
See: Review of the Temporary Work (Entertainment) visa (Subclass 420) (648KB PDF)
Information extracted from: https://www.immi.gov.au
DIBP has released the news that the charges for the Partner Visa application will increase by 50% starting January 1, 2015. The increase will affect the following visas:
The new fees will only take effect on the applications lodged on, or after January 1, 2015. Any applications lodged before January 1, 2015 will not be affected by the increase.
For more information, see Increase in Partner Visa Application Charge
Australia is seeing an increase in migration from Italy because of economic problems in Europe. The group Australia Solo Andata (Australia One Way) is keeping track of the numbers and trend from DIBP, and Spokesman Michele Grigoletti said "Italians are coming to Australia in numbers we could not expect."
"We already have the first six months of data from 2013-14 and we know that the trend of Italians [arriving] is on the increase again."
ABC also states that there was a 116 per cent increase in the number of Italian citizens in Australia with a temporary visa between 2011 and 2013.
"We have seen similar figures in northern Europe, with Italians going to Germany and England. They are probably the two main countries receiving our young people at the moment." said Sergio Martes, Italy's Consul General in Sydney.
Earlier this year, there's news that the DIBP will be accepting alternative English Language test scores for Visa Applicants in early 2015. The Department has now released the news that starting from 23 November 2014, they will accept test scores from alternative English Language tests for visa applicants.
The following tests will be accepted by DIBP in place of IELTS and OET:
*Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) will be accepted only if the test has been taken on or after 1 January 2015. This is so that it would coincide launch of Cambridge English Language Assessment's new reporting system.
For more information, visit:
Alternative English Language tests for visa applicants
DIBP says that the holiday arrangement of Australia with Portugal and Spain have commenced (started on November 23, 2014). 200 young adults from Portugal and 200 young adults from Australia can now apply to enjoy an extended holiday of up to 12 months in each other's countries. 500 young adults from Spain can also now apply apply to enjoy an extended holiday to Australia for up to 12 months. They may all undertake short term work and study in each other's countries.
For more information, visit:
The Australian Government has implemented new visa arrangements to increase the safety and security of Australians. The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) have posted the new arrangements on their site, stating that the arrangements are for all travellers from Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) affected countries in Africa.
DIBP also states that this is not a travel ban. The new arrangements are placed to be able to keep Australia safe, while being able to handle the visa cases with the same assistance that the Government is already providing.
The following are included in the new visa arrangement from the DIBP website:
For more information regarding the new visa arrangements and/or any updates on the matter, visit Threats to Public Health
Migration Alliance reports that Accountants may be removed from the skills list early next year, stating that the CPA Australia and Chartered Accountant ANZ dropped their support for the Accountants because of the difficulty in finding jobs that the international graduates are having. The peak industry are preparing reports of that to the Department of Immigration.
Migration Alliance also stated that the occupation ceiling for Accountants have been reduced to approximately 5,000 for the 2014-2015. Still, major accounting bodies claimed that there was a shortage of accountants. But now, they have acknowledged that the international students are having a hard time in finding professional work in Australia, resulting in the loss of support to keep the occupation in the Skilled Occupations List (SOL).
"It is understood the change in stance will form part of a joint submission from the accounting bodies to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection next week" Migration Alliance states.
As of 30 October 2014, Accountants are in the lead in terms of positions filled. Below are the top 10 occupations that have the highest positions filled.
| Occupation ID | Description | Ceiling Value | Positions filled to date |
| 2211 | Accountants | 5478 | 1805 |
| 2613 | Software and Applications Programmers | 5004 | 1681 |
| 2544 | Registered Nurses | 15042 | 1144 |
| 2611 | ICT Business and Systems Analysts | 1620 | 639 |
| 2335 | Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers | 1680 | 498 |
| 2631 | Computer Network Professionals | 1788 | 469 |
| 2332 | Civil Engineering Professionals | 2850 | 430 |
| 2339 | Other Engineering Professionals | 1000 | 307 |
| 2212 | Auditors, Company Secretaries and Corporate Treasurers | 1188 | 247 |
| 2633 | Telecommunications Engineering Professionals | 1000 | 208 |
For more information, visit Accountants may be removed from skills list early next year.
According to DIBP, 22 October 2014, Australia and Israel has announced that a Work and Holiday Memorandum of Understanding has been signed. This means that Israel and Australia now have a reciprocal arrangement for Work and Holiday Visa (subclass 462) for the 2 countries.
According to DIBP, this would allow 500 young adults from Israel and another 500 young adults from Australia to be able to travel to each other's country where they may study or do short term work.
The visa won't be in effect until both countries would come to an agreement with regards to the start date. Expect an announcement and the visa to be in effect in a few months after they have implemented the necessary processes. When a start date has been announced, eligible young adults from both countries will be able to apply for the visa.
Australia have also signed an arrangement with Portugal just last month, 25 September 2014.
For more information, click Australia and Israel sign a new Work and Holiday visa arrangement.
Earlier this year, June 2014, the DIBP closed the Non-Contributory Parent and Other Visas to new applications, processing only applications that were made before June 2, 2014.
On September 25, 2014, DIBP released the news of re-opening the Non-contributory Parent and Other Visas starting September 25, 2014 in line with the Migration Amendment (Repeal of Visa Classes) Regulation 2014. But only accepting new applications made on September 25, 2014 onwards, so applications made between June 2, 2014 and September 25, 2014 are not accepted. But re-opening the said visas for new applications after careful consideration is still good news as more families would have the chance to be reunited once again. What wasn't clear with the news though was the queue that these visas have before getting the visas.
The following are direct quotes from DIBP's website.
Based on current Planning Levels and the allocation of the majority of the Other Family places to the Carer visa category, it is currently estimated that Remaining Relative and Aged Dependent Relative visa applications that were lodged in 2014 and meet the criteria to be queued are likely to take approximately 56 years to be released for final processing (calculated from 14 August 2014).
https://www.immi.gov.au/Live/Pages/family/other-family-visa-queue.aspx
Based on current planning levels, applicants for a Parent (non-contributory) visa can expect an approximate 30 year wait before visa grant consideration after being allocated a queue date.
https://www.immi.gov.au/migrants/family/parent-visa-processing-priorities.htm
Non-Contributory Parent Visa could take 30 years before visa grant consideration, and Other Family Visas could take 56 years to be released for final processing. And no, that's not a typo.