Link to Immigration new website. www.homeaffairs.gov.au/
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Also please be aware that a person in a same sex relationship, who plans to marry in Australia, can now apply for a Prospective Marriage Subclass 300 visa. MIGRATION ACT 1958 - SECT 5F Spouse
MIGRATION ACT 1958 - SECT 5F Spouse (1) For the purposes of this Act, a person is the spouse of another person (whether of the same sex or a different sex) if, under subsection (2), the 2 persons are in a married relationship. (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), persons are in a married relationship if: (a) they are married to each other under a marriage that is valid for the purposes of this Act; and (b) they have a mutual commitment to a shared life as a married couple to the exclusion of all others; and (c) the relationship between them is genuine and continuing; and (d) they: (i) live together; or (ii) do not live separately and apart on a permanent basis. (3) The regulations may make provision in relation to the determination of whether one or more of the conditions in paragraphs (2)(a), (b), (c) and (d) exist. The regulations may make different provision in relation to the determination for different purposes whether one or more of those conditions exist. Note: Section 12 also affects the determination of whether the condition in paragraph (2)(a) of this section exists. The woman was dressed as Santa during the protest.Picture: Seven News THE Perth immigration office closed for more than six hours today after a protester dressed as Santa deliberately trapped her arm in the entry foyer.
The woman arrived at the Wellington Street office about 9.30am and locked her hand in a concrete barrel to protest against the treatment of asylum seekers on Manus Island. Police issued the woman with a move-on notice but she has refused to leave. She was joined by other protesters waving signs saying all they wanted for Christmas was freedom. The signs also feature a naughty list, which included Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Federal Immigration Minister Peter Dutton. “We’ve tried years of people protesting, lobbying, writing letters but I think people in this group feel that it is necessary to escalate these protests because the voices of the people on Manus and Nauru haven’t been heard,” protester Michelle Bui said. The woman’s hand was freed just after 4pm on Tuesday. The protest group has vowed to continue going to extreme measures to highlight the asylum seeker message, and force the Federal Government to listen. FOR FULL STORY PLEASE CLICK THE LINK BELOW www.perthnow.com.au/news/christmas/protesting-santa-closes-immigration-office-ng-b88695775z.amp Scott Morrison (left) and Finance Minister Mathias Cormann (right) ahead of handing down the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook. Source: AAP Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison has delivered his mid-year economic and fiscal outlook, revealing changes to welfare payments and university funding. UpdatedUpdated 13 mins ago By James Elton-Pym Migrants who arrive in Australia from July next year will have to wait three years before they can access certain welfare payments, extending the current two-year waiting period. The government estimates the measure will save $1.3 billion over the next four years. The extended waiting time will apply to paid parental leave, the Carers Allowance and the Family Tax Benefit. Those bringing relatives over to Australia on a family visa will also need to guarantee their financial independence for three years. There will be some “exemptions” for “vulnerable groups”, according to MYEFO paperwork, as well as for some New Zealand citizens with children in their care. The migrant welfare reforms and the cuts to university funding are the two biggest saving measures revealed in the MYEFO, which was released by the Turnbull Government on Monday. "Turning the debt ship around was always going to take time and we are continuing to make considerable progress," Treasurer Scott Morrison said. The budget update shows Australia is still on track to be out of debt and into a surplus by the financial year 2020-21, when the surplus is forecast to reach just above $7 billion. Deloitte economist Chris Richardson said the slower debt growth was largely thanks to an improved Chinese eocnomy that was able to buy more Australian export goods. He said the longer waiting times for migrants were "tough". But he said the savings mechanism was convenient for the government, as it could be done through changes to regulations without the need to pass a bill through the Senate. Several hours after the MYEFO was released, Labor indicated its unease at the proposal. Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen said the opposition would "take some time" to unpack the measures. "However, we are deeply concerned about the impact on those who can least afford it," he said. "We are honoured to represent a highly multicultural electorate." Government moves again on uni cuts The government will also try a new set of measures to save money on university funding after the Senate defeated a package of cuts announced at the Budget back in May. The combined measures will save the government $2.1 billion over the forward estimates - but some of those dollars are contingent on the government passing new legislation. If the Turnbull Government can pass the legislation, there will be a new lifetime cap on the total amount of money the government will loan to any one student for their tuition. FOR FULL STORY PLEASE CLICK THE LINK BELOW: www.sbs.com.au/news/migrants-to-wait-three-years-for-welfare-as-government-chases-1-3-billion-in-savings Children from migrant families have outperformed native English speakers in the spelling results collected in the National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). By Biwa Kwan Children whose families speak another language have outperformed native English speakers in spelling, according to newly released NAPLAN results.
The NAPLAN test is conducted annually on students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. The release of the NAPLAN National Report gives more insights on the initial findings presented in August and tracks performance since 2008 when the data was first collected. The Year 3 results in New South Wales and Tasmania showed students who spoke a language other than English at home outperformed native English speakers in spelling. Nationally, the group had a higher mean scale score by 31 points, compared to the native English speaking students. It is a marked contrast from the Year 1 results for migrant students when hundreds start school with limited or no English language proficiency. The group that oversees the NAPLAN test - the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) - said it was encouraging to see these results. The group's chief executive, Robert Randall, said conversations had already started on the reasons behind the results. "The data doesn't give you the explanation for why things are happening, but it causes you to have a look a bit further, and so discussion (is) starting today and continuing on why is that? How can we learn from that? How could we reduce any gaps?" Mr Randall said. FOR FULL STORY PLEASE CLICK THE LINK BELOW: www.sbs.com.au/news/migrant-students-outperforming-native-english-speakers-naplan-results Simon Christie owns video production company Adventure Set Production. Photo: Supplied "You are not really given any timelines on how long it is going to take," Christie says. "It disadvantages small businesses massively. It's very hard for us to grow, we have put a lot of effort and time with flights and travel to China. It's just been a huge drain and we've invested a lot into driving our business into China and this has put it all on hold and it's just embarrassing."
Real cost is time away from businessAdventure Set Production produces television shows about the outdoors and driving, employs 10 people and turned over about $1.3 million last year. Christie estimates he has spent $70,000 on the two 457 visa applications in an attempt to hire two Chinese citizens with on-the-ground, up-to-date experiences with the culture, language and marketing mechanisms in China. "The real cost is the hours and time I've had to spend away from my business," he says. Christie says Adventure Set Productions has missed out on substantial revenue opportunities as a result of the delays, including fulfilling a broadcast opportunity with a Chinese television station. "We had a meeting and they said 'You put subtitles on and we will start airing them'," Christie says. "That opportunity was given to us 12 months ago but we needed the people to do the graphics and translations. That's a small business into a small provincial television station in China but their broadcast range is 80 million people. That's huge for us." Adventure Set Productions two 457 visa applications were rejected and Christie plans to appeal the decision. "We're now going through the appeal process which is costing us tens of thousands per person just for the basics," he says. "The outrageous part is that the government is applying new standards to old applications. New rulings mean that despite our applications meeting the requirements at the time of submission, the government has moved the goalposts, meaning we're losing time and money trying to meet all of the new demands." FOR FULL STORY PLEASE CLICK THE LINK BELOW: amp.smh.com.au/small-business/managing/457-visa-delays-hurting-small-businesses-20171212-h02zlf.html From 9 December 2017, you can apply for a visa as your partner’s ‘spouse’ if you are in a same-sex marriage following the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Australia.
Under the changes, if you are in a same-sex marriage you can apply for a visa as your partner’s ‘spouse’, rather than as their ‘de facto partner’. The changes will apply to Partner visas (subclasses 100, 309, 801 and 820) and to all other visas where you can include your spouse in your application. You can also apply for a Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) if you are in a same-sex relationship and genuinely intend to marry your prospective spouse in Australia. www.border.gov.au/News/Pages/same-sex-relationships.aspx 'Serious consequences': Dutton slams Labor and the Greens for reversing his strict visa ban rule6/12/2017 By James Elton-Pym A Greens motion, backed by Labor, overturned a new regulation that imposed 10-year bans on visa applicants who submitted false or misleading information. Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has warned of "serious consequences" for public safety and demanded an explanation from Labor after the Senate voted to overturn a new rule that would have imposed 10-year bans on migrants who provided incorrect details on their visa application forms.
A Greens disallowance motion to overturn the tough new rule passed the Senate on Tuesday 31 votes to 29, thanks to support from Labor and the Nick Xenophon Team. Under the regulations, which SBS News reported on in November, anyone who submitted false or misleading material as part of a visa application - even unwittingly - faced being effectively barred from making a new application for 10 years. The previous penalty was just 12 months. Migrants and migration experts who spoke with SBS World News warned the rule could punish migrants for mistakes or deliberate lies from unscrupulous migration agents acting on their behalf. But Mr Dutton said the rule was a recommendation from the inquiry into the Lindt Cafe terror attack. "What we sought to do as part of this regulation was to clamp down on those situations directly in response to Lindt Cafe," he told reporters at Parliament House on Wednesday. "Now, I don't think Labor realised that. I think they've just pulled this stunt in the Senate - as I say, for what reason I don't know. But there are serious consequences." Mr Dutton said Labor had "twice" sided with the Greens on motions that would make "our community less safe" and "our borders less secure", also referring to a bill that recommended refugees from Manus Island and Nauru be settled in New Zealand. FOR FULL STORY PLEASE CLICK THE LINK BELOW: www.sbs.com.au/news/serious-consequences-dutton-slams-labor-and-the-greens-for-reversing-his-strict-visa-ban-rule Commercial and Residential Cleaning Group cops record WA fine for exploiting foreign workers6/12/2017 Kim Macdonald Mark Povey, who was once worth $40 million, was penalised $72,240 while his wife Catherine Paino-Povey was fined $77,400. A former Perth high-flyer, his wife and his cleaning company have been hit with a WA record fine of more than $500,000 after a judge slammed them for their “deliberate”, “repeated” and “systematic” exploitation of vulnerable overseas workers.
Mark Povey, who was once worth $40 million, was penalised $72,240, his wife Catherine Paino-Povey was fined $77,400, and their contract cleaning company, Commercial and Residential Cleaning Group Pty Ltd, has been penalised $361,200. The fines were imposed by the Federal Circuit Court over the exploitation of three female Taiwanese workers who were in Perth on 417 working visas. The workers were underpaid a total of $11,511 for various periods of work between June, 2012 and April, 2013. One of the workers was paid just 34 per cent of what she was entitled to for two months’ work. She gave evidence that because of the underpayments, totalling $5106, she had to borrow money from a friend and only ate one meal a day to be able to pay her rent. Another worker was paid nothing for three days’ work. The third worker was paid only about half of what she was entitled to over a three-month period, resulting in a total underpayment of $5836. The fines are the highest penalties imposed on a Fair Work Ombudsman case in WA and the third highest penalties nationally. The pair previously copped penalties totalling $343,860 in 2013 for deliberately exploiting local and overseas workers in Perth through another cleaning company they operated. Judge Antoni Lucev said in his recent decision that the exploitation of workers in both cases “demonstrate similar circumstances and a similar mode of operation”. “It is open to infer that the respondents’ actions towards the employees formed part of a deliberate business strategy to engage vulnerable employees, refuse to pay them during their first few weeks of employment, refuse to pay them their full entitlements when they fell due … and then refuse to pay outstanding wages owed to the employees on the termination of the employment relationship,” Judge Lucev said. “Beyond the inherent seriousness of the respondents’ failure to afford the employees’ basic minimum employment entitlements in the form of regular wages and entitlements, there are significant aggravating factors in this case, including the deliberate and repeated nature of the respondents’ conduct, the prior similar conduct and the vulnerability of the employees.” FOR FULL STORY PLEASE CLICK THE LINK BELOW: thewest.com.au/business/small-business/commercial-and-residential-cleaning-group-cops-record-wa-fine-for-exploiting-foreign-workers-ng-b88680875z By Mary Crock and Kate Bones PHOTOThe regulations are likely to increase the number of migrants being detained for potentially long periods of time.Immigration Department As Australia's citizenship drama has expanded to claim more political scalps, the Minister for Immigration quietly introduced regulations of devastating effect for migrants who slip up at any stage in the complicated process of applying for an Australian visa.
The Migration Legislation Amendment (2017 Measures No 4) Regulations introduced a raft of new hazards for migrants from November 18. Slipped into law amid the chaos of recent weeks, Greens Senator Nick McKim is introducing a motion to disallow these regulations today. Unlike primary legislation, which is debated and voted on in Parliament before becoming law, regulations come into force immediately upon a signing by the Governor-General. Regulations are "tabled" in Parliament and it is only then that politicians can vote to have them "disallowed". We can only hope that enough politicians of goodwill survive the citizenship purges to realise the injustice of these measures and strike them out. FOR FULL STORY PLEASE CLICK THE LINK BELOW: amp.abc.net.au/article/9224418 |
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