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3 Year Working Holiday Visa

Changes to Working Holiday Visas: Increased to three years

On 21st of February 2019, the Minister announced that the maximum number of Working Holiday and Work & Holiday Visas (Subclass 417 and 462) a person may hold in Australia will be increased to three.

These changes will come into effect from 1 July 2019.

In order to be eligible for a third ‘working holiday maker’ visa, the applicant is required to complete 6 months of specified work in specified circumstances.

What types of work completed will count towards third-year eligibility

If you want to apply for a third Working Holiday Visa, you must have completed 6 months specified work while holding a second WHV and that this work should have been carried out on or after 1 July 2019.

Regional Australia and Specified Work

Regional Australia

For the purposes of the Working Holiday visa, regional Australia includes the areas below:

New South Wales

    • 2311 to 2312;
    • 2328 to 2411;
    • 2420 to 2490;
    • 2536 to 2551;
    • 2575 to 2594;
    • 2618 to 2739;
    • 2787 to 2898.

Norfolk Island

The Northern Territory

Queensland

    • 4124 to 4125;
    • 4133;
    • 4211;
    • 4270 to 4272;
    • 4275;
    • 4280;
    •  4285;
    • 4287;
    • 4307 to 4499;
    • 4510;
    • 4512;
    • 4515 to 4519;
    • 522 to 4899.

Victoria

    • 3139;
    • 3211 to 3334;
    • 3340 to 3424;
    • 3430 to 3649;
    • 3658 to 3749;
    • 3753;
    • 3756;
    • 3758;
    • 3762;
    • 3764;
    • 3778 to 3781;
    • 3783;
    • 3797;
    • 3799;
    • 3810 to 3909;
    • 3921 to 3925;
    • 3945 to 3974;
    • 3979;
    • 3981 to 3996.

Western Australia

    • 6041 to 6044;
    • 6055 to 6056;
    • 6069;
    • 6076;
    • 6083 to 6084;
    • 6111;
    • 6121 to 6126;
    • 6200 to 6799.

South Australia

Tasmania

 

Specified work

For the purposes of the Working Holiday visa, specified work may include the below:

Plant and animal cultivation:

    • the harvesting and/or packing of fruit and vegetable crops;
    • pruning or trimming vines and trees;
    • general maintenance crop work;
    • cultivating or propagating plants, fungi or their products or parts;
    • immediate processing of plant products;
    • maintaining animals for the purposes of selling them or their bodily produce, including natural increase;
    • immediate processing of animal products including shearing, butchery, packing and tanning;
    • manufacturing dairy products from raw material.

Fishing and pearling:

    • conducting operations relating directly to taking or catching fish and other aquatic species;
    • conducting operations relating directly to taking or culturing pearls or pearl shell.

Tree farming and felling:

    • planting or tending trees in a plantation or forest that are intended to be felled;
    • felling trees in a plantation or forest;
    •  transporting trees or parts of trees that were felled in a plantation or forest to the place where they are first to be milled or processed, or any other place from which they are to be transported to the place where they are to be milled or processed.

Mining:

    • coal mining;
    • oil and gas extraction;
    • metal ore mining;
    • construction material mining;
    • other non-metallic mineral mining and quarrying;
    • exploration;
    • mining support services.

Construction:

    • residential building construction;
    • non-residential building construction;
    • heavy and civil engineering construction;
    • land development and site preparation services;
    • building structure services;
    • building installation services;
    • building completion services;
    • other construction services.
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Data Matching Program for Skilled Visas

Data Matching Program

The Department of Home Affairs will be exchanging data with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to enhance compliance in the temporary skilled employer sponsored visa program.

This data exchange will allow the Department to determine whether:

  • All business sponsors are complying with their sponsorship obligations (eg, paying visa holders correctly)

and

  • All temporary skilled visa holders (457 Visa, 482 Visa/TSS Visa) are complying with their visa conditions (eg, to work only for an approved employer, and to work only in the approved occupation).

Businesses and visa holders who are found to be non-compliant may have their business sponsorship or visa cancelled.

The Department will provide the below information to the ATO:

  • name, address and date of birth of clients who are, or were in the three most recently completed financial years, holders of Temporary Work (Skilled) (subclass 457) or Temporary Skills Shortage (subclass 482) primary visas; and
  • details of the business sponsors

The ATO will electronically match this information against their data holdings. The Department estimates that  680,000 records will be shared which represents around 280,000 individuals.

For more information about the 457 Visa or the 482 TSS Visa, contact us or click here

 

Source: https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019G00023

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Working Holiday Visa Age Limit Increase

In 2016, The Australian Government announced that it would be increasing the Working Holiday Visa age limit from 30 to 35.

It’s official, finally some good news for Canadian and Irish Travellers. Australia’s Minister for Home Affairs has signed an agreement with both the Minister of Canadian Immigration and Irish Minister for foreign affairs. The Australian Department of Human Affairs has announced an increase in the age limit for the Australian Working Holiday Visa.

From November 1, 2018, Canadian and Irish citizens up to and including 35 years of age will be eligible to apply for a Work and Holiday (subclass 417) visa. This is an increase from the current maximum age of 30 years, which remains the maximum for all other eligible countries.

Although the maximum age remains 30 for all other eligible countries, this change is encouraging and could be the first step towards an increase of the age limit to 35 for all countries participating in the program.

working holiday visa ASM

The relevant legislative instrument has been amended.  We expect other countries part of the program to negotiate the current age limit, so their citizens may also come to Australia under this new arrangement.

Canada and Ireland are the first countries to officially sign the increase of the age limit of Working Holiday Visa with Australia.

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Prioritising Regional Visas

On Tuesday 26 August 2018, Hon David Coleman was sworn in by the Governor-General as Australia’s new Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs.

In a recent interview, Mr Coleman told SBS News of his plans to get migrants to struggling regional communities and advised SBS that regional visas will be given a priority under his portfolio.

“That’s something I’m looking at very closely at the moment,”

Mr Coleman told SBS Punjabi on Wednesday.

The Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs plans to assess the effectiveness of the regional visa programs currently in place and potential ways of improving them. The incentive comes as Sydney and Melbourne feel the strain of the rising population in major cities, 87% of skilled migrants move to Melbourne or Sydney. According to statistics published by the Department of Human Affairs, approximately of the 183,608 thousand migrants entering Australia last year, nearly 12,000 filled skilled regional places, making up about 6% of total intake.

The government says it’s concerned that too many migrants are using regional visas as tickets to permanent residency, leaving prematurely once PR is secured then, moving to major cities. This ultimately goes against the spirit of what the permanent residency regional visa is there to do.

Regional Sponsorship Migration Scheme (RSMS)

There will be a greater focus on RSMS. The RSMS visa allows employers to nominate overseas skilled workers for permanent residency under the Subclass 187. Unlike the skilled visas, the subclass 187 is not a points-based visa instead, it is designed to fill genuine employment gaps in regional communities. The 187 regional Visa does not include major cities like Sydney and Melbourne, as its purpose is to support regional employers genuinely in need of full-time paid workers, in which full-time vacancy should be available for at least 2 years.

An expanded Regional Occupation List (ROL)

This list includes occupation that are in high demand in regional locations. This list updated regularly. the government may choose to expand this list to encourage skilled migrants to remain in regional areas.

Mandatory settlement

In August this year, a proposal to introduce a mandatory regional settlement plan for some migrants was reported to be in consideration by the Morrison Cabinet. The logic behind the 5-year mandatory settlement in regional areas is to ensure skilled regional migrant has spent the 5-year period in an area they are likely to continue to stay after having established ties with the community, their employment etc.

With regards to Australian citizenship, the Minister has not gone into specifics about the government reviving plans to change the requirements to become citizens.

Find our more about the RSMS Visa Subclass 187

187 Visa Eligibility Assessment
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Nurses Bridging Program

Are you a Registered Nurse and looking to migrate to Australia? We can help!

There is a simplified pathway for overseas registered nurses to migrate to Australia.

Bridging program 

This is the first and most important step. The program is also referred to as IRON (Initial Registration for Overseas Nurses) program. IRON is usually a 12 weeks course, out of which 4 weeks are classroom-based and 8 weeks are in the workplace.

The basic requirements to be eligible to enrol in the IRON program are as below.

  • A referral letter from AHPRA
  • IELTS 7 in each or equivalent
  • Some of the education providers may also require work experience as a Registered Nurse

Please note- The Bridging program is currently being reviewed and the duration is expected to be increased to 6 months.

 

Who does and does not need the Bridging Course?

The overseas qualification needs to be assessed by AHPRA. If it’s recognised, AHPRA will advise  and provide a referral letter for doing a bridging course. If the applicant doesn’t meet any of these criteria, an Australian qualification may be needed.

 

Apply for registration

Once you have completed the Bridging program, you can then apply for registration as an RN in Australia. The AHPRA registration fee is $155. However, they may be other costs involved in the whole process like fee for IELTS/PTE etc. Most of the applications are assessed between 4-6 weeks.

 

Apply for Permanent Residency

Once you have obtained the registration as a nurse in Australia, you may be eligible to apply for a Permanent Residency. This is usually a three step process:

  • Obtain a positive skills assessment
  • A state sponsorship or an invitation to apply for Permanent Residency
  • Applying for the visa

You need to be registered in Australia to work in Australia as a nurse.

Which visas can you apply for to do a Bridging Course?

You have a choice to apply for multiple visas

Contact us to discuss your pathway to permanent residency today or take our online skilled visa points test to find out if you score enough points to apply

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Skilled Migration Invitation Rounds

On 1st July 2018, due to the large volume of skilled visa invitations issued, the minimum point requirement increased from 60 to 65 points. Applicants who lodged their EOI before 30 June 2018 with 60 points will continue to stay in the queue.

Will 65 points get you an invitation?

Probably not. Before lodging your expression of interest (EOI), you might want to have a look the invitation rounds issued every few months. Just because you meet the eligible minimum pass score of 65 does not mean you will get invited.

Whilst the minimum pass score is probable to remain at 65 points, it is worth noting that invitations issued during the previous round was to prospective applicants sitting on 70 to 80 points. This means, the highest ranked applicants by points score are invited to apply for the relevant visa first.

Invitations issued on 11 August 2018

Visa SubclassNumber
Skilled – Independent (subclass 189)2490
Skilled – Regional (Provisional) (subclass 489)10

The above table shows the number of invitations issued in the latest invitation round – 11 August 2018

 

Visa SubclassMinimum Points scoreDate of effect
Skilled – Independent (subclass 189)70 30/05/2018 6:16 AM
Skilled – Regional Provisional (subclass 489)8024/06/2018 10:10 PM

 

SkillSelect first allocates available places to Skilled – Independent visas (subclass 189) and then the remaining to Skilled – Regional (Provisional) visas (subclass 489). If all places are taken up by subclass 189 visas, then there will be no invitations issued for subclass 489 visas in these occupations.

The above figures do not include invitations issued for State and Territory Government nominated visa subclasses. State and Territory Governments nominate throughout the month for specific points tested skilled migration and business innovation and investment visas.

 

11 August 2018 results (LATEST INVITATION ROUND)

The following graph shows the points for clients who were invited to apply in the 11 August 2018 round.

11 August 2018 invitation round

 

Occupation that require higher scores

The occupations listed below are subject to pro rata arrangements. These occupations require a greater score to due high demand. This is to ensure availability of invitations across the program year.

Occupation IDDescriptionMinimum Points scoreDate of effect
2211Accountants8015/03/2018 4:05 PM
2212Auditors, Company Secretaries and Corporate Treasurers8014/03/2018 9:40 PM
2334Electronics Engineer7519/07/2018 4:13 PM
2335Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers704/12/2017 11:13 AM
2339Other Engineering Professionals7516/05/2018 4:08 PM
2611ICT Business and System Analysts757/04/2018 3:25 AM
2613Software and Applications Programmers7520/06/2018 8:32 PM
2631Computer Network Professionals7027/09/2017 12:29 PM

 

How can I find out my points score?

You can take our online points test to find out you point score

How can I improve my points score?

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Skilling Australians Fund (SAF)

Skilling Australians Fund (SAF)

On 9th May 2018, the migration amendment (Skilling Australians Fund) Bill 2018 was passed by the Australian Parliament.

What is the Skilling Australians Fund?

The SAF replaces the ‘training benchmark requirements’ that employers had to meet previously. The purpose of SAF to raise money that will be used to fund vocational education and training for Australian workers. The SAF was administrated by the Department of Education and Training. The levy will impact employers sponsoring offshore migrant workers on both temporary and permanent visas.

Will the SAF Levy be implemented?

The Department of Home Affairs has confirmed the Training Levy will commence on Sunday 12th August 2018

Which visas will be affected?

When implemented the SAF Levy will apply to the following visa types:

How much will cost?

The amount payable by Australian employers will mostly dependent on sponsor turnover.

Turnover 186 and 187 Visas PERMANENTTSS 482 Visa TEMPORARY
AUD10 million or more

One off payable fee: AUD5000 for each employee

AUD1,800 per year for each employee
Less than AUD10 millionOne off payment: AUD3,000 for each employeeAUD1,200 per year for each employee

What does this mean for sponsors?

Upon the implantation of SAF, there will exist stricter Labour Market Testing (LMT) requirements, particularly in regard to the period of advertisement. The act states the newly Skilling Australians Fund (SAF):

  • Will be payable on TSS (subclass 482), subclass 186 and 187 nomination applications; and
  • There will be changes to the LMT settings, this will include requiring LMT to be conducted:
  1. For a period of four weeks
  2. No more than four months before the nomination is lodged
  3. Such that advertisements set out any skills or experience requirements that are appropriate to the position

This would mean that businesses who wish to sponsor foreign skilled workers are required to advertise for these positions for at least 4 weeks. In addition, the position advertisements must be recent, and employers must advertise for no longer than 4 months before nomination is lodged. The list of approved mediums for LMT evidence has expanded advertisement platforms to include LinkedIn’s online recruitment and other industry specific websites that are related to the nominated occupation.

Contact our migration experts

If you have any questions about the Skilling Australians Fund, concat us

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GSM Points Increase

The Department of Home Affairs have issued major changes to the General Skilled Migration points tested visas.

From 1 July 2018, applicant wishing to apply for,

will now need to aquire a new pass mark of 65 points, an increase of 5 points from previous pass mark of 60 points. This means, applicants who are currently on 60 points and wish to lodge for permanent residency from the 1 July 2018 will no longer be able to do so.

The 5 points increase reflects both the elevated level of interest and the high calibre of potential applicants who express their interest in the General Skilled Migration program. 

Some occupations require more than 65 points to be considered as they are in higher demand. The table below shows the statistics from the June 8 2018 Invitation round for these occupations:

June 8 GSM ASM

Although the minimum point requirement was only increased to 65, you can see by the graph below that invitations were only issued to applicants with 75 points & above in June 2018.

June 8 GSM invitation ASM

The Department of Home Affairs states that the highest ranked clients by points score are invited to apply for the relevant visa.

Clients who have equal points scores are invited in order of application. Expressions of Interest with earlier dates of effect are invited before later dates.

SkillSelect first allocates available places to the Skilled Independent Visa (subclass 189) and then the remaining to Skilled Regional Visa (subclass 489).

If all allocated invitations are sent to the 189 visa applicants, there will not be any invitations issued for the 489 visa applicants in these occupations.

If you are interested in applying for a skilled visa, click here to take our online points test and find out if you are eligible to apply.

Find out more about  General Skilled Migration click here

These changes can be found in legislative instrument IMMI 18/067

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457 & TSS Tax Tips

Tax Tips for 457 and TSS Visa Holders

It’s tax time again. As a 457 or TSS Visa holder, this may be your first tax return. This is our guide to what you can and can’t claim in your 2017-2018 tax return and tips to getting your maximum tax refund.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

You will need the below documents before starting your tax return

  • Payment Summaries statement from your employer
  • Bank Statements
  • Private Health Insurance Policy
  • Receipts to claim

 

INCOME YOU MUST DECLARE

You need to include the below income when completing your tax return

  • Salary
  • Interest from your bank accounts

 

WHAT YOU CAN CLAIM

You are entitled to claim deductions for some expenses, as long as you have spent the money yourself and it has not been reimbursed.

Some of the general expenses you can claim are:

  • Clothing & Laundry expenses – Including purchase of occupation specific clothing, uniforms, protective clothing and cleaning of these items.
  • Tools and equipment – If you purchased tools for work or your employer purchased tools for you and you paid them back.
  • Clothing & Laundry expenses – Including purchase of occupation specific clothing, uniforms, protective clothing and cleaning of these items.
  • Medicare Levy Exemption – You don’t have to pay the Medicare Levy or the Medicare Levy Surcharge because you are not eligible to Medicare.
  • Education Expenses – You can claim expenses that maintain or improve the specific skills or knowledge required in your current job
  • Other Deductions – Including union expenses, over time meals, personal super contributions and more.

 

WHAT YOU CAN’T CLAIM

You cannot claim any of the below costs:

  • Regular travel to and from work – This is considered as private travel
  • Private phone or internet – Unless you are using your phone or internet for work
  • Tools and equipment that cost over $300 – The depreciation cost of these tools will be a deduction over the life of the tools

 

EXPERT ASSISTANCE

An accountant will be able to help you get your maximum refund – their professional fee is also a tax deduction.

OCCUPATION SPECIFIC DEDUCTIONS

The ATO lists some occupation specific deductions. You can read these details for some occupations at the links below:

 

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Important Dates for Visa Changes

We have outlined some of the important changes being implemented over the next year that affect 457, 186 and 187 visa holders and future applicants.

Changes from April 19th 2017:

  • The Consolidated Sponsored Occupation List (CSOL) was replaced with the Short-term Skilled Occupations List (STSOL). This list will be updated every 6 months.
  • 216 occupations were removed from the list and access to 59 other occupations was restricted.
  • The Skilled Occupations List (SOL) was replaced with the new Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL).
  • The maximum duration of 457 visas for occupations that are on the STSOL will be two years.
  • The maximum duration of 457 visas for occupations on the MLTSSL will be four years.

Changes from July 1st 2017:

  • The STSOL and MLTSSL will be reviewed
  • The english exemption for 457 visa applicants earning over $96,400 will be removed
  • The english requirement for 186 and 187 Transitional visas will be increased
  • 457 visa applicants will be required to provide police clearances

Changes coming before December 31st 2017:

  • The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) will be collecting Tax File Numbers for 457 visa holders and data will be matched with the ATO’s records to ensure that visa holders are not paid less than their nominated salary.

Changes from March 2018:

  • The 457 visa will be abolished and replaced with the TSS visa.
  • 457 visa holders will be required to work for the same employer for 3 years, instead of 2, to be eligible to apply for Permanent Residency through the transitional stream.

Has your occupation been removed from the occupation lists?

Click here to see all removed occupations.

If you have any questions about these changes or how they might effect you, contact us.

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