The Y-Axis Blog

Minister’s Announcement on Temporary suspension of certain General Skilled Migration (GSM) applications – 7 May 2010

The Australian Government has decided to temporarily suspend the acceptance of certain General Skilled Migration (GSM) visa applications. This temporary measure will begin on 8 May 2010 and is expected to remain in effect until the end of 30 June 2010.

This Temporary suspension is only on the visa applications that are to be lodged outside Australia (Offshore applications).

• Subclass 175 – Skilled Independent (Migrant) visa
• Subclass 176 – Skilled Sponsored (Migrant) visa
• Subclass 475 – Skilled Regional Sponsored (Provisional) visa.

The suspension has resulted due to the Pending GSM visa applications for the current assessment year crossed the available supply. This will also facilitate the transition from the current SOL to the New Proposed SOL which was released on 17th May 2010 to meet the current needs of Australian Labour market. (more…)

Posted: 07 Aug 2009 05:37 PM PDT

Australian employers unexpectedly added 32,200 workers in July, bucking expectations that the jobless rate would continue to rise. 

In positive news for both Australian residents and skilled workers looking to emigrate to Australia, the country’s unemployment rate remained at 5.8 per cent for July, despite economists predicting that the seasonally adjusted rate would reach at least 6 per cent. (more…)

Posted: 23 Jul 2009 10:02 PM PDT

During a recent visit to India, Australian Minister of Immigration & Citizenship, Chris Evans told press that Australian Immigration law is changing with a stronger focus on skilled workers.

Evans said in New Delhi, “We are reviewing the policy on migrants. Our government will adjust the policy based on the needs of the country and not be driven by the education choices of overseas students”. (more…)

Australian government has made clear it will now filter Indians applying for immigration.

Immigration minister Chris Evans says the policy has been modified and immigration visas will be issued to what Australia terms quality immigrants like doctors and engineers. (more…)

John McCarthy, Australian High Commissioner to India in an interview with Udit Misra, Forbes India, June 22

What is the nature of the violent attacks on the Indians in Australia? If the attacks are racial, even in part, then what could be the reasons?
It is not just a mob of mad racists running around in Melbourne. There have been a number of robberies of Indian students and assaults on Indian students in particular parts of Melbourne especially in the recent months. And this was something that we wish had not happened. But I think it was brought about largely by large number Indian students coming to one particular location, that’s Melbourne, without much money. They felt compelled, because they did not have much money, to live in the poor areas in Melbourne. They work late in the night at jobs and they are vulnerable to attack. Now certainly theft played a very significant role in it, hooliganism has played a very significant role in it and there may have been people who, somewhere in their thought processes, there was a racist factor as well. But I quite seriously think it’s principally a criminal issue with in certain cases racist overtones. But it’s certainly not racism sweeping Melbourne. (more…)

26 Jun 2009, 0110 hrs IST, Roli Srivastava, TNN
  
MELBOURNE: An estimated 75 per cent the 96,000 Indian students in Australia currently are pursuing “vocational courses” such as hair cutting, hospitality or even cooking in little-known private institutions that have mushroomed in and around Melbourne over the last few years. Most of these students use these courses as a route to apply for Permanent Resident (PR) status. This phenomenon is at the root of the string of attacks on Indian students here over the last couple of months. (more…)

 The Australian Department of Immigration has announced an increase in visa application fees  from 1 July 2009. The fees have increased by 20%.
 Here are details of some of the most common visa fee increases: (more…)

Australia’s economy is a tower of strength after two respected international reports confirmed it continued to lead the developed world.

The first from the International Monetary Fund added its weight to mounting evidence that Australia was powering ahead of its rivals during the worst downturn since the Great Depression. (more…)

Despite the current financial troubles plaguing the world, the Australian government continues to welcome business migrants who want to move to Australia to establish and operate a new business or purchase and operate an existing business. (more…)

While the media brouhaha continues over the attacks against Indian students in Australia, the Indians have to wake upto the fact that these attacks were not racially motivated. Yes they were disappointing, but it was the act of a handful of people who are the general miscreants lurking in the dark and have nothing to do with a particular ethnic race or group. (more…)