- 135112 ICT Project Manager
- 261111 ICT Business Analyst
- 261112 Systems Analyst
- 261311 Analyst Programmer
- 261312 Developer Programmer
- 261313 Software Engineer
- 261314 Software Tester
- 261399 Software and Applications Programmers nec
- 262111 Database Administrator
- 262112 ICT Security Specialist
- 263111 Computer Network and Systems Engineer
Employment Workplace Relations
Director, Philip Brewin is a specialist in Workplace Relations and heads our Workplace Relations Work Group.
Corporate and Business Law
The Nevett Ford Corporate and Business Law team has a wealth of experience and expertise and have established quality relationships with clients, including many small and medium business enterprises, across a wide range of industries.
Dispute Resolution ( Litigation)
Nevett Ford has wide experience in all manner of litigation.
Mediation
Mediation is a process and set of principles designed to manage and resolve disputes between parties. It is an efficient and effective method of dispute resolution that can help to preserve relationships through the intervention of a third party, known as a mediator.
Property Law
Nevett Ford has been conveying Victorian property for more than 150 years.
Wednesday, 30 November 2016
Victorian State Nominations Closed for ICT Occupations
Changes to 457 scheme on the way
Monday, 14 November 2016
Australian Government to reassess permanent skilled migration rules
Some of the major recommendations include reducing the age limit for skilled applicants wanting permanent residence, and providing more points for the skills and traits of secondary adult applicants.
Here are the main recommendations proposed by The Productivity Commission:
Reduce the age limit
- Reduce the current age limit of 50 years old for permanent migration under the skill stream, while retaining exemptions to the age rule for particularly skilled applicants.
- Younger visa applicants to receive greater weighting in the points-based system.
- The Productivity Commission stated the Skilled Occupation List (SOL) should be used to determine skill requirements in all cases, including different streams of the permanent skilled and those transitioning from a temporary visa
- Undertake a pilot scheme that acknowledges skills which may not be occupationally specific, and more closely assesses occupations that are difficult to allocate to a certain skill level.
- Maximum extra points to be given in cases where no secondary applicants are included
- More points to be provided based on the skills and traits of secondary adult applicants
- Use of the points system for the entire permanent skill stream, with points to be gained for employer-sponsored visa applications. Currently, the selection criteria is different for skilled migrant intake and ’employer-sponsored’ applicants.
- Partners and adult children to be assessed on their English ability, work skills, age and education in addition to current assessments.
SOURCE: SBS
Nevett Ford Lawyers can assist with all Australian visa enquiries and application on your behalf. Contact us today for more information and to see if you may be eligible.
Move to Australia
Australia offers a number of opportunities to live and work, with a variety of visa options available. Skilled migration intakes depend on the applicant’s skills and qualifications and whether these are recognised by the Australian Government as filling state skill shortages.
Nevett Ford Lawyers Melbourne can assist with all Australian visa enquiries and applications on your behalf. Contact us today if you would like to know if you're eligible to migrate.
Thursday, 10 November 2016
VISA UPDATE: Entrepreneur Visa Australia
- Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188), Entrepreneur Stream
- Applicant must be under 55 years of age, unless a waiver is provided by a state or territory government. A state or territory can waive the age requirement if the proposed complying entrepreneur activity will be of ‘exceptional’ economic benefit to the nominating state or territory
- Applicant to provide evidence of ‘competent’ English at the time the applicant is invited to apply for the visa
- Applicant to undertake or propose to undertake a complying entrepreneur activity in Australia
- Applicant has a genuine intention to continue this activity
- Applicant must be nominated by a state or territory government.
- There must be one or more legally enforceable agreements under which funding is to be provided to the entrepreneurial entity (which may be the applicant, a body corporate, or a partnership) by one or more entities
- The total amount of funding provided or to be provided under the agreement or agreements must be at least AUD200,000
- If the applicant is not the entrepreneurial entity, the applicant must personally hold at least a 30% ownership share in the entrepreneurial entity at the time the agreement or agreements are entered into, which prevents more than three applicants being eligible in relation to any one entrepreneurial entity
- Under the agreement or agreements, at least 10% of the funding must be payable to the entrepreneurial entity within 12 months of the day the activity starts to be undertaken in Australia (i.e. $200,000)
- There must be a business plan that is appropriately formulated to lead to an outcome.
- Commonwealth agencies
- State and territory governments
- Publicly funded research organisations
- Investors registered as a Venture Capital Limited Partnership/s (VCLP) or an Early Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnership/s (ESVCLP).
- Victoria: Launch Vic have $60 million fund
- New South Wales: Jobs for NSW – Minimum Viable Product Grants and Building Partnership Grants have $190 million over four years
- Queensland: iLab incubator and Accelerator provided $80 million to date
- Western Australia: Innovation voucher program
- South Australia: Innovative voucher Program
- Commonwealth Government: Innovation Program.
- VCLP must have capital in excess of $10 million
- ESVCLP must have capital between $10 million and $200 million.
- Establishing, purchasing, investing or acquiring an interest in residential real estate. The term ‘Australian residential property’ includes any Australian land zoned for residential use
- Establishing, purchasing, investing or acquiring an interest in labour hire companies; or
- Purchasing, investing or acquiring an interest in an existing entity (including franchise).
- An applicant holds a subclass 188 visa for a continuous period of four years;
- An applicant has resided in Australia for two out of the last four years; and
- An applicant has demonstrated an overall successful record of undertaking, whether alone or by participating in a business, activities of an entrepreneurial nature in Australia while holding a subclass 188 visa.
Tuesday, 8 November 2016
State of Victoria - Temporary closure in skilled applications for ICT occupations
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Monday, 7 November 2016
457 Visa - Who can Sponsor?
Who can become a sponsor?
- is a lawfully operating business
- has no relevant adverse information against your business.
There are two ways you can become an approved sponsor:
- Option 1: Apply to be a standard business sponsor
- Option 2: Negotiate a labour agreement.
Option 1: Apply to be a standard business sponsor
The standard business sponsorship arrangement is the most common way to sponsor a skilled worker using the subclass 457 visa program. You must lodge an application to become a standard business sponsor.You can have only one standard business sponsorship approved at any given time (that is, one sponsorship approval per legal entity) which is usually valid for five years. You can apply to extend your sponsorship at any time during this five-year period by lodging a variation application.
The requirements for approval as a standard business sponsor differ for businesses that are outside and in Australia.
Business in Australia
You must attest, in writing, that you have a strong record of, or a demonstrated commitment to employing local labour. You must also declare that you will not engage in discriminatory recruitment practices.
Make the attestation and the declaration about your workplace record in your sponsorship application form.
You must also meet training requirements. This means you must either:
- meet the training benchmarks if you have traded in Australia for 12 months or more
- have an auditable plan to meet the training benchmarks if you have been trading in Australia for less than 12 months.
You must be seeking to employ a skilled worker to either:
- establish, or help establish, a business operation in Australia
- fulfil obligations for a contract in Australia.
Option 2: Negotiate a labour agreement
A labour agreement is a formal arrangement negotiated between an Australian employer and the Australian Government. You might be able to enter into a labour agreement if you are in one of the following situations:- the occupation of the workers you want to employ is not listed on the Skilled Occupation Lists (Formerly Known as Form 1121i) or theAustralian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO)
- you are a recruitment company seeking to sponsor skilled workers to be on-hired to another businesses, and the occupations requested are on the Consolidated Sponsored Occupations List (CSOL)
- standard immigration options are not suitable.
- there is a genuine and systemic shortage of skilled workers
- there are no suitably qualified Australian workers available
- you have a commitment to training Australians.
How to propose a labour agreement
You need, among other things, to:
- identify the relevant skills shortage in the business and why these vacancies cannot be filled by Australian workers (you need to show you have tried to recruit in Australia)
- specify the number of skilled workers needed from outside Australia
- specify the skill and English language requirements that relate to the nominated occupations. Semi-skilled occupations can be considered provided they are specialised and in demand
- include copies of correspondence showing that relevant stakeholders have been consulted.
If the template does not suit your needs, you might be able to negotiate an individual agreement.
Labour agreements include a requirement to provide training to Australian employees.
When you have a labour agreement in place, you are an approved sponsor for the term of operation of the agreement. You can then nominate skilled workers from outside Australia under the terms of the labour agreement.
You will also need to meet your sponsorship obligations and any other terms and conditions specified in the agreement. If you breach the terms and conditions of your agreement, we could suspend or terminate it.
Standard business sponsors
- be a lawfully operating business
- have no relevant adverse information against your business.
- meet training requirements
- demonstrate your commitment to employing local labour
- not engage in discriminatory recruitment practices.
A lawfully operating business
You must be a lawfully operating business to apply to be a standard business sponsor. This applies to businesses both in and outside Australia.To demonstrate this you must show both of the following:
- your business is legally established
- your business is actually operating.
If you do not operate in Australia, you must be able to show that you need a skilled worker to:
- come to Australia to establish, or help establish, a business operation with connections with a business located outside Australia
- fulfil, or help in fulfil, a contractual obligation.
Examples of the documents you can use to show that your business is legally established and operating are in the Document checklist.
If you operate a business under a trust arrangement you must provide details of the Trust Name and the Trust ABN when you complete the application form. The application should be made using the name of the Trustee as it appears in the Trust Deed.
Details of the principals of your business such as Owners, Partners, Directors and major Shareholders should be provided when you complete the application form.
Contact us today for more information and assistance.
Entertainment Visa (Temporary Work) - Subclass 420 visa
It is a temporary visa which is suitable for:
• performers in theatre, film, television or radio production, or a concert or recording
• people providing support to an entertainer or group of entertainers in relation to a
performing contract
• production roles
• people making a documentary or a commercial ( there is different criteria depending on
whether the product is for an Australian audience or for an overseas audience).
This visa requires sponsorship by an approved entertainment sponsor. Eligible sponsors include organisations, government agencies, foreign government agencies, or other specified eligible individuals.
This visa can be valid for up to 2 years and can be applied for either in or outside Australia.
Contact Ryan Curtis-Griffiths today (+61 3 9614 7111) for more information and assistance.
457 VISA - Sponsorship 'Training' requirements
Training requirements
You must show that you have contributed to the training of Australian workers by providing evidence of meeting the training benchmarks. These benchmarks were introduced to ensure that the employment of workers from outside Australia is not seen as an alternative to training Australian workers.To be approved as a standard business sponsor, you must either:
- meet the training benchmarks if you have traded in Australia for 12 months or more
- have an auditable plan to meet the training benchmarks if you have been trading in Australia for less than 12 months.
Training benchmarks
If your business has been trading in Australia for more than 12 months, you must show you have contributed to the training of Australians.You show this by meeting one of two benchmarks. This can be either:
- Training benchmark A: recent expenditure to the equivalent of at least two per cent of the payroll of the business, in payments allocated to an industry training fund that operates in the same industry as the business
- Training benchmark B: recent expenditure to the equivalent of at least one per cent of the payroll of the business, in the provision of training to employees of the business who are Australian citizens or Australian permanent residents.
Businesses that do not yet have an operating base in Australia do not need to meet the training benchmarks.
Payroll
Payroll is the amount of money an employer pays in wages to their employees in the 12 months immediately before you lodge your application for sponsorship.Payroll expenditure includes any:
- wages
- remuneration
- salary
- commission
- bonuses
- allowances
- superannuation contributions (mandatory or otherwise)
- eligible termination payments that are defined as wages in the Act relating to payroll tax in the relevant state or territory.
Recent expenditure
For expenditure to qualify as recent, it must have occurred in the 12 months immediately before you lodge your application. This applies to both benchmarks.If you include payments to contractors in your payroll expenditure, you can also count any eligible training expenditure on them towards the benchmarks.
Industry training funds
Industry training funds are statutory authorities responsible for providing funding for training of eligible workers in certain industries, such as construction and mining.You should contribute to a fund that operates in the same industry as your business. If your industry does not have an eligible training fund, you can contribute to:
- a recognised industry body that provides training opportunities for its members, provided they reserve the funds contributed for training
- a recognised scholarship fund at a university or TAFE college that supports education or training for Australians in the same or a similar industry as your business.
Examples of ways to meet the training benchmarks
You can show you meet the training benchmarks in relation to your Australian employees by:- paying for a formal course of study for your Australian employees
- funding a scholarship in a formal course of study approved under the Australian Qualifications Framework for your Australian employees
- employing apprentices, trainees or recent graduates on an ongoing basis in numbers proportionate to the size of the business
- employing a person who trains your Australian employees
- paying external providers to deliver training for Australian employees
- providing on-the-job training that is structured with a timeframe and clearly identified increase in the skills at each stage, and demonstrating all of the following:
- the learning outcomes of the employee at each stage
- how the progress of the Australian employee will be monitored and assessed
- how the program will provide additional and enhanced skills
- the use of qualified trainers to develop the program and set assessments
- the number of people participating and their skill and occupation.
- delivered on the job, other than on-the-job training that meets the requirements outlined above
- confined to only one or a few aspects of the businesses broader operations, unless the training is in the primary business activity
- only done by people who are not Australian citizens or permanent residents
- only done by people who are principals in the business or their family members
- only relating to a very low skill level having regard to the characteristic and size of the business
- wages paid to staff for the time they spend at training.
Expenditure on apprentices and trainees
Apprenticeships and traineeships are training positions. You can count 100 per cent of the salary provided to an apprentice or trainee towards training benchmark B if:- they are employed under a formal agreement (known as a training contract)
- the training contract has been lodged with the relevant state or territory government authority.
- If you employ an apprentice through a Group Training Organisation you cannot include any commission paid to third parties but you can still include 100 per cent of their salary.
Expenditure on graduates who are part of a formal training program
One hundred per cent of a graduate’s salary can be counted towards training benchmark B if the graduate’s position is part of a formal, structured graduate program of up to two years, or if it is part of a professional year following their graduation. The occupation in which the graduate is working must be relevant or related to the subject of their recently completed qualification.Expenditure on graduates who are not part of a formal training program
Graduate positions that are not part of a formal, structured graduate program are considered differently because they are already fully qualified for their positions and they can already perform all their duties:- you can count only the expenditure that is for the formal training aspects of the graduate position towards training benchmark B
- you cannot count the total salary of these graduates because graduate positions are not, in themselves, considered to be wholly training positions.
Training provided by a franchise head office for franchisees
Training provided to employees of franchisees can be counted towards training benchmark B if you:- submit quantifiable evidence of structured training provided to your employees (for example, session plans, learning objectives)
- make a commitment to continue to provide training to your employees
- quantify the actual expenditure on training.
Auditable plans
An auditable plan must clearly identify how the applicant intends to meet one of the training benchmarks. An auditable plan must:- relate to the immediate future (within the next 12 months)
- clearly articulate the forecast payroll for the next 12 months
- show the intended expenditure towards training benchmark A or training benchmark B
- show a clear intent to implement the plan.
Agree to the number of subclass 457 workers to be nominated
In your sponsorship application, you must tell us the number of people that the business proposes to nominate during the period of approval as a sponsor. You will need to justify why you are proposing that number. The visa processing officer could use the information in your application to propose an alternative number of people to you. You must agree in writing to a number for the sponsorship agreement to be approved.Conact us today if you need further information or assistance.
Subclass 400 Visa - Short-term work
Highly specialised work
- can assist an Australian business
- cannot reasonably be found in the Australian labour market.Highly specialised work is usually work that either:
- is done by people with an occupation listed in Major Groups 1, 2 or 3 of the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO),or
- requires skills and knowledge that are specific to an international company, such as installing imported equipment, after-sales service or emergency repairs
- operating lawfully in Australia
- directly responsible for the event or have a formal role in preparing for or conducting it.
- You cannot accept any salary, wages or other remuneration for participating in the event, other than:
- prize money
- appearance fees
- reimbursement for your reasonable expenses of doing the activity
- payments from your non-Australian employer.