SUBCLASS 457 VISA LAWYERS

Australian businesses often need to recruit overseas workers to meet their business requirements and ‘human capital’ needs.  Nevett Ford Lawyers provides tailored solutions in relation to all business sponsorship arrangements.

 

Our immigration law and visa services include:

 

• Advice on business sponsorship obligations and undertakings
• Obtaining business sponsorship arrangements for your business
• Sponsorship compliance advice, including sponsorship monitoring, audits and business site visits by the Department of Immigration & Border Protection (DIBP)
• Advice and assistance on negotiating approval under the Labour Agreement arrangements
• Assistance and advice on work rights, verification of work rights, risk management, human resources and recruitment protocols
• Advice in relation to sponsorship obligations, sanctions and penalties
• Assistance and advice with skills assessment requirements, including recognition of overseas qualifications and registration requirements

 

VISA SERVICES

 

Nevett Ford Lawyers can assist in all aspects of business sponsorship, including:-

 

• Sponsorship by Australian business
• Sponsorship by overseas business
• Labour Agreements
• Regional sponsored migration scheme
• Employer nomination scheme.

 

MIGRATION LAW SPECIALITY

 

Nevett Ford Lawyers is a general practice law firm and the migration team is headed by an accredited immigration law specialist.  In addition to tailored migration law and visa services, Nevett Ford Lawyers is supported by our employment, commercial and corporate legal teams.  This enables us to provide businesses with end-to-end legal advice and assistance.  Our migration law team currently provide advice and assistance to domestic and multinational corporations in the following sectors:

 

• Engineering
• Mining
• Manufacturing
• Information Technology (IT)
• Recruitment
• Health & medical, including nursing
• Construction
• Retail
• Tourism
• Education
• Aviation
• Hospitality
• Agriculture

 

Nevett Ford Lawyers can assist your business to ensure compliance with the complex migration law and policy requirements.

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Global Mobility Services - Nevett Ford Lawyers Melbourne

Nevett Ford Lawyers provides a global immigration mobility service through a network of international immigration partner service providers. These service providers are based overseas and are experts in the immigration requirements of their country. This network allows us to provide global coverage through the use of local experts for our clients needing to deploy staff to locations outside of Australia.

Our existing network covers locations including: New Zealand, United Kingdom, Israel, Singapore, China, Japan, Italy, Indonesia, Malaysia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and others.

Nevett Ford Lawyers can manage your global mobility requirements utilising our established network of trusted advisors.

Our international partners are experts regarding the local immigration laws, visa requirements and work rights obligations. We have carefully selected our trusted partners and we can pass on the benefits of our established relationships to our client base and coordinate the service for you.

We offer a single point of contact for our clients through our Melbourne CBD office.

Nevett Ford Lawyers also has an attorney providing visa advice and services for the United States of America.

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Changes introduced to the 457 visa

Non–discriminatory recruitment practices


The migration regulations have been amended so that sponsors must declare that they will not engage in discriminatory recruitment practices and also comply with a new obligation not to engage in discriminatory recruitment practices. According to the Department of Immigration “The new obligation seeks to address a community concern that some employers may be relying on the 457 visa programme to employ foreign workers without having regard to the availability of local labour.”


Sponsors should keep a record to demonstrate how subclass 457 visa holders were recruited and that this process did not discriminate based on citizenship or visa status.


Simplification of English Language Exemptions

Subclass 457 visa applicants will be exempt from the English language testing requirements if they have already met the same (or better) English language requirements to gain an occupational license or registration. Where registration and licencing authorities impose and assess English language requirements there is now no requirement for the Department to require the same or equivalent evidence via specified test results.

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New Skilled Occupation List (SOL) released for 2016 / 17

The Department of Immigration & Border Protection (DIBP) has announced the New Skilled Occupation List (SOL) for subclass 485, 189 and 489 (family sponsored) visa applications. 

They have also released the Consolidated Sponsored Occupation List (CSOL) which is used for subclass 457, 186 and 190 applications.

The following occupations have been removed from the SOL - Petroleum and Mining Engineer, Metallurgist, Mining Engineer, Dental Hygienist, Dental Prosthetist, Dental Technician, Dental Therapist, Environmental Health Officer, Occupation Health and Safety Advisor. 

The occupations of Orthotist or Prosthetist and Audiologist have been added to the SOL.

There have not been any exclusions from the combined lists that make up the COSL and so no changes to the subclass 457 and 186 eligibilities.

The skilled list that will be used from RSMS / 187 (direct entry) applications from 1 July 2016 has not yet been released.

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ICT occupations – offshore applicants (Immigration South Australia)

From 4 July 2016, Immigration South Australia  (SA) will require offshore applicants for ICT occupations that appear on the Skilled Nominated Occupation List (SNOL) to have a minimum of 70 points (including state nomination points) on the Department of Immigration and Border Protection 'points test'. This will apply to any occupation involving a skills assessment from the Australian Computer Society (ACS).

The 70 point requirement will be reviewed during July/August and the requirement may be reduced to 65 points and then 60 points depending on the number of applications received. Immigration SA will provide notice of seven (7) calendar days advising of any changes to the points required.

ICT occupations – working in South Australia / South Australian graduate
The 70 points requirement does not apply if you are:

• currently working in a skilled occupation in South Australia; or
• if you are applying under the international graduate of South Australia category.

In these cases, a minimum of 60 points is required (including state nomination points). 

489 provisional visa
A small number of occupations appearing on the State Nominated Occupation List and Supplementary Skilled List will only be available for a 489 provisional visa. This will be displayed against the occupation on the relevant list from 4 July 2016. Applicants should ensure that they are aware of the work and residency requirements of this visa. 





Nevett Ford Lawyers can assist with all Australian visa applications.

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Australian migration law update: Jurisdictional error (Federal Court Judgment) - Cotterill v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection [2016] FCAFC 61 (14 April 2016)

In Cotterill v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection [2016] FCAFC 61 (14 April 2016) the Full Court allowed the appellant’s appeal and set aside the orders of the primary judge.

The appellant was born in England in 1943 and migrated to Australia with his parents when he was seven years old.  Under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) (the Act), the appellant was taken to have been granted an “absorbed person” visa which allowed him to stay in Australia indefinitely.  The visa was subject to the provisions of the Act including the discretion of the Minister to cancel a visa on character grounds under section 501 of the Act.

In 2012 the appellant pleaded guilty to certain sexual offences and was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment.  In 2015, the Minister cancelled the appellant’s absorbed person visa pursuant to section 501(2) of the Act.  

The primary judge dismissed the appellant’s application for judicial review.

The Full Court held that the Minister’s decision involved jurisdictional error because the Minister had failed to take into account the relevant consideration that a possible consequence of that decision was that the appellant would face prolonged and possibly indefinite detention because of his ill-health.

 

There was consideration and discussion of the Full Court’s judgment in NBMZ v Minister for Immigration & Border Protection (2014) 220 FCR 1 which concerned section 501(1) of the Act.  Justices Kenny and Perry said the NBMZ is authority for the proposition that, in exercising power under section 501(1) or (2), the Minister must take into account the legal consequences of a decision under the Act.  Kenny and Perry JJ further explained: ‘There is also another difference between this case and NBMZ, but again it does not alter the Minister’s obligation to take into account this indefinite detention is in prospect as a legal consequence of his proposed decision.  This difference lies in the fact that in NBMZ it was virtually certain on the facts of that case that, if the Minister refused to grant a visa under section 501(1), it would not be reasonably practicable to remove the visa applicant from Australia in the immediate future and that, by operation of the Act, he would be kept in detention for an indefinite time. 

 

In the present case, the material before the Minister did not show that it was virtually certain that it would not be reasonably practicable to remove the appellant if his visa were cancelled.  Rather, this material indicated that there was a real possibility that the appellant’s removal would not be reasonably practicable on account of his ill-health and that, if this were the case, the appellant would face indefinite detention (by operation of sections 189, 196 and 198).  Again, this difference did not affect the Minister’s obligation to take into account the legal consequences of his proposed decision (although it might affect his decision-making in other ways).  The Minister was obliged in this case as in NBMZ to take into account that the material before him disclosed that the appellant’s indefinite detention was in prospect if he cancelled the appellant’s visa, as a consequence of sections 189, 196 and 198 of the Act.    

 

In addition to allowing the appeal on the above ground, North J also held that the Minister’s decision was vitiated by a number of other jurisdictional errors.

SOURCE: Dan Star - Law Institute Journal, June 2016

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Australian Visa Update: The new Simplified Student Visa Framework (SSVF)

From 1 July 2016 the SSVF will come into effect.  Key changes under the SSVF are:

• international students will apply for a single Student visa (subclass 500), regardless of their chosen course of study;
• student guardians will apply for the new Student Guardian (subclass 590) visa.

All students and student guardians, or their representatives, will generally be required to lodge their visa application online by creating an account in ImmiAccount.


Nevett Ford Lawyers Melbourne will continue to provide more information as it becomes available.

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