Michael Pezzullo Appointed New Secretary of DIBP

Mr. Tony Abbott, the Prime Minister of Australia, has just appointed Mr. Michael Pezzullo, a long time public servant as well as a former staff of Labor, as the new secretary of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP). This new appointment is going to officially take effect on Monday, the 13^th of October of this year.

It has been twenty seven years ago since Mr. Pezzullo joined public service and he is currently a part of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service. He is at present, serving as the agency’s chief executive.

In Mr. Abbott’s official statement, he says that Mr. Pezzullo has ”extensive experience in the public sector, predominantly in the Department of Defence in strategic policy and intelligence roles,” therefore would fit right in the role.

The newly appointed secretary also worked as an adviser to Mr. Gareth Evans, the former foreign minister. He also served as the former chief of staff to Mr. Kim Beazley, who was at that time the opposition leader.

Mr. Pezzullo is going to be replacing Mr. Martin Bowles, who was also recently appointed as the secretary of the Health Department.

Earlier this year, Mr. Fabio Pezzullo, Michael Pezzullo’s brother, was able to escape a criminal conviction after he made a confession that he did not tell the truth at an inquiry that was in the midst of investigating corruption at the Sydney Airport.

In a note sent to staff members with regard to the case that involved his own brother, Mr. Pezzullo said: ”From the outset, I asked & expected to be treated as a detached family member with no official rights, interests, or powers in the matter.”

Mr. Roman Quaedvlieg, the former Policing boss of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), and the current deputy chief executive of the Customs department, is going to be heading the agency from hereon.

Source: www.smh.com.au

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Immigration Analysis on Job Market Proven Wrong

It was reported a couple of weeks ago, by Dr. Bob Birrell, that the three hundred eighty thousand new arrivals of migrants have taken the entire net employment growth from the years 2011 to 2014. However, it looks like this analysis is not only incomplete, but it is also completely mistaken.

 

The analysis of Dr. Birrell does not take into account the effect of Australians and migrants alike who leave the labour market. His research is like taking apples from oranges, and the number of new migrants in their new jobs is a complete overestimation. It is true that at a rough estimate, there is around fifty per cent of new arrivals who are going to end up in newly made jobs. His original claim was ninety five per cent, and that is entirely not so.

 

What is even more worrying is that Dr. Birrell chose to ignore the labour market’s dynamic effects. He made an assumption that there are only so many jobs to go around has been rejected by many. Labour economists have known all along that there isn’t any fixed number of jobs. According to Mr. Paul Krugman, a Nobel Laureate, this bit of labour fallacy only ”feeds protectionism” and ”encourages fatalism.” The problem with encouraging such ideas is that policy-makers halt in thinking of other ways to create more jobs. The immigration system in Australia is one of the few programs among developed countries that is accounting for this. The skilled migration program of this country is not chosen by the government, but instead, is being driven by the employers.

 

So what exactly is there to know about the Australian labour market and the migrants? The immigration policies of Australia have benefits that are clear and striking. Research from OECD suggests migrants coming to Australia raise wages of jobs which are low-skilled. This helps a whole deal mitigating the harmful effects of the inequalities in income-earning. Right now, as shown by Mr. Bob Gregory, an economics professor in ANU, migrants who do now know how to speak in English begin being active in the labour market through part time work, and not unemployment, as how it all happened in in eighties. Over the long term, it has an economic effect which helps in cultural and social integration.

 

Furthermore, Migration Council Australia has conducted a research which revealed 3 quarters of people holding a 457 visa are doing their share in training Australian workers in a range of firms. In 2013, the largest survey was done on 457 visa holders and their employers. It only proved that this effect was especially applicable in multinational companies who are the ones who hire the most number of 457 visa holders in the country.

 

It is a fact that innovation usually happens outside of Australia. The presence of people is an important link to creating prosperity, and their continuous movement spreads knowledge. For Australia, the movement of human capital benefits its small and open economy and it shows as a natural advantage. In the United States of America, t has been proven that there is a strong connection between research patents and temporary skilled workers.

 

What is unfortunate is that we know all too well there are a lot of people out there abusing the system. There are some employers who break the law for their personal gain. One of the things they do is forcing migrants to render longer hours even if they are paying lower than the market rate and in cash. As a bargaining chip, they also hold out the possibility of another visa just to get them to keep doing what they’re doing, even if it isn’t lawful. However disgraceful their actions are, the employers who do these are in the minority. According to the temporary skilled migrants who took the survey, only five per cent of employers are not doing their obligations.

 

To stop instances of mistreatment, more resources are being deployed, such as giving the Ombudsman of Fair Work Australia the freedom to investigate and find ways to defeat exploitation. Hopefully, the response of the Abbott Government to the newly concluded enquiry into the 457 visa program will implement a more detailed check for wages in the market. The foundation of a successful migration framework is the principle of the equality in wages for equal work.

 

The benefits the labour market is getting from migration isn’t exactly a distinctive phenomenon in Australia. There is a serious global research agenda that shows how big the imact is of immigration when it comes to domestic populations, and it’s almost always either neutral or agreeably positive. This becomes more obvious when skilled migration is being discussed for a developed country, one of them being Australia. At the same time, the benefits the migrants get for themselves are noteworthy, as are the benefits of the links the country forms with other bigger economies and important trade partners.

 

Works of those who are heavily opposing the immigration program based on fake numbers, such as the one by Dr. Birrell, drowns out the real questions Australians should be focusing on to get the answers regarding immigration policy. How will this global agenda affect Australia? In what way does inequality and immigration interact in our country? When it comes to global development, what role will the Australian immigration play which would benefit all of us? All these queries are going to define our own immigration policies in the twenty first century, and it’s about time that we start taking these things seriously. It’s for everybody’s own good, and our economy’s — and it’s future’s — prosperity.

 

Source: TheAge.com.au by Carla Wilshire

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Government announces a crackdown on 457 visa fraud

The Coalition government has announced a crackdown on 457 visa fraud, with up to 100 employers to be investigated over allegations they sponsored applications in return for payment, Assistant Immigration Minister Michaelia Cash announced yesterday.

Senator Cash said the compliance campaign involved an "initial assessment" of the 100 sponsors, but also had an educational component — Work visa scams. Don't pay the price — targeting both employers and visa holders.

The Minister said sponsors identified as having failed to meet their obligations could face administrative sanctions, infringement notices, enforceable undertakings or Federal Court civil penalty applications.

"A business that sponsors a visa holder under false pretences may also be committing other offences, such as providing false or misleading information or engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct," she said.

"Visa holders who enter into contrived employment relationships for migration purposes may also be guilty of fraud related offences and/or not meet immigration requirements, including the genuineness criterion."

The Minister said a "small minority" of those involved in migration programs attempted to defraud them or did not abide by their obligations.

The immigration department already has a dob-in service that enables the public to report in person, online, or by phone, fax or mail.

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Significant Investor Visa (SIV) - Update

The table below shows statistics since commencement of the SIV on 24 November 2012 until 31 August 2014.

Item	Total
Expressions of Interest (EOI) submitted through SkillSelect	1650
Invitations to apply for a SIV issued as a result of applicants being nominated by a state or territory government	1382
Primary applications lodged	1172
Primary visas granted	386

As of 31 August 2014:

·         45.8 per cent of primary visa applications have been on hand for less than three months

·         AUD1.930 billion has been invested in Complying Investments

·         AUD3.055 billion is proposed to be invested in Complying Investments.

The table below shows the state and territory distribution of the SIV.

Significant Investor visa: State and territory distribution - 24 November 2012 - 31 August 2014

State	EOIs submitted	Invitations	Applications lodged	Visas granted
Any	39	N/A	N/A	N/A
ACT	4	0	0	0
NSW	550	431	380	146
NT	1	0	0	0
Qld	105	82	64	22
SA	41	35	24	9
Tas.	3	1	1	0
Vic.	846	783	663	193
WA	61	50	40	16
Total	1650	1382	1172	386

The table below shows the distribution of primary visa applications and visa grants for the top five source countries for the SIV.

Applicants for top five source countries	Percentage of total visa applications	Grants for top five source countries	Percentage of total visas granted
China	90.9	China	87.6
Hong Kong	3.1	Hong Kong	3.1
Malaysia	1.0	South Africa	1.6
South Africa	0.6	Japan	1.3
Taiwan	0.6	Malaysia	1.3

The table below shows the state and territory distribution of SIV for the 2013-2014 financial year.

Significant Investor Visa: State/territory distribution - 1 July 2013 – 30 June 2014

State	EOIs submitted	Invitations	Applications lodged	Visas granted
ANY	13	N/A	N/A	N/A
ACT	1	0	0	0
NSW	287	209	198	101
NT	0	0	0	0
Qld	54	36	33	19
SA	25	28	20	8
Tas.	1	1	1	0
Vic.	582	517	452	140
WA	29	24	18	14
Total	992	815	722	282

 

Source: DIBP

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Review of the skilled migration and 400 series visa programmes

The Department has released further information related to the Review of the skilled migration and 400 series visa programmes.

There are four broad review terms of reference:

• Review the effectiveness of the current skilled migration and 400 series visa programmes with the aim to reduce unnecessary red tape and impost on Australian business.
• Explore and develop, in consultation with key stakeholders, new and innovative skilled migration visa models to support Australia’s short and long term skilled migration needs while ensuring the primacy of Australian workers.
• Implement a new skilled migration visa framework that is supportive, flexible and responsive and which enriches the Australian economy through a well-managed skilled migration programme.
• Ensure that integrity is maintained and strengthened in a new skilled migration framework.

The review will be guided by the following six principles:

• Simplicity in design supports increased comprehension and usability.
• Structural flexibility is critical to ensure changing skilled migration needs can be met.
• Employment outcomes should be a key driver for Australia's skilled migration programmes.
• Skilled migration must support and complement the Australian labour market.
• Integrity is essential to maintain the continued acceptance of a skilled migration programme.
• Support the whole of government deregulation agenda to reduce red tape and regulatory costs for Australian business and industry.

The Department has prepared a discussion paper Reviewing the Skilled Migration and 400 Series Visa Programmes to further assist in this process.

The consultation process is divided into three phases:

• Scoping and development – will seek input from key stakeholders on the current skilled migration and temporary activity visa frameworks and explore concept visa models.
• Refinement- will provide stakeholders with an opportunity to further contribute to any proposed skilled visa framework.
• Implementation - will share understanding and raise awareness of the new visa frameworks.

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Diversity Visa Green Card lottery registration opening next month!

Want to make a permanent move to the United States and don’t know how? Apply for the Diversity Visa Green Card lottery starting next month for your chance to make your U.S. dream come true!

The United States Government grants 50,000 permanent resident cards (green cards) each year to individuals from other countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. This year’s Diversity Visa lottery registration program (DV-2016) will be open from 1 October 2014 – 3 November 2014.

To qualify for the DV Lottery this year, applicants must meet two specific requirements.

1.       Applicants must be born in a qualifying country

2.       Applicants much have education or work experience that qualifies for the DV2016 Lottery

(Note, this years (2014) DV Lottery is called the DV-2016 Lottery, where 2016 is the year the winners may enter the United States on their Immigrant Visa that they obtained in the 2014 DV Lottery.)

For further information, please visit the following website: http://www.dv-lottery.us/

For any additional questions, please contact our U.S. Immigration Attorney, Melissa Vincenty:  http://nfmelbournelawyers.com.au/us-immigration.php

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