Friday, 18th May 2018
Issue #2 May
ISSUES OF THIS MONTH
Coalition backflips on parent visa crackdown
Government considers forcing regional migrants to stay rural
There's a mistake in the Australian citizenship test
The most common reasons for Australian citizenship refusals
Available Jobs in Australia
The Turnbull government will reverse a controversial regulation that effectively doubles the income requirement for people trying to bring their parents to Australia.
The backflip comes following weeks of mounting backlash from migrant communities and will completely reverse the changes, just a month after they were introduced by Social Services Minister Dan Tehan.
SBS News has obtained a letter Mr Tehan sent to Greens senator Nick McKim on Wednesday, confirming the government would undo the regulation rather than face a narrow defeat on the floor of the upper house.
The changes, which took effect in April, meant residents needed much higher salaries to bring their parents to Australia on a visa. An individual trying to sponsor their two parents would need to prove they earn an annual income of $86,607, up from around $45,000 under the previous rules.
The government will revert to the old rules and will "reassess" any migrants who applied since the April change.
Mr Tehan plans to rewrite the legislative instrument before May 23, the letter confirms, and will "replicate the circumstances as they were prior to April 1".
"Any individual that has had an assessment under the new provisions will be reassessed," Mr Tehan writes.
Source: SBS NEWS
The federal government says it may change visas designed to bring skilled migrants to regional areas because many are leaving for the cities once they secure permanent residency.
Citizenship Minister Alan Tudge says the government is examining ways to make migrants stay in regional centres if they've been sponsored to work outside Australia's big cities.
"They may sponsor people into the country but then sometimes that person will be sponsored into country then once they've got their permanent residency immediately quit the job and then move into the cities, so again it's against the spirit of what is trying to be achieved here and we're just taking a look at that because it's in the interests of those regional areas to develop and need people and it's also in the interests of the cities to take a bit of pressure off them."
Mr Tudge says the government is only considering changes, and is yet to formulate any proper policy on the visas.
"If they've come in on the basis of being employed in a regional area, they we think it's not an unreasonable expectation that they stay in that area for a certain amount of time. Now, of course, once they've got their residency and citizenship then they can move to wherever they like. That's the benefits of citizenship. But if they're sponsored by an employer to a regional area, then we'd like them to stay in that regional area to help develop those locations and take a bit of pressure off the cities."
Opposition leader Bill Shorten says people in regional Australia would welcome more refugees and skilled migrants in their centres.
"I think people in regional communities are up for bringing migrants to their towns. I think that in our big cities, where you are seeing strained infrastructure and congestion, people want to see a better plan in terms of dealing with those issues but there's no doubt that there are plenty of country communities with lots of success stories of migrants moving to the country and really making a qualitative difference."
Australia has a handful of visas specifically on offer to those who want to work in a regional area, including the Skilled Regional (887) and the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (187).
Only 7,000 out of nearly 190,000 migrants to Australia settled in rural areas last year.
A question in the Australian citizenship test lists three incorrect answers for the country's population size, potentially disadvantaging candidates, SBS News has learned.
An applicant from the UK – who asked to remain anonymous – told SBS News of the apparent error after sitting the test this week.
The woman said she had meticulously prepared for the test by reading the recommended preparation booklet called Australian Citizenship: Our Common Bond.
The Department of Home Affairs says the booklet has "all the information you need to help you pass the citizenship test".
The English-language booklet currently lists Australia's population as "about 24 million people".
The applicant SBS News spoke to said she was "about five or six questions into the test and a question came up about population [size]".
"I knew from the booklet that [Australia's] population is 'about 24 million' … But that was not an option. The three options were '18 million', '22 million' and '30 million'," she said.
The woman raised her hand during the test and told the examiner she knew the answer was 24 million according to the booklet.
"I told the examiner, 'I think there's a mistake in the exam' ... He said 22 million is the right one."
"He said the system is 'difficult' to update [and] wasn't surprised about it."
The woman selected the answer of 22 million and went on to pass the test. While she said it was "all a really bizarre experience," she was more worried about the broader implications of the error.
"It made me think, 'well, I know 22 million is wrong, I know 18 million is wrong, should I just put 30 million?'"
Reaching the citizenship test is often a multi-year process for candidates.
The test consists of 20 questions drawn at random from a larger pool of questions. To pass, candidates must answer at least 15 out of 20 correctly.
"How many tests could have been failed because of this question?" the applicant told SBS News.
"If you were feeling vulnerable or uncomfortable engaging with an examiner, that shouldn't be a reason you fail."
She said while being asked to pass a citizenship test is an understandable requirement, "this [error] is really a shame."
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the latest estimated resident population of Australia as of September 2017 was 24,702,900 people. Australia's population hit 22 million in 2009, 23 million in 2013 and 24 million in early 2016.
There also appears to be a discrepancy in other Australian citizenship test resources.
In several translated versions of the Australian Citizenship: Our Common Bond, including the Indonesian, Italian, French and Arabic versions, the Australian population is still listed as "about 22 million".
SBS News contacted the Department of Home Affairs about the claims.
A spokesperson said: "To maintain the integrity of the citizenship test, all questions and answers are confidential. It would be inappropriate for the Department of Home Affairs to comment further on the contents of the citizenship test."
SBS News also asked the department how many individuals fail the test.
"For clients who sat the citizenship test from 1 July 2017 to 30 April 2018, the failure rate was 2.9 per cent," the spokesperson said. Of the 1,597 people who failed the test during this period the department said 5.5 per cent failed by one point.
"A person is allowed to attempt to pass the test on three occasions on the one day. They may attempt the test a number of times."
Over 4,000 migrants were refused Australian citizenship last year. Here are some of the most common reasons that can have your citizenship application knocked back.
Indian national Sagar Shah was one of the 4,000 migrants whose citizenship application was refused last year.
Although he met all the requirements for Australian citizenship when he applied for it in December 2012, his application was refused because of something he did after lodging his application.
Mr Shah travelled to India in March 2014 and did not return to Australia for over three years. The Department of Immigration and Border Protection refused his citizenship application on the basis that he did not intend to stay in Australia or maintain a close or continuing association with Australia.
According to Mitch Simmons from Tern Lawyers, not many applications are refused for this reason.
"Generally in the citizenship applications that issue is usually taken for granted that there's no evidence to suggest that they do intend to reside anywhere else but in Australia," Mr Simmons tells SBS Punjabi.
"But in the cases where this was an issue, it's generally because of some family or business interests that lead them to be spending some significant period of time outside of Australia."
Mr Shah told the Administrative Appeals Tribunal that he had to stay in India to take care of his father who had become paralysed due to a stroke and to look after the family business. The AAT affirmed the Department's decision in his case.
While the Department of Home Affairs says this year's statistics of citizenship refusals are not "publicly available", 4,151 applications for citizenship by conferral were refused in 2016-17.
Of those who were refused Australian citizenship, 1,866 couldn't pass the citizenship test. The remaining applications were refused because of failure to prove identity, failing police checks and involvement in extremist organisations.
Mr Simmons says failing to meet the character requirements and proving the identity are among the most common reasons for refusals.
"Under the citizenship application, if there are charges and no conviction, that can be taken into account. So we suggest if there's anything that can lead to the Department determining someone is not of good character, they should seek legal advice. Otherwise, there's potential for visa cancellation, not just refusal for citizenship application," says Mr Simmons.
He says the character consideration for citizenship is broader than when applying for a visa.
"The government's current approach to citizenship to character is they see it as the last chance to decide whether they want this person in Australia because once someone is an Australian citizen then it's very hard to undo that."
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Formal qualification
Relevant experience as a Cook in similar position is preferred.
The ability to work in a fast paced environment where you will be required to stand for extended periods of time.
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Attention to detail and be a good team player.
Well established Brisbane Auto Centre is seeking to employ an experienced Panel Beater.
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5 years experience with exclusive European cars like Ferrari, Maserati, Audi, Porsche etc.
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Strong administrative skills including record keeping and note taking
Pastry Chef / Baker
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A positive work attitude and professional manner
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Medical Administrator
At least a Bachelor degree or at least 5 years' of relevant experience.
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We hope that you have found the information in this issue of our newsletter to be enriching and useful. Stay tuned for our next publication and if you would like to talk to us directly, please do not hesitate to email service@noborders-group.com. In addition, if you would like your contact details updated or removed from this distribution list or you know someone who would like to be added, please email us on the same address.
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Email: service@noborders-group.com
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Web: www.noborders-group.com
NO BORDERS Universal Migration
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