Monday, August 24, 2009

The Immigration two step


"The Immigration two step" was the title of an interview with Immigration Minister, Senator Chris Evans on ABC Radio National on 3 July 2009. I thought it was a very balanced look at the way Australia's migration policy has slowly changed from one where most applicants came from offshore to one where most applications for permanent residence come from onshore applicants.

I set out below an extract from the introduction, but you can read the transcript or download the audio file by clicking on the link above:

"When immigration issues capture headlines, it's usually because another boat carrying asylum seekers has been intercepted off the West Australian coast, as happened earlier this week. But the fixation with border security can cause us to overlook longer term structural changes, such as the gradual shift from permanent to temporary migration that has been under way in Australia for more than a decade now. ... In fact, these days almost every second 'new' migrant to Australia is already living here as a temporary worker or as an international student..."

Photo used under creative commons licence

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Occupations in Demand Review

The government is embarking on a review of the Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL). Potential visa applicants who have an occupation on this list have been able to claim additional points on the points test. The discussion paper which has been released for public comment notes that

"MODL was originally introduced to serve the dual purpose of awarding additional points to applicants skilled in occupations in shortage in line with the GSM [General Skilled Migration] aims of targeting the program to young, skilled migrants who would contribute to the needs of Australian employers and make a sound economic contribution and as a tool to prioritise applications within the General Skilled Migration program. However, as the MODL has grown, so to has the percentage of applicants nominating a MODL occupation, rendering it relatively ineffective as a prioritising tool."

There are some interesting statistics in the discussion paper including that over 60% of general skilled migration applications now nominate a MODL occupation and that in the 3 years to 2008, 28 800 accountants, 6500 cooks, 2800 hairdressers, 800 bricklayers, 600 plumbers and 300 carpenters obtained permanent residence. One of the things which occurs to me is that over the years the points test has become increasingly difficult to meet and often the only applicants who can make the pass mark are those with an MODL occupation. Sounds like a review (or either the MODL or the points test) is overdue.

The discussion paper is open to public comment and can be downloaded from the DIAC website.

Photo used under creative commons licence.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Which outcome? - education or migration

Since my last post about the adverse publicity received by migration professionals, I've been doing some more thinking about the problems faced by overseas students in Australia.

There are some clearly dishonest/disreputable practices going on. There are the "dodgy" colleges or course providers who are under resourced or over crowded can't deliver on what they promise. There are also the people perpetrating fraudulent english test results or fabricating job references. These people are ripping off foreigners and locals alike and should be prosecuted to the full extent that the law allows.

However, has government policy inadvertently created this problem? Many people choose to advance their education by studying overseas (if only I had the time or the resources to go to Oxford or Cambridge for a year) and then return to their own country with newly acquired knowledge and experience. Isn't the problem that the emphasis has shifted from achieving an education outcome to achieving a migration outcome. The introduction of the graduate student visa and the presence of trade occupations such as cook and hairdresser on the occupation in demand list, has encouraged the establishment of bad courses and colleges who have sold their wares on the expectation that if you do our course, you will be eligible for permanent residence.

This advertising has been very effective and many foreign students now have the expectation that they will be able to stay in Australia i.e. their study is a gateway to a whole new life, not just an opportunity to learn new things and go back to their home country to practise them! The balance has tipped in favour of the migration outcome rather than the education outcome.

Although it's true that it probably wasn't foreseeable that the unscrupulous would see it as a business opportunity, perhaps the introduction of the onshore graduate visa wasn't a great idea after all? Of course the flipside to that argument is that potential permanent residence is big incentive for some students to invest in their education in Australia. Unfortunately like all investments, there are good ones and not so good ones.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Bad Press for Australian Migration Profession

Over the last couple of months there have been many media reports about Australia's treatment of overseas students. A lot of these issues were explored in the recent 4 Corners current affair program which revealed a number of education and migration agent scams on Indian students which preyed on the desire for permanent residence in Australia. That program was appropriately called "Holy Cash Cows". There have been many other reports in Australian and overseas media (which a google search would quickly reveal)

Unfortunately these problems are not new. I have had a look at the parliamentary debates from 1989 and 1992 when changes were made to regulate the migration profession - it would appear that not much has changed!

Look at the following from 1992:

"This initiative reflects the Government's concern over the level and nature of complaints made against incompetent or unscrupulous agents, complaints which would be familiar to many members of this chamber. It also recognises the fact that many of those who are likely to seek the assistance of agents are among the most vulnerable in our society, sometimes having a poor grasp of English, fear of authority or meagre financial resources. This is not to say that the great majority of agents are not honest and efficient. It is a sad fact of life that the activities of a minority have tended to tarnish the reputation of migration agents as a whole."

http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/par...c=0;resCount=Default

The rhetoric wasn't much different in 1989 either:

http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/par...c=4;resCount=Default

and

http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/par...c=4;resCount=Default

This is obviously a problem with rogue operators within the education/migration advice sectors in Australia. Various attempts at regulation and policing haven't been very effective. I accept that most barrels will almost invariably have a few rotten apples and that is unavoidable. In the immediate future, there are a few simple things that potential students and visa applicants can do. These include avoiding unregistered offshore "agents"and avoiding private educational institutions. In short, greater due diligence is unfortunately required.

Photo used under creative commons licence