South Australia: Skilled and Business Migration Program Update – Final nomination allocation received for 2022-23

General Skilled Migration Program (visa subclass 491 and 190): 8,000 places

Business Innovation and Investment Program (visa subclass 188): 70 places

To manage the limited final allocation of 70 nomination places, the following measures are in place:

• Business Innovation stream (188A): Intention to Apply (ITA) process will remain open until 31 January 2023 and will then close for the remainder of the 2022-23 program year. A very small number of 188A applicants who have lodged an ITA will be invited to apply for state nomination in March 2023

• Investor stream (188B): Closed to new applicants for the remainder of the program year
• Significant Investor stream (188C): Closed to new applicants for the remainder of the program year
• Entrepreneur stream (188E): A very limited number of places are available. Applicants must first contact a Service Provider to be considered for the 188E stream and obtain information on both eligibility and availability

Subclass 888 state nomination applications and 132 review applications are not affected by nomination places and will remain open until 26 June 2023.

NO LMT Exemption – India – Aust Trade Agreement

No exclusions from the Labour Market Testing are specified in the agreement, according to a close analysis of the original India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (IAECTA) document. DFAT’s website interprets:

In accordance with the terms of the current visa and the pledges made in the earlier free trade agreements, Australia has promised to offer India mobility outcomes. This does not, however, include a waiver of the labour market testing and includes equal commitments on categories of entrant, length of stay, spouses, and dependents.

In the event that LMT is covered by an international trade agreement, applicants are reminded that each of these agreements has its own unique and special LMT provisions. Applicants should thus refer to the LMT obligations set down in the relevant country agreement.

New online form available

For clients without applications in ImmiAccount, a new Departmental form provides online submission of new passport information for a more streamlined client experience and quicker processing than the Form 929 (PDF) channel.

If you have an unfinished request via ImmiAccount or Form 929 Change of Contact/and or Passport Details, do not submit an online form to amend passport information. These requests will still be handled according to the day they were submitted.

ImmiAccount remains the Department’s preferred channel for submitting passport detail updates, with processing times of less than 72 hours.

Processing times:

• ImmiAccount – 72 hours
• New online form – 14 days
• Form 929 – 30 days

Bridging visa applications – Judicial review

For judicial review situations, bridging visas are not always granted; these instances need to be evaluated by a Departmental officer.

Applications for Bridging visas should ideally be filed through the online webform with enough time for processing. An application must be submitted at least two weeks before to the expiration date of an existing visa in order to prevent an applicant from becoming an unlawful non-citizen.

Applicant should be aware that it can take a few days before a request can be reviewed, especially during public holidays and other holiday times.

Working Holiday MAKER 8547 temporary relaxation extended

According to a statement from the Department, condition 8547 has been relaxed till June 30, 2023.

With this modification, Working Holiday Makers (WHMs) are now free to work for any one employer for the duration of their visa without needing approval, and any work done prior to 1 July 2023 will not count against the 6-month limitation period. This means that starting on July 1, 2023, WHMs may continue working for any employer for up to an extra six months, even if they did so previously.

Anyone in Australia with a WHM visa of any sort, regardless of when they arrived, or a Bridging visa with condition 8547 imposed is subject to this.

Mediation on the rise for small firms

The Victorian Small Business Commission’s Annual Report was recently tabled in Parliament, revealing a number of lasting and ongoing impacts from COVID-19.

Data from the Victorian Small Business Commission’s (VSBC) Annual Report 2022 shows high demand for help to resolve commercial disputes due to the ongoing impacts of COVID-19.

However, Victorians are reportedly walking away more satisfied with the VSBC’s mediation service for resolving these disputes, with the overall satisfaction rate increasing to 88 per cent.

According to the report, a record 19,775 Victorians made enquiries to the VSBC and 3,171 applied for help to resolve a dispute, which is a 68 per cent increase on the number who applied before the pandemic.

Around 43 per cent of all matters were resolved early on, and of the matters that did go on to mediation, 70 per cent were successfully resolved without the need for costly and stressful legal action.

Small business owners contended with a broad range of disputes, including over who should pay for repairs under a retail lease, landlords refusing to provide rent relief to their tenants, unpaid supplier invoices and goods and services that were below par.

Civil claim against Pell, Melbourne Archdiocese to continue

In the wake of the passing of Cardinal George Pell, a national plaintiff firm has confirmed it will still progress with a civil claim on behalf of the father of a former altar boy who alleged he was sexually abused by the now-late, top-ranking Australian Catholic cleric.

As reported globally this morning, Cardinal George Pell has passed away. The Archbishop of Melbourne, Peter Comensoli, said in a statement that Pell died from heart complications following hip surgery.

Pell served as the Vatican treasurer between 2014 and 2017, before returning to Australia to face trial for child sexual abuse. In 2018, he was convicted for offences against two teenage boys committed whilst he was the archbishop of Melbourne, and spent over 400 days in Barwon Prison in Victoria, before the High Court unanimously overturned the conviction.

The late cardinal had always vigorously denied the offences alleged against him.