IMMIGRATION MEANS CHANGE (BUT THERE'S NO NEED TO BE SCARED)

When Australia first started its active migration policy in the 1950’s and European migrants were accepted, there was change everywhere. Australia opened their minds to migrants and although not wholeheartedly accepted at first, they made the decision to come.

In 1990 there was no List of Occupations in Demand, Critical Skills List, English language testing and minimum salary levels. Spouse application obtained residence straight away and there were no electronic visas.

Australian Migration Policy is the most complex law that we have and the legal profession across the board concur with this view. HR professionals are expected to deal with this migration law yet the vast majority have no legal training. They must keep up with changes in this law if they are to do their job without legal complications.

Don’t be scared of the recent changes; there will be more to come. It is all a matter of making sure that your processes are right - if they are then it is business as usual.
How do you make sure that you are aware of the changes?

• Subscribe to newsletters and read the papers.
• Have a Migration Agent go over your policies and procedures once a year to make sure that you are doing the right things.
• Have an expat contract.
• Get a list of your visaed employees on an excel spreadsheet.
• Keep your expat personnel files separate from your local employee files so they are easy to find for Immigration Audits and changes to salary levels.
• Subscribe to VEVO on DIAC’s website www.immi.gov.au to make sure that you are employing people who have work rights or are Australian citizens.

Australia has 144 visa classes and the regulations and rules change at least twice a year. You can’t be expected to know all of the rules but you must ask for and get good advice. Once you have been put on the right path and have a grasp of the basics, it becomes simply a maintenance issue.

Written by Amanda Tinner, Visa Executive Pty Ltd
Tel: 0409 969 525

Back to news

© 2007 A-Locate Global Relocations all rights reserved