Author: Rosie Acutt

Queensland, known for its vibrant economy and diverse opportunities, has been a sought-after destination for skilled migrants looking to make Australia their home. However, this year, aspiring migrants aiming for Queensland’s state sponsorship for a Skilled visa have encountered a significant shift in the program dynamics. With a reduced quota of 1,000 places this year, down by one-third from the previous year’s allocation of 3,000 spots, the competition has intensified, requiring applicants to strategize and stand out more than ever before.

Changes in Selection Criteria

One of the most notable changes this year is the stringent invitation criteria. Whilst the criteria to seek nomination has lowered, successful applicants to receive a nomination invitation in the last three end of month rounds, includings the November round held on 28 November 2023, have primarily been those boasting a points score of 95 or higher, or possessing unique attributes that distinguish them in their respective fields. The emphasis on a higher points score urges candidates to explore all possible avenues to bolster their points tally.

Striving for a Competitive Edge

The lowered quota and heightened competition signal the necessity for applicants to take proactive measures to increase their points score. While the minimum required points might have sufficed in the past, this year demands a more robust approach. Upskilling, gaining additional work experience, improving English proficiency, obtaining language accreditation, introducing partner skills or securing a higher qualification are some avenues aspirants can explore to enhance their chances.

Exploring Alternative Pathways

Given the competitive nature of the current landscape, potential applicants are encouraged to consider alternative visa pathways. For applicants with Covid visas expiring before February 2024, further extensions are still available. Alternatively, employer-sponsored visas present viable options for skilled individuals seeking to make Queensland their home. These pathways often offer a different set of requirements and may provide a more accessible route for some candidates, and with changes introduced from 25 November introducing more flexible residency pathways for all occupations via employer-sponsored pathways, now is the time to start opening channels of communication with prospective employers.

Urgency for Visa Renewal

For individuals whose visas are nearing expiration within the next 90 days, it’s crucial to act swiftly. Seeking alternative options and exploring viable pathways becomes even more pressing in these circumstances. Queensland Migration Practice advises prospective applicants with any immediate concerns to contact our office to discuss alternative solutions, ensuring a smooth transition without compromising one’s immigration status.

Australia is a popular destination for many migrants seeking a better life. However, for parents of Australian citizens and permanent residents, obtaining a permanent visa to join their loved ones in Australia can be a long and arduous process. The two main parent visas available are the Contributory Parent visa and the Aged Parent visa. Unfortunately, the wait times for these visas are among the longest of any Australian visa category.

The Contributory Parent visa is a popular option for those who want to join their children in Australia. It requires a significant financial commitment, as applicants must pay a large sum of money upfront to cover the costs of their healthcare and other expenses. The current cost for a Contributory Parent visa is over $47,000 per applicant. Despite this high cost, the demand for these visas is high, resulting in lengthy processing times. As of May 2023, the estimated processing time for new Contributory Parent visa applications is at least 12 years.

The Aged Parent visa is another option for parents who want to live in Australia. This visa is available to those who meet the age requirement of 65 years or older and have a child who is an Australian citizen or permanent resident. The processing time for this visa is also lengthy, with estimates of up to 30 years for some applicants. This long wait time has made it difficult for many families to plan their future together, causing a great deal of frustration and anxiety.

The recent Australian Federal Budget for 2023-24 has allocated 8,500 places for Parent visas, consistent with the previous year’s Planning Levels. This means that unfortunately, there is little relief for parents with applications waiting in the queue. Instead, the 2023-24 permanent Migration Program places an emphasis on skilled migrants, with allocated planning levels spreading visa quota across an approximately 70:30 split between skilled and family visas. Despite the economic benefits that skilled migrants can bring to the country, it is important to acknowledge the value of family reunification and the role that parents can play in supporting their children and grandchildren in Australia.

During the 2022-23 migration program year, the Department finalised Contributory Parent visa applications lodged up to March 2017. These applicants experienced wait times of approximately 6 years.

For new Contributory Parent visa applications, the estimated processing time is approximately 12 years.

For applications lodged between 2018 and 2023, the exact wait times will vary significantly depending on your specific place in the queue, how many applications are ahead of yours in the queue, and how many individuals are seeking a visa as part of those applications (noting that migration planning levels are per person being issued a visa, not per application).

For example, publicly available information confirms that the Department has finalised applications up to March 2017. According to data available under Freedom of Information provisions, the number of Contributory Parent visa applications lodged in 2016/17 was 19,787 and in 2017/18 was 10,301 – you can view this information here.

This means that for applicants who lodged their applications in 2019, it may take another 2 program years just to finalise applications lodged in the latter stages of the 2017 fiscal year, and throughout the 2017/18 fiscal year alone.

We had hoped to see an increase in places allocated this year to make up for the reduced processing which occurred during the border closures in the 2020-2021 fiscal years due to the pandemic. However the government’s decision to hold planning levels steady will see current backlogs and delays remain at parity. We understand that these ongoing processing delays are highly frustrating, particularly in light of the Department’s lack of transparency about ongoing wait times for individual applications. 

Given the significant wait times for Contributory and Aged Parent visas, it is important for families to explore other options for spending time together in Australia. Temporary Visitor visas and temporary Sponsored Parent visas are available, which can facilitate stays of 1 to 10 years, depending on individual circumstances. While these visas do not provide permanent residency, they can offer a valuable opportunity for parents to spend time with their loved ones and make lasting memories whilst waiting for their permanent visas to process.

In conclusion, the wait times for Contributory and Aged Parent visas are becoming increasingly significant, and it is important for families to explore all available options to spend time together in Australia. While there is little relief for parents in the Federal Budget for 2023-24, temporary visas offer an alternative for those who do not want to wait for years to be reunited with their children and grandchildren. It is essential to seek updated advice about interim options to spend time in Australia with your loved ones, and to remain patient and hopeful throughout the visa application process.

As individual circumstances will vary, we would encourage you to contact our office if you have any specific questions or concerns about your application or alternative options.

Have you been granted a Bridging visa with limited work rights, or no work rights?

If you have any one of the following conditions applied on your visa, you may not have full work rights:

8101, 8102, 8103, 8104, 8105, 8107, 8108, 8111, 8112, 8115, 8547, 8607 or 8608;

If you are suffering from financial hardship and need to work, you may be eligible to apply for a new Bridging visa with these conditions removed, effectively giving you full work rights. To do this, you will need to substantiate to the Department of Home Affairs that you have a “compelling need to work”.

You may be able to apply for work rights on the basis of compelling need to work if:

• You are on bridging visa A, C or E without work rights; or
• You are on a bridging visa without work rights and have applied for a Temporary Skills Shortage visa (subclass 482).

Applying for work rights will require you to apply for a new Bridging visa with information supporting your compelling need to work. Please be aware that the Department can have regard to information that has been provided in previous visa applications or permission to work applications, thus it is important to avoid providing conflicting evidence in any subsequent applications, unless there is a reasonable explanation or evidence to support the inconsistencies or change in circumstances.

In this article we will discuss how to apply for work rights on a Bridging Visa A that is not related to a pending application for a 482 visa. If you have a Bridging Visa C or E, or a Bridging Visa A granted in association with an application for a Subclass 482 visa, different considerations will apply when seeking to remove work limitations.

Compelling need to work

A “compelling need to work” is defined in the relevant legislation as being in financial hardship. In short, the Department is looking to see that you are currently facing, or will soon face, financial hardship. 

The Department considers that a person is in financial hardship where “the cost of reasonable living expenses exceeds your ability to pay for them”. To establish this, you will need to provide evidence about your income, savings, expenses and support available from other persons such as your partner or family.

In all circumstances, the Department can have regard to a range of factors in determining whether there is a compelling need to work, for example:

• Whether your claimed expenses are reasonable
• How you have supported yourself up until the point of application and how that support will continue
• If there are other possible means of support such as a sponsor or nominator, relatives or friends in Australia or overseas
• If you will become a burden on public funds or charitable institutions
• When the substantive visa application is likely to receive a decision

Any claimed expenses should be reasonable for your situation. Including unnecessary expenditures such as fancy meals and branded goods would obviously not be taken into consideration. 

When considering your circumstances, the Department can consider any contractual obligations or necessary expenses such as food, accommodation and other necessities, including supporting any dependent children. 

Possible compelling reasons to work can include situations where your means of support has been through savings and those savings are running out, or where a person has suddenly lost a stream of income (i.e. loss of job).

The Department will also consider when a decision is likely to be made on your substantive visa application. A long processing time for the substantive visa will likely be given more weight in determining that a person has a compelling need to work.

If you have a compelling need to work, contact our office today to discuss your circumstances in more detail.

All Australian visas have a requirement that the applicant meet certain health criteria. These medicals are mandatory for the purposes of a Partner visa.

If you fail to meet the health requirement, your visa may be refused.

When might you fail the health test?

You might fail to meet the health requirement if you have a disease or condition (such as tuberculosis) that is, or may be:

• A threat to public health in Australia;
• A danger to the Australian community;
• Requires, or might require health care or community services (even if you have no intention of using such services*);
• Result in a significant cost** to the Australian community in the areas of health care and community services; or
• Prejudice the access of Australian citizens or permanent residents to health care or community services.

For some visas, if an applicant or members of the applicant’s family unit fails the health test then it will be “one fails, all fails”.

*Australia has a national health insurance and benefits schemes, including income support, nursing home entitlements and other allowances. Once there is an entitlement based on need, the support cannot be denied to an Australian resident or citizen. For this reason, even if you have private health insurance for your condition, you will be assessed against the standard accepted medical practice available across Australia for that condition.

**When determining if you meet the health requirement, a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth (MOC) considers whether you have a health condition that will be a significant cost to the Australian community in terms of the health care or community service required to manage your condition.

The Department use per capita data about health and community service costs to work out what your condition is likely to cost over a period of time. For permanent visa applicants this is generally 5 years.

Having a disease or health condition does not always mean you will not meet the health requirement due to significant costs. The likely costs will depend on what kind of disease or condition you have and how severe it is.

The Department will not grant you a visa if you do not meet the health requirement because your condition is likely to be a significant cost, unless a health waiver is available and exercised.

The Department regard costs of AUD49,000 or more to be significant.

The 5 most conditions most commonly identified as affecting permanent visa applicants who have failed the health requirement are:

• intellectual impairment
• HI infection
• functional impairment
• renal disease or failure
• cancer

Health Waivers

In very limited circumstances, the health criteria can be waived.

In order for the health criteria to be waived, it is necessary to satisfy the Department that the granting of the visa would be unlikely to result in undue costs or to prejudice access to community health services.

If you are concerned that you have circumstances which may impede your ability to meet the health criteria, or have received an invitation from the Department to comment regarding health issues that may affect the outcome your application, get professional assistance immediately.

The Department can take into account a broad range of discretionary factors in determining whether costs or prejudice to access are ‘undue’, including your capacity to mitigate costs associated with your condition, as well as any compelling and compassionate circumstances such as family ties to Australia.

What is the process of applying for a Health Waiver?

During the processing period the applicant will be required to undertake medicals. Once the results are available, if the applicant has failed the health test, the applicant will receive a letter from the immigration department to furnish additional information and explain why a health waiver should be granted to the applicant.

The visa applicant must fill out the details in a formal submission document claiming the waiver on equitable grounds.

The department scrutinises the claim on below-mentioned factors

• Whether the applicant can handle the resultant expenses
• Whether the applicant’s sponsor can cover the expenses
• Whether and how much the applicant may utilize the country’s health care system and community services if granted the visa
• Whether there are any compelling or compassionate reasons to consider the waiver
• The advantages the applicant or the sponsor may bring to the Australian economy and the community
• The disadvantages of visa refusal to the applicant or the sponsor, the Australian economy and the community

Based on the above parameters the waiver is allowed or denied.

Every health waiver case gets scrutinised on a case-to-case basis. The process takes considerable time before the authorities decide after weighing pros and cons of granting a health waiver to the applicant.

If the authorities deny the health waiver, the visa application gets rejected automatically and communicated to the applicant accordingly.

However, if the cost of treating or taking care of the health condition amounts to AUD 500,000 or more or the case demonstrates to burden the health care and community services, the case officer must recommend the case to the National office in Canberra.

For a partner visa along with the criteria of the cost of utilising the public health services, these below-mentioned factors are considered as significant too:

• The closeness and affection in the relationship and the hardship the partners may face if not granted the visa
• The possibility of why the Australian partner cannot join the foreign partner because visa rejection
• If the decision may affect the children adversely (if any)
• The location and other circumstances of the partners

What should an applicant do to strengthen his/her case for a waiver?

• Provide as many details as possible to see the case on a compassionate ground
• Assure the agency that he/she will not be burdening the Australian community and the public health system
• Provide evidence that they can take care of their medical costs either individually or through the sponsor (who is a partner)

Health waivers can be tricky and failing to provide detailed or adequate information may result in a missed opportunity. We’ll help you every step of the way, from deciding on whether a health waiver may be applicable, through to preparing documentation and lodging your health waiver and helping you meet all the other criteria.

If you need a health waiver simply dial (07) 3194 9152 or email [email protected] to know your options and chances of getting a health waiver for you or your dependent.

In these uncertain times surrounding Corona Virus (COVID-19) we want to do all we can to support our valued clients and community members so that we can get through this together.

The Government is making a number of changes to temporary visa holder arrangements during the coronavirus crisis in order to protect the health of our community, safeguard job opportunities for Australians, support critical industries, and assist with the rapid recovery post the virus.

We understand that many of our clients are feeling anxious in the current climate and have varying needs depending on whether you plan to lodge a visa, are awaiting on an outcome on a visa, or already hold a visa. As circumstances vary depending on your personal circumstances, if you are affected by COVID-19 we would strongly urge you to make an appointment to discuss your options.

Whilst we have had to make some changes to our day-to-day operations, it’s business as usual in unusual times. Our staff are currently working remotely and can conduct consults via telephone or Skype. Please feel welcome to reach out to discuss how we may assist you further.

Here at Queensland Migration Practice, we pride ourselves on customer service, professionalism and results. 

We’re a small firm that believes in quality over quantity. Time is dedicated to achieving your visa goal no matter how complicated. Problem solving is part of our repertoire and no case is too big for us to handle.

Sometimes we turn away work, but we’d rather do that so we can provide the best service possible to our current clients.

Just read our reviews.

As a result of this ethos, our Principal Solicitor, Rosemary Acutt has received a Certificate of Excellence in 2020. This certificate places her in the category of Top Three Best Immigration Lawyers in Brisbane courtesy of ThreeBestRated.

If you’re looking to immigrate to Australia, and have been searching for someone with compassion combined with dedication and expertise, contact Queensland Migration Practice today.

With 2018 being well underway and the festive cheer feeling like a distant memory, it is time to reflect on the year ahead. 2017 was a turbulent year in migration, with the government introducing some of the largest changes seen in recent years  across a number of visa programs.

2018 is set to see further changes rolled out across a number of visa and citizenship programs.

From 1 March 2018, a number of changes will be introduced:

1. The 457 visa program will be replaced b a Temporary Skills Shortage (“TSS”) visa, introducing stricter english language and work experience requirements.
2. The 187 visa program will be varied, introducing minimum salary requirements, stricter work experience requirements and a shorter list of occupations eligible for visa program.

From 1 July 2018, changes are proposed to be made to the Australian citizenship requirements, with the possibility of extending the residence requirement.

If you are applying for a visa or Australian citizenship in 2018, it is important to understand whether you will be impacted by these changes.

Contact one of our friendly staff on (07) 3360 0844 to discuss your circumstances today.

 

Every year, hundreds of thousands of applications are made for a visa to visit Australia.

To be eligible for a Visitor visa, an applicant must genuinely intend to stay in Australia on a temporary basis for a short business visit or for tourism purposes.

All applicants must be able to satisfy the requirements for the grant of a Visitor visa, which requires an applicant to demonstrate that:

1. They have sufficient ties to their home country and thus an incentive to return home at the end of their visit.
2. That they have access to adequate means to support themselves (and their family where relevant) during their stay in Australia. They could be asked to provide evidence of their adequate means of support.

Pretty simple stuff right?

Wrong.

Continue reading “How To Get Your Australian Visitor Visa Approved”