The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, in his statements issued Monday 25 May again gave assurance that the temporary visa skilled workers program will not be used to undermine local labour. Senator Evans said that the number of visa applications for subclass 457 visas lodged in April 2009 was the lowest rate in four years. The number of temporary skilled migration visas granted in April 2009 was almost 23 per … [Read more...]
Skilled migrant numbers slashed
May 11, 2009 By Leave a Comment
In my article about Australia's 457 visa program last month, I wrote that "Australia cannot be any different from other countries tending to be more inward looking in times of recession." It looks like our apprehension came sooner than expected. During the weekend, SMH reported that next week's federal budget will reduce the general skilled migration intake for next financial year by about 7,000 to 108,000. The cuts, the second reduction … [Read more...]
Is this bad news for 457 visa workers?
April 3, 2009 By 4 Comments
Last February, I wrote Good news and bad news for overseas skilled workers in Australia which foreshadowed the changes to Australia's 457 visa program. The changes are now upon us. Last Tuesday, the Office of Senator Chris Evans, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship announced the changes principal of which is the indexation of the minimum salary level by 4.1% on 1 July 2009 and implementation of a market based minimum salary for all new … [Read more...]
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