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Australia 3rd most popular destination for international students Australia has been ranked as the third most favourite destination for international students. According to a Savills Australian Student Accommodation Market Report, international student growth is stronger than ever before as enrolments in higher education courses with student visas grew by 11 percent from 2015 to 2016. China (28%), India (11%), Republic of Korea (4%), Thailand (4%) and Vietnam (4%) are the top five countries of origin for international students studying in Australia. In 2016, the strongest growth in international student numbers in Australia came from Brazil (20%), Malaysia (18%), Nepal (16%), Hong Kong (10%) and Colombia (22%).

155,000 new foreigners make Australia home In the first three months of the 2017-2018 financial year, 155,000 foreigners have settled in Australia already. Migration experts are calling this a boost in net migration to a level that had not been seen since before the global financial crisis. According to The Australian, Australia’s growth rate is double that of the US and Canada and eight times the EU’s growth. As the government lifted the annual inflow of migrants from about 180,000 in 2015 to 231,000 in the year to March; almost 40 percent have already arrived in the first three months of this yea

NSW releases new occupation lists; 51 occupations removed   New South Wales has released its new occupation lists for 2017-2018 (sc190 and sc489). The list for Skilled (Nominated) 190 visas has shrunk to 130 occupations, with 51 occupations removed and 10 others added. You can access the new lists here.

US musician on tour in Australia deported over tourist visa An American musician booked for an Australian tour has been kicked out of the country after arriving in Melbourne on a tourist visa, 9News reported. Los Angeles-based indie performer Colleen Green was questioned by the Immigration officials over her visa and her plans while in Australia, and not satisfied with her response, she was detained overnight and then deported earlier this week. Taking a tour (or any other work-related commitments) on a tourist visa is illegal. Ms Green was on an Electronic Travel Authority, and according to the Immigration Department website, “you must not work in Australia on this (ETA) visa”.

Labor calls for urgent action on “systemic abuse” of foreign worker visas The Labor Party has expressed its concern over the “systemic abuse” of subclass 400 visas and has called on the Immigration Minister Peter Dutton to urgently safeguard it. Labor Party says this little-known visa is being used as a “backdoor” to undermine the government’s foreign labour crackdown. The three-month 400 visa was introduced by the former Labor government in early 2013.

Make immigration to SA easier: SACES Overseas migrants to South Australia should be enticed by offering an easier path to citizenship and opening up job visas for more occupations, a recent report by the SA Centre for Economic Studies (SACES) has recommended. The think-tank has proposed that SA must boost the population in the country towns and small cities with foreigners who want the jobs that locals refuse. More South Australians have moved interstate than people from other states have moved to SA since at least 1981. Keeping this in mind, the SACES report altogether made 14 recommendations to create a regionally focused migration program to boost the population across the state. Some of the most important recommendations were: removing caveats from skill lists for employers in regional areas; improving post-study work rights for vocational education and training graduates working in regional areas; creating a start-up visa for those in the country temporarily on other grounds such as student visas, 457 visas, or working holiday; and targeting Business Innovation and Investment visas; among others.

Myanmar asylum-seeker jailed for marrying child-bride In what is believed to be the nation’s first prosecution of this nature, a Myanmar asylum-seeker has been sentenced to 18 months in jail for marrying an underage girl in Australia. According to Times Live, the 34-year-old wedded the child, a 14-year-old, at an Islamic mosque in the Melbourne suburb of Noble Park last year. This comes under forced marriages which were outlawed in Australia in 2013.

Australia to increase outsourcing in visa approval process In an attempt to transform the country’s visa system, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) has turned to the market and is seeking a provider to design, implement, and operate a new visa business. According to the request for expression of interest (REOI) that was published at the weekend, the new visa business will be outsourced to another party that will be charged with processing visa applications. Currently, only 20 percent of the country’s visa service is outsourced. According to DIBP figures, 8.78 million visas were applied for in 2016-17. The government expects this number to reach 13 million by 2026-27.

Fair Work wants international students to report exploitation Observing and expressing its concern over a “disproportionately low” number of complaints from foreign students, Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James has urged international students to seek the agency’s help if they are exploited at work. Ms. James wrote an “open letter” addressing the international students. “If there’s a problem with your pay or if other issues arise at your work, I encourage you to speak to us,” the letter says. “We’ve seen cases where employers have threatened international students with deportation for working more than the number of hours permitted under their visa when they have raised questions about their entitlements. In some cases these same employers have altered pay slips and underpaid hourly rates in order to disguise the number of hours the student has worked,” she wrote. Last year, one-third of workers’ exploitation cases reported to the Fair Work involved international students.