News

Australia Indonesia Youth Exchange Program: Applications now open Applications for the 2017-18 Australia-Indonesia Youth Exchange Program (AIYEP) are now open. Australia and Indonesia established the program in 1981 to promote cross-cultural understanding and exchange among young Australians and Indonesians. It provides an opportunity for participants to experience firsthand the culture and society of each country. Application forms and further information are available online here.

World university rankings under threat if unis take a cut Six Australian universities are currently in the list of elite universities in a key global ranking but commentators warn funding cuts may weaken the country’s competitive position. Led by the universities of Melbourne and Queensland, Australia had 23 institutions in a list of the Top 500 published this week by the Shanghai-based Academic Ranking of World Universities. But the Group of Eight universities, which figure in the top 100, said the government’s plans for higher education — $2.7 billion in savings, including a 2.5 percent cut to funding — could harm the investment in research that pushed Australia up the rankings.

Citizenship changes deeply unfair, jeopardise Australia’s reputation: Diversity Council of Australia Diversity Council Australia has told a Senate Inquiry examining the proposed Citizenship Bill that the changes will see Australia lose a great deal of talent. DCA – a not-for-profit workplace diversity and inclusion advisor to business, argues that if the Government went ahead with a number of proposed changes, Australia would not have access to the talent it currently has. DCA says it’s particularly concerned about a proposed English language test in the Citizenship Bill.

Irish vet fails oral English test for skilled visa application An Irish vet failed to meet the requirements for a skilled migrant visa after she did not pass a language test, despite being a native English speaker and holding two degrees. The Department of Immigration, however, says she did not need to take the test in the first place. Dr Louise Kennedy says she took the test because it was otherwise impossible for her to reach the score required for the visa without sitting the English test. Dr Kennedy failed to make a score of 60 for the subclass 189 visa (which costs $3,670), meaning she was ineligible to apply. Instead she had to apply for the much more expensive spousal visa (which costs $7,000), and requires upfront payment. An equine veterinarian, she is based in Sunshine Coast, is married to an Australian and has been living there with her children for the last two years. And seems like Dr Kennedy is not alone. An Irish engineer who found himself being judged as not able to speak English fluently by an automated computer program has warned people seeking Australian visas to be wary of how their tests are marked. Matthew Kelly (34) did the Pearson (PTE Academic) English exam as part of his application process for an independent skilled immigrant visa when he was moving to Australia but scored poorly in the oral fluency and pronunciation sections of the exam.

Visa-free entry for Australians into Qatar Australia is one of the 80 countries whose nationals can now visit Qatar without obtaining a visa beforehand. The list of 80 countries includes Australia, Brazil, China, India, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Turkey, the United States and all EU member countries. Officials in Qatar hope the move will spur travel to the country after the attempt by some of its neighbors – including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – to isolate it.

Government allows South Korean family to stay in Australia A Melbourne based South Korean family of five due to be deported have been granted the right to stay in Australia, following a last minute government intervention An SBS report said the Lee family have lived in Australia for nine years and were due to be deported to South Korea next month. The family who had moved to Australia in 2008 had been a victim of a scam losing $100,000 to a migration agent who later fled the country. Their ordeal prompted a campaign from the local community, who set up a petition calling for them to be allowed to stay. They also received support from their local Catholic community, with the Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne Denis Hart lobbying the government on their behalf.

NSW town to take 200 humanitarian migrants from Iraq and Syria The New South Wales regional city of Armidale has volunteered to resettle 200 refugees from Iraq and Syria as part of Australia’s humanitarian migration program next year. The deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce announced the move would begin from February next year. NSW takes the majority of refugees resettled in Australia, and the bulk of those move to Fairfield City Council in Sydney’s west. Acceding to a report in The Guardian, refugees make up a tiny percentage (0.14%) of population growth in NSW.

Migration Amendment Bill 2017 referred to Legal & Constitutional Affairs Committee for inquiry The referral of the Migration Amendment (Regulation of Migration Agents) Bill 2017 has been recommended by the Senate Selection of Bills Committee to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee for further inquiry and report is due by 16 October 2017. The Bill proposes to amend the Migration Act 1958 and is targeted at deregulating the migration advice industry. This will see lawyers who hold practising certificates removed from regulation by the Migration Agents Registration Authority, so that they are regulated entirely by their relevant state or territory legal professional body. Under the proposed amendments it would be possible for someone with a legal practising certificate to be registered as a migration agent without demonstrating any knowledge of Australia’s complex migration law and policy.

Vocational education, could be the right way to go! You must have heard people saying, ‘Don’t follow the crowd, you will go no further than the crowd’. It took me ages to realize this. Thousands and Thousands of engineers and business graduates are being produced every year; but the economy is not able to meet the demand for skilled labour, thanks to the quality of education, rather the concept of education which is not preparing students to be employed. The education system has to take a new perspective, a perspective to help students specialize in their field of choice, a perspective to enhance their practical and research skills, a perspective to heighten understanding of application against theoretical knowledge, a perspective to complete studies in a shorter period of time with focused know-how, a perspective to appreciate vocational training. Most people assume vocational education only caters to mechanical or civil industries. In reality it can cater to any industry. The responsibility of vocational education system is to develop curriculum that is focused on imparting skills that are relevant to the industry. It is not about what you know, it is about what you do. Being an HR professional and having interviewed hundreds of fresh graduates every year, I got the opportunity to realise the level of skills our education system is churning out. It stirred in me the need to look at our university education system and take a fresh look at vocational education.

Macquarie University launches new medical degree which offers students experience in India Macquarie University has launched a new $250,000 medical degree this week with a unique extra to attract students – a lengthy stint in the challenging conditions of an Indian hospital. The degree will also break new ground for a public university medical course by charging full fees to all students. A highlight of the course is that third-year students will spend five months in Hyderabad, India, doing clinical training in a local hospital. The new course is outspokenly opposed by the Australian Medical Association (AMA) which says the added load of medical graduates will cause even greater bottle necks in finding internships and specialist training places for new doctors.