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Australia has Working Holiday arrangements with 19 other countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, Ireland, Korea, Malta, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Hong Kong, Finland, Cyprus, Belgium, Italy, France, Taiwan and Estonia. Approximately 135 000 visas are granted annually across the Work and Holiday and Working Holiday visa programmes. The Work and Holiday and Working Holiday programmes are an important part of the tourist industry and have a positive effect on the Australian economy.
Applicants with recognised trade skills applying for General Skilled Migration will be required to meet the current threshold of IELTS 5 = 15 Points. To obtain a bonus 10 points for Proficient
English you must have 7+ IELTS result = 25 Points.
There are currently 15 GSM visa subclasses available to people onshore and offshore, who are wishing to apply to migrate to Australia. Under the new visa structure, this will be reduced to nine visa subclasses - four offshore and five onshore. This new structure enables applicants to more easily identify the visa subclass best suited to their circumstances.
Australians recognise April 25th as an occasion of national commemoration.
Commemorative services are held at dawn, the time of the original landing,
across the nation. Later in the day ex-servicemen and women meet and join
in marches through the major cities and many smaller centres. Commemorative
ceremonies are held at war memorials around the country. It is a day when
Australians reflect on the many different meanings of war.
September 2006 MODL changes OFF
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Western
Australian Property Values Tales
of an Irish Backpacker Its hard to believe its a year since I left home! I recall, I landed in Perth wondering what the hell am I doing!! but what a brilliant year it has been! After 2 months I bought a car with Sean and Danny, then drove north, taking everything in, we arrived in Broome 2 weeks later! then after chilling on Cable Beach for 2 weeks, we got the crazy 10 from Perth together with 3 vehicles (that I kept mechanically sound) went on the adventure of a lifetime through the Gibb River road in the Kimberley mountains! It took almost 3 weeks to arrive in Darwin where I selflessly organised cheap social evenings for backpackers whilst taking bets at the race track for during the day!! I sold the car (Charlie) in Darwin for a tidy profit with the assistance of a dub (yes you Paul) to 2 nice Swedish girls! then Paul, Michelle and myself drove swiftly to Adelaide through the very centre then flew home for Damien’s wedding via Thailand and back to Melbourne via Thailand in Sept got a bar job in Melbourne in a class bar, the Elephant and Wheelbarrow where I met so many great people, and made some good friends. Then flew back to Perth for Mac's cousin's wedding and bought another wagon. Drove back to Melbourne across the bottom of the country stopping of at a few funny towns with lad from Doncaster and a Dutch girl!! End of January I went to Tasmania which I loved! Drove to Sydney beginning of Feb! met the greatest bunch of people and worked with a deadly crew at a Sydney stone company! Sold my van yesterday, and I'm so so sad to leave Australia!! the country is beautiful, the people are chilled, the city's are pumping and the weather is fab!! if you've been then you know, and if you haven't then you should put it on your list of lifetime achievements!! all I can say is I loved it!! So now onward with the trip!!!
Improved targeting in the Skill Stream has resulted
in increases over the previous year’s numbers of doctors (294 per
cent), nurses (40 per cent), accountants (48 per cent) and tradespersons
(38 per cent) such as mechanical, electrical, construction and automotive
tradespersons. About 18 700 visas were granted under the State Specific and Regional Migration (SSRM) mechanisms in 2004-05, almost a 50 percent increase on 2003-04. ‘But figures don’t really tell the whole story,’ the Minister said. ‘The story is in the individuals from a female Dutch welder working in Darwin, a Scottish hairdresser now working in South Australia’s Barossa Valley, to an Irish geologist working on the Western Australian goldfields and the South African nurse working in Tasmania. ‘These migrants are playing a vital role in helping to address the critical skill shortages felt by employers in local communities across Australia. |
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Immigration Minister Senator Amanda Vanstone says more than 111,000 people settled in Australia in the past financial year, an increase of nearly 20,000 on the previous year. Senator Vanstone says while the biggest group of 40,000 still settled in NSW, that represents a decline of 7,000 people on figures from three years ago. She says the drop for NSW is in line with the Federal Government's efforts to encourage migrants to settle elsewhere. Victoria had 28,000 migrants, Queensland 20,000 and Western Australia close behind with 15,000 migrants. The largest number of people came from the United Kingdom, followed by arrivals from New Zealand, China, India, South Africa, Sudan and the Philippines. Skilled migration "The immigration intake under the Howard Government is markedly different from that under the previous government," she said. "We've shifted very much to a skilled migration intake bringing in people who are under 45, are qualified and can very quickly get a job and contribute to the Australian economy." Senator Vanstone says the decline in new arrivals in New South Wales shows the Federal Government's regional migration scheme is working. "Both Victoria and South Australia have been very prominent users of that opportunity and we've been keen in the immigration program to make sure that people go where they are wanted," she said. "Because there has been a decline in NSW in the numbers ... I think that confirms that we are doing is working." However, the Federal Opposition says a more cohesive approach is needed for Australia's population growth. Opposition immigration spokesman Laurie Ferguson says immigration is only part of the solution for Australia's needs. "We need a long-term population policy as to where we are going in the next decade or two," he said. Mr Ferguson says despite a decline of 7,000 people for
NSW, the overall figure of 40,000 means the overwhelming number of immigrants
still settle in Sydney. He says programs for other states need to be expanded.
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