Understand how VoIP lets you keep your country’s phone number anywhere worldwide. We will cover how VoIP transforms expatriate communication by enabling the retention of your home phone number anywhere in the world. This guide delves into VoIP’s main advantages, from global connectivity to always-on access to SMS messages, explaining what makes it an excellent...

In 2023, it became particularly evident that Australia’s migration system is indeed ‘broken’, based on an expert panel’s findings and the Nixon report confirming widespread abuse of the visa system. The reviews also found that employers and migrants grapple high costs, slow visa processing and uncertain pathways to Permanent Residence (PR), while the media and...

The process of testing the local labour market before sponsoring a worker on a Subclass 482 or 494 Visa has now become simpler following Government changes that came into effect on 11 December 2023. Here’s what employers and skilled visa applicants/holders should know. Written by Sheila Woods (MARN: 0533879) of Interstaff 18 January 2024 What has changed? | Labour...

Applications for employer-sponsored visas for regional Australia will be prioritised for processing in 2024 according to the Government’s new Ministerial Direction (No. 105). The Government will also continue to prioritise skilled visas for occupations in healthcare and education, as well as employer-sponsored skilled visas for applicants that are nominated by a business with Accredited Sponsorship...

Australian immigration was again a very topical issue in the media in 2023. In the 2022-23 financial year, we saw a record in Net Overseas Migration with 510,000 people arriving in Australia throughout the year. This was more than 25% above the 400,000 expected in the May Federal Budget 2022-23 and more than twice the October 2022-23...

Blue Monday was a term coined by psychologist Dr Cliff Arnal in 2004.  He worked out a formula to show how the third Monday in January is the most depressing day of the year. It takes into account factors including the average time for New Year’s resolutions to fail, the bad weather, debt, the time since...

The Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs has today decided that from 1 January 2024, Working Holiday Makers (Subclass 417 and 462 Visa Holders) in some circumstances will have access to extended work rights for work with the same employer for more than six months. Written by Sheila Woods (MARN: 0533879) of Interstaff 21 December 2023 While the...

The Australian Government has released its long-awaited Migration Strategy, revealing how the Skilled Migration visa system will be re-designed to support Australia’s skills needs in coming decades. Interstaff’s Managing Director, Sheila Woods was interviewed on ABC Radio Perth last week to discuss some of the major changes in the Migration Strategy. The discussion starts at the...

For anyone visiting Australia, there are certain expectations. Stunning beaches. Kangaroos. The Sydney Opera House. These days, though, there is also the expectation that the price of your visit is on the higher end of the holiday scale. And not just for flights. Australia can be an expensive place once you are here spending Australian...

Australia’s state and territory nominated visa options to migrate without an employer sponsor have become more competitive due to the government significantly reducing its 2023-24 allocations for these visas. Nomination allocations refer to the number of new primary applicants each state or territory can nominate in a program year. It is likely that the reduced...

Just how broken is Australia’s migration system? One of the government’s focus areas in 2023 has been to address worker exploitation in the migration system, as recently seen in an increase in sponsorship audit requests of sponsor companies. Written by Sheila Woods (MARN: 0533879) of Interstaff  2 November As the government strengthens Australia’s visa system, it’s important that employers...

The Subclass 408 Pandemic Event Visa will close on 1 February 2024, signifying the normalisation of the migration program after years of pandemic recovery efforts. The 408 Visa was originally intended to allow temporary visa holders to extend their stay for work in Australia if they had ‘critical skills’ or if their travel arrangements had...