**New MODL from Mon 8 Feb 2010**

[Migration Help]

New MODL will be introduced on Monday 8 Feb together with a number of other changes to the General Skilled Migration program as well as the employer sponsored 457 visa.

Watch this space for more information!

MH

[Sheelagh Blanckenberg]

Let's hope there is some good news!!

[Migration Help]

See this post for more information on this issue:
http://forum.migrationhelp.com.au/showthread.php?p=2344#post2344

MH

[Migration Help]

DIAC announces changes to MODL

The Age Newspaper advised today that Senator Evans, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship will announce a series of changes to skilled migration on Monday 8 Feb – in a speech to industry and union representatives, including the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, AiGroup, the Minerals Council of Australia and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union.

Once again, Evans and his advisors have demonstrated breathtaking arrogance.

Does anyone else see the irony of Evans, as the leader – supposedly by example – of a bureaucracy with a slogan of “People our Business”, taking his advisors’ advice to make the initial announcement to a group of unionists, business organisations and business leaders?

What happened to the “people” that DIAC trumpets are its business – the hundreds of thousands of applicants that are now having to get through another anxious weekend, wondering if their lives and plans for the future are going to be turned around again, by yet another DIAC policy change.

I just hope that DIAC has learned from the 23 September fiasco and, this time, thought strategically, compassionately and intelligently about its next step – no more knee jerk reactions please, Senator. They do you and your team no credit.

Thanks to Susan Wareham McGrath from meta (http://www.metaanz.com/2010/02/06/diac-to-announce-changes-to-modl-on-8-feb/) for this apt and thoughtful commentary.

Once again DIAC's 'customers' are being treated with disdain.

To all our readers, if you wish to vent your thoughts on this, another DIAC policy change, please feel free to do so via this forum.

MH

[Migration Help]

See latest news on this in the following post: http://forum.migrationhelp.com.au/showthread.php?p=2354#post2354

A general synopsis of changes include:

MODL revoked from the 8 Feb 2010.
New SOL will be announced 30 April 2010 and will come into effect mid-year when the CSL will be revoked.
certain offshore GSM visa classes to be capped and ceased resulting in 20,000 plus visa application fees to be refunded to those applicants who will not meet the new requirements. This will apply to all such applicants if their applications are not decided before the cap is put in place.
The GSM Points Test will be reviewed in the first half of 2010. It is not known if the government will decide to make changes to the GSM Points Test. If the government decides that changes are necessary, they will determine
when they are to take place and who they will apply to.
The minister has set new priority processing arrangements which apply to the following visas from 8 February 2010:
• Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS)
• Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS)
• Certain General Skilled Migration (GSM) visas

Under the ministerial direction, the following processing priorities (with highest priority listed first) apply:

1. Applications from people who are employer sponsored under the ENS and the RSMS.
2. Applications from people who are nominated by a state/territory government agency under a state migration plan agreed to by the minister.
3. Applications from people who are nominated by a state/territory government agency and whose nominated occupation is on the Critical Skills List (CSL).
4. Applications from people who are neither nominated nor sponsored in priority groups 1, 2 or 3, but whose nominated occupation is listed on the CSL.
5. Applications from people who are nominated by a state/territory government agency whose nominated occupation is not listed on the CSL.
6. (i) Applications from people whose occupations are listed on the Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL).
(ii) Aplications from people who are sponsored by family and whose nominated occupation is not listed on the CSL.
7. All other applications are to be processed in the order in which they are received.

MH

[kolandi]

New MODL will be introduced on Monday 8 Feb together with a number of other changes to the General Skilled Migration program as well as the employer sponsored 457 visa.

Watch this space for more information!

MH

Im a international student currently studying this year 2010 for Horticulture and im worried about the MODL changes, also there has been changes with the Job steady program and its freaking me out what will happen this year and next year with the DIAC constantly changes their requirements.

[Migration Help]

Hi Kolandi

Welcome to the Migration Help forum.

It is going to be a tough time for many until the detail of all the changes are made known. The big questions at this time are what occupations are going to be on the new SOL, what occupations states are going to support and what changes are going to be made (if any) to the points test. Until we know the answers to these questions it is very difficult to know what is going to happen and how to comfort people possibly affected by the changes.

MH

[Migration Help]

For all those in Melbourne, there's a free information evening on the changes to the GSM program on Monday night at the State Library.

22 February 2010

6:30pm-7:30pm

Seminar Room 1
State Library of Victoria
328 Swanston St, Melbourne
Entry via La Trobe St

It would be well worthwhile going along if you can!

MH

[petition13]

Im a international student currently studying this year 2010 for Horticulture and im worried about the MODL changes, also there has been changes with the Job steady program and its freaking me out what will happen this year and next year with the DIAC constantly changes their requirements.
Sign the petition online, which we will send to immigration minister and to the ombudsman.Sign it and ask your friends, classmates and anyone to sign it.We need a lot of signature to be successful:
http://www.gopetition.com/online/34368.html