No Borders Reaching Out to the Community

(Above picture - Maren Pastyr from the Marketing Team; assisting people with their migration issues)

Last month No Borders Migration Advocates spent a day at the Inala Shopping Centre (Predominately Vietnamese populated suburb of Brisbane, Australia) with the intention of promoting both our migration and legal services to the community. No Borders sees the need to inform the public of the migration and legal services available. So that people can feel safe and educated about their life and their options in regards to living in Australia and a persons legal rights.

The marketing team, made up of Maren Pastyr and Peter Collins, headed out to Inala to set-up an information stand and answer people's questions about migration. There was quite a lot of interest by the community wanting to know what their options are for becoming a Permanent Resident of Australia.

No Borders will continue to reach out to local Brisbane communities over the next 12 months in attempt to educate local migrants on the current migration laws and how these affect their opportunities for living in Australia.

Australian Skilled Migration gets an A+

The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Senator Chris Evans said yesterday the temporary skilled migration (subclass 457 visa) program has been a success during 2007-08.

New data shows an increase of 27% from last year in the numbers of 457 visas granted to foreign workers. This in turn means a greater number of positions in the Australian workforce are being filled by overseas workers migrating to Australia.
In fact 110,570 visas were granted last year to temporary visas and their dependents, compared to 87,310 in 2006-07.

New South Wales is the biggest user of the scheme, while Western Australia increased its usage by 40 per cent last year. 81 per cent of the workers on a subclass 457 visa were highly skilled professionals, such as IT professionals, nurses, and business professionals. The average nominated base salary is currently sitting on $73,100.

UK residents comprise the largest group of foreign workers on a temporary visa for Australia, making up one quarter of the 110,000. The conversion rate of temporary visas to permanent residency is also up by 30 per cent; nearly 25,000 subclass 457 visa holders became permanent residents last year.

The Government is currently using the scheme to fill nominated positions in the workforce which are highest in demand. The Minister has said it is vital to fill these positions at a time when the unemployment rate is low, in order to maintain the country’s economic momentum.

The Government also recently introduced legislative changes to the Migration Act so that the rights of lower-skilled workers can be protected from abuse from employers.