Chris N Lora

What bearing does this have on applications submitted prior to the changes ... If you have paid your fee's and they then take it off MODL list is that it? do they say tough you trade is not needed therefore we wont consider your application do they refund your moen or do you still get processed just a lot longer to wait ????

timu12

Hi all,
if i get accepted to a post-graduate program in accounting field, can i immigrate to Australia?

commonwealth

IMHO: Accountants should be removed from the CSL. Just talk to the employment agents, there is a flood of accountants in the market these days, and there are lots of redundancies among companies. Accountants should be allowed to migrate only when the economic situation improves.

bcworld

And exactly the same could be said for IT professionals.

waikiki

Havent seen this to be the case in WA at all. There are hundreds of accountancy jobs being advertised everyday.

squeezzii

just thought I would add this link
09:31 AEST Mon Mar 16 2009agoCANBERRAVIEWS: 0| FLOCKS: 0| 0 comments so far
Immigration Minister Chris Evans will slash the skilled migration program to protect local jobs.
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Mar 16, 2009
Cuts to the nation's skilled migration intake will help protect local jobs, Immigration Minister Chris Evans says.

The federal government will slash the skilled migration program by 14 per cent, or 18,500 jobs, over the next three years.

The cuts will be coupled with deletions to the critical skills list, which specifies which jobs are open to migrants.

All building and manufacturing trades will be removed, forcing companies to find bricklayers, plumbers, welders and carpenters domestically.

Employers can bring in foreign workers only if they cannot source the labour locally.

Mr Evans says the government wants to ensure migrant workers are not competing with Australians for jobs during the economic downturn.

"That's (building and manufacturing) where we are seeing a drop off in demand, some major redundancies, we don't want people coming in who are going to compete with Australians," Mr Evans told ABC radio.

It is unlikely further cuts will be made to the critical skills shortage list including health, engineering and information technology jobs, he said.

"I doubt they're going to be making any changes in that regard, we are down to a fairly short (critical skills shortage) list now."

The Master Builders Association says the cuts are warranted.

Chief executive Wilhelm Harnisch says unemployment in the building and construction sector is rising.

"We're projecting at least a loss of 50,000 jobs in this industry over the next 12 months," Mr Harnisch told ABC radio.

Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull said the government should be prepared to reduce further Australia's migrant intake as the economy slows.

Mr Turnbull said the government has "finally recognised" the gravity of the threat migration poses to jobs in Australia.

"They should be prepared to reduce the immigration intake in light of the economic circumstances," he told ABC Radio, when asked whether the government should go further than the latest announcement.

"We're disappointed they have failed to do so in recent months."

But the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) says there will be trade skill shortages despite the economic downturn.

"You don't want migration policy to move in high peaks and low troughs, because that does create dislocations through the economy," chief executive Peter Anderson told ABC radio.

"It is far better to allow the labour market to operate in a more natural way."

Nationals Senate leader Barnaby Joyce says there is still a need for overseas workers in the Australian workforce.

Abattoirs was one example where employers were struggling to fill vacancies with local labour, he said.

Senator Joyce, in cautiously welcoming the announcement, said the government still needed to be careful about cutting worker immigration, especially for the meat-processing sector where operators struggled to maintain full production.

"If we take away 30 per cent of the production line, you end up closing the whole production line down," he told reporters in Canberra.

Australian Greens senator Christine Milne says the cut is an opportunity to pour money into training people for green jobs.

"This is the time we need to be training skilled people to upgrade their skills so that they can retrofit Australia's houses with energy efficiency," she told reporters in Canberra.

People who lost their jobs in retail could be retrained in areas such as energy auditing, she said.

It was important to "prioritise" immigration, and that refugees should not be refused access.

"But in terms of skilled training, we need to

make sure that people with skills in Australia are employed first."

memol

hi,
If you have got a pregrant letter for subclass 175 and notified IMMI the date of travel,is it going to affect you ???
kind regards

commonwealth

Then I guess applicants should seek sponsorship from WA.

man_called_Horse

I was just reading the arcticle in the Sydney Daily Telegraph and its saying that

"there will be no further visas this year for bricklayers, plumbers, welders, carpenters and metal fitters"

Does this mean that those in the above mentioned categories will not even sniff a visa until after July 1st?
I hope this in not the case because this could affect a few friends of mine.

Also all this talk about CSL being slashed would that affect ENS for those already who have a job?

George Lombard

Minister's press release clarifies certain issues including a pruning of the CSL:

Government cuts migration program

Monday, 16 March 2009

The Rudd Government will cut the 2008-09 permanent skilled migration program by 14 per cent to protect local jobs while ensuring employers can access skilled professionals in industries still experiencing skills shortages.

As has long been the case, the Government can adjust immigration levels according to the economic circumstances of the day and last week Cabinet agreed to cut the permanent skilled migration program in light of the worsening global economic situation.

Clearly, the economic circumstances in Australia have changed as a result of the global financial crisis so it is prudent to reduce this year’s migration intake accordingly.

The changes to the program are:

* A 14 per cent cut in the 2008-09 permanent skilled migration program intake from 133 500 to 115 000.
* Removing building and manufacturing trades from the Critical Skills List, such as bricklayers, plumbers, welders, carpenters and metal fitters. The list will now comprise mainly health and medical, engineering and IT professions.

These changes follow measures announced in December that resulted in only those migrants sponsored by an employer or in an occupation on the Critical Skills List being granted visas under the permanent skilled migration program. Almost half of the permanent visas granted are to applicants already living and working in Australia.

The Critical Skills List will remain under constant review and the Government will remove occupations from the list if demand for those skills can be satisfied by local labour.

The overwhelming message from business and industry is that Australia still needs to maintain a skilled migration program but one that is more targeted so that migrant workers are meeting skills shortages and not competing with locals for jobs.

There are still skills shortages in some sectors, such as healthcare, and these measures will enable industry to continue to source the skilled professionals they need while protecting local jobs and the wages and conditions of Australian workers.

The Rudd Government remains committed to a strong migration program but will continue to monitor the migration intake and will set the 2009-10 migration program to reflect the economic climate as part of the Budget process.

Skilled migration plays a crucial role in stimulating the economy and combined with the Government’s Nation Building and Jobs Plan, will help Australia come out of the global economic downturn.


This confirms that the cut in the general skilled migration program takes place immediately and that the trades affected will be many and various, not just the five mentioned. The CSL on the Department's website has yet to be amended to reflect this change.

Cheers,

George Lombard

man_called_Horse

This is a very stange statement Mr Evan's is implying that only those who have an Employer sponsor or (now an even shorter) CSL will be granted visa's

I think this is a bad choice of words for an official announcement or maybe we should be reading between the lines.

Nimra

How about the state sponsored tradies? Do they have to be on CSl list as well? just so confused on this news.

paulry

I was thinking exactly that (maybe we should be reading between the lines).

guuuude

Hey,

im confussed, they mean now all the "tradesman" or its limited to;

bricklayers, plumbers, welders, carpenters and metal fitters??

And my sec. question is what means "carpenter" its incl. all woodworker or is "cabinetmaker" not incl.



thx

Nette

Can any help with the latest cause of stress in my life?!

I have just been reading about the reduction in migrant numbers due to the global financial crisis and was wondering if this has any effect on temporary residents due to apply for their PR?

I moved to South Australia on an SIR visa in August 2007 and am due to apply for PR in August this year. I have fulfilled all the SIR visa requirements e.g., lived in SA, worked full time for 12 months etc.

Will the reduction in migrant numbers cause me any problems when I submit the PR application?

Any advice much appreciated!