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Uncertainty has befallen thousands as their hopes for a better future diminish and their dreams shatter. More than 20,000 applicants for immigration to Australia will have their applications for migration rescinded and their payments refunded at a cost of about fourteen million dollars. This is after changes resulting from the immediate cancellation of the Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL) program in Australia. Senator Chris Evans, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, has announced the Rudd Government’s intention of reforming the permanent skilled migration program to make sure that it is more responsive to industry’s and employers’ needs and better address future skill needs of the nation in regions and sectors with highly skilled workers’ shortages such as mining, engineering and healthcare. The Senator says, "Australias migration program cannot be determined by the courses studied by international students.” He has said that the Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL) is outdated and has one hundred and six occupations, many of which are less skilled and no longer in demand. The Senator has announced a new Skilled Occupation List (SOL) intended to focus on high value trades and professions and to deliver highly skilled immigrants and crackdown on persons who, through low-value education courses, are in search of permanent residency in Australia. The list will be introduced mid-year and a review of points test used to assess migrants to ensure the selection of the best and brightest will take place. SOL is a critical reform in the overhaul of the skilled migration program by the Government and it closes the door on people seeking to manipulate the migration system. All offshore General Skilled Migration’s applications placed before 1 September 2007 will be withdrawn. These people applied overseas under easier standards, including a less rigorous work experience requirement and lower English language skills. Only persons with pertinent qualifications in occupations that it lists will qualify for independent general skilled migration. Worthy to note is the fact that the new SOL introduction does not change the concessions announced in February that provide generous transition arrangements for current and former international students looking for a visa under the General Skilled Migration (GSM) program. Additionally, the implementation of the new SOL would neither impinge on people who have already applied for a GSM visa nor those international students coming to the country to gain a qualification and then go back home. Chris Evans asserts that the changes are about dealing with Australias skills needs. He said, "If you get a student visa to Australia, it is a visa to study, not to stay permanently." He adds that this will bring a permanent difference in order that Australia is able to choose her immigrants based on whether they will contribute and whether they will be in employment. The senator said that the SOL would ensure that rather than being supply-driven, Australias skilled migration program would be demand-driven. He reported that the aim was to change the way skilled migrants are targeted to reinstate integrity to the skilled migration program. “The Rudd Government, through a targeted migration program, will attract skilled migrants of the highest caliber and deliver people with real skills to meet real need in our economy,” the senator says. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told parliament, "The problem that we have inherited is the skill system of the previous government and we need to correct that for the future." The new SOL is expected to come into effect on 1 July 2010 to replace the old list that contained more than four hundred occupations. Senator Evans reported that Professions Australia Skills, industry peak bodies and industry skills councils advised Australia to ensure the SOL contained occupations that the nation needs in the medium to long term. He says, "There is now increased priority for employer-sponsored migrants and this will ensure industry is able to access quickly the skilled workers it requires.” He also said that to start with, there should be the training of young Australians and the opportunity of filling existing job vacancies should be given to them. He asserts that there is a national plan by the Government to make sure young people get the training in the occupations with the greatest need. However, some occupations will continue having a high demand for skills and highly trained people are welcome to fill these vacancies in Australia. There will be the introduction of Amendments to the Migration Act this year giving the Minister the power to set the highest number of visas that may be granted to applicants in any one occupation if need be, thereby preventing the domination of the Skilled Migration Program by a handful of occupations. There will also be the development of state and territory-specific migration plans so they can prioritize skilled migrants of their own choice. This recognizes that each territory and state has different skills requirements. Some people have raised concerns that these changes to skilled migration rules could tarnish the reputation of Australia abroad with the overhaul to leave thousands of foreign students in limbo. Australia is currently battling to fix her overseas education sector’s reputation that a string of attacks on Indian students has damaged. Scott Morrison, opposition immigration spokesperson said, “That is the risk that the government has to deal with.” He added that how carefully the government does that will determine if Australia’s reputation survives these decisions. Andrew Smith, Australian Council for Private Education and Training chief, also noted that the fifteen billion dollars sector was already suffering serious reputational damage adding that the changes would threaten some institutions. He said, “We have noted a significant drop-off in demand for Australian education from overseas recently for a range of reasons and we expect that this will further dampen that demand and there may well be job losses." Others like Ms Heather Ridout, Australian Industry Group chief welcomed the revamp. She argued that it would help address the shortages of critical skills that would arise with the improvement of the economy. She said, "Putting a greater emphasis on a demand driven system that better matches the needs of business will help ease this pressure." The chairperson of the Governments National Resources Sector Employment Taskforce, Western and Northern Australia Parliamentary Secretary Gary Gray, also welcomed the new SOL saying that it would address the resources sector’s needs. Additionally, many Indian media sources such as Daily News and Analysis (DNA) India have positively welcomed Australia’s tough immigration stance. Although they admit that it will make it harder for Indian students to get into Australia, they argue, “It will distinguish the wheat from the chaff.” Naresh Gulati, the Oceanic Consultants CEO welcomed the changes and said that the changes would encourage students to choose a course more consistent with their career aspirations. The Rupee News blog also, featuring the story, agreed that the visa changes were crucial in stopping Australian immigration laws abuse. These latest changes in the Australian immigration regulations most affect overseas students leaving them very uncertain, as many will lose the opportunity of applying for permanent residency. This is because the courses for which they enrolled, with the hope that such careers would guarantee their eligibility to apply for Australian permanent residency after college, will no longer be on the skilled list. If they stand any chance of staying in Australia, many students who have chosen vocational courses like hairdressing must now apply for a temporary skilled graduate visa to stay in Australia for one and a half years while they seek sponsorship from an employer to sponsor them. Read More