Monthly Archives: November 2022

Boxing Day, in Great Britain and some Commonwealth countries, particularly Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, holiday (December 26) on which servants, tradespeople, and the poor traditionally were presented with gifts. By the 21st century it had become a day associated with shopping and sporting events. Boxing Day is celebrated on Monday, December 26, 2022.

For thousands of stalls and shopping complexes, post-Christmas sales begin on Boxing Day, offering severely reduce priced items of their excess stock that wasn’t sold during the Christmas time. Many people take advantage of the sales to buy products or services at significantly lower prices and shopping centres are packed with bargain hunters.

Another important event that happens on 26^th of December is the Boxing Day Cricket match.

One of the most well-known traditions of Australia’s Boxing Day is the Boxing Day Test, where a whopping 100,000 cricket fans head to Melbourne Cricket Ground, more commonly known as the MCG, to see the annual game.

Featuring the Australian national team take on an opposing team in the blistering summer heat, even if you’re aren’t an avid cricket fan, the atmosphere is well worth the ticket. Cheer and drink alongside the local fans while enjoying the perfect summer weather and entertainment in-between outs.

Another important sporting event that begins on Boxing Day is the annual yacht race, also known as the Bluewater Classic. The race starts from Sydney and travels 630 nautical miles, finishing in the heart of Tasmania, Hobart. Traditionally, it took around about six days for these yachts to reach the finishing line at Hobart, but nowadays they typically only take two days. Television channels broadcast the entire race, but the main entertainment and sporting events occur on the start date of Boxing Day.

Despite the cold blast Australia felt in Spring, it seems Summer is finally on its way. Christmas in the southern hemisphere is so different to that of the north as we have opposite seasons. Although many of us may have grown up watching Disney and Hollywood movies with cold and snow-struck Christmas, the Christmas down under in Australia are far from it. The hot summer days, long daylight hours and heat-waves are the exact opposite. However, that does not take away the unique Christmas spirit you feel in Australia this time of the year. Let’s explore more.   

Christmas Day

While it’s common to celebrate Christmas Eve in Europe, in Australia it’s more accepted to gather on Christmas Day (25 December). Some members of the community might attend church on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day – if you’d like to do this, there’s bound to be a church near you that you can visit.

Most super markets are shops are closed on Christmas day. If you are planning to buy anything last minute to take to a guest, make sure you plan ahead. Talking about guests, let’s talk about food.

Food

Australians often celebrate Christmas Day by enjoying a Christmas lunch or dinner with their closest family and friends. The meal usually consists of a selection of hot and cold dishes, including fresh seafood. Even though Christmas falls during summer, many families will enjoy roast turkey, hot sides and rich Christmas pudding on the day.

If you’re celebrating with a group of friends on Christmas Day, you could consider doing a ‘pot luck’. This means everyone can bring a dish to share, and the responsibility of hosting doesn’t have to fall on one person’s shoulders. Why not ask guests to bring a traditional Christmas dish from their home country?

Gifts

It’s common practice to give and receive presents in Australia. This is generally kept between family and friends, although you could consider giving a small gift or card to an employer, manager, or anyone else you’d like to show your appreciation to.

If you’re keen to take part in Christmas gift-giving but want to save some cash, consider hosting a Secret Santa. This involves gathering a group of three or more, placing everyone’s name in a hat, and getting each person to pick out a name. You then set a budget (say, $20 per gift), and everyone has to buy a gift for their designated recipient. You then swap gifts on Christmas Day, either anonymously or with a personalised card attached. It’s a simple and fun way to make sure everyone gets a gift, without the huge financial burden of Christmas shopping.

Shops

Yes they are mostly closed on Christmas day! Some of convenience stores are open on Christmas day making it the place to duck in to if you need anything quick.

The break for retail staff is just temporary though, the mad craze of boxing day sales comes around on 26^th of December when many shops slash their prices and you can pick some good bargains.

Public transport

Although public transport will operate on Christmas and in some states and territories it could be free transport, bear in mind they may run on holiday timetable. This means the frequency of busses, trains and trams may be relatively low.

Duration and Conditions

Business Innovation visa is a 4 year temporary visa. Once you have established an ownership interest in an Australian business, you can apply for permanent residence through the Business Innovation & Investment (Residence) Subclass 888 visa.

A 2-year extension is possible once you have held the subclass 188 visa for 3 years, giving you 6 years from the date of grant of the original visa.

Do I Apply in Australia or Overseas?

You can either be in Australia or overseas when you lodge your application.

If you are in Australia, you must hold a substantive visa or a Bridging A, B or C visa.

Visa Criteria

The Business Innovation Stream requires you to have owned a business and to be intending to establish business operations in Australia. You will need to meet the following specific requirements:

• Ownership of a business with turnover of at least AUD 750,000 each for at least 2 of the last 4 fiscal years; and
• Net personal and business assets of at least AUD 1,250,000; and
• Under 55 years of age, unless the nominating state or territory certifies that you will make an exceptional economic benefit; and
• Meet the pass mark in the Business Innovation and Investment Points test (currently 65)
• Have an overall successful career in business

State/Territory Nomination

This visa is only available to applicants who are nominated by an Australian State or Territory government. To be nominated, you must lodge an Expression of Interest (EOI).

Eligibility for Permanent Residence

To qualify for a permanent Business Innovation & Investment (Residence) Subclass 888 visa, you would need to meet the following criteria:

• You have been in Australia on your subclass 188A visa for at least 12 months, within the 2 years prior to lodgment.
• Owned and operated a business in Australia for at least 2 years prior to the application with annual turnover of at least $300,000 for the 2 of the last 4 years.
• You and/or your partner must meet two of the following three criteria for the last 12 months:
  • Assets of at least $200,000 in the business
  • Net personal and business assets of at least $600,000 in Australia
  • Employed at least two Australian full-time employees in your business in Australia

Business migration can be extremely complex, and even determining whether you have a good chance of qualifying can be difficult. Our migration consultants can provide you with a comprehensive preliminary assessment of your likely eligibility for business migration, and can discuss with you the best way to proceed with your application.

Many skilled migrants are attracted to subclass 494 temporary visa as it provides a pathway to permanent residency after arriving in Australia. The subclass 191 visa which is available for November 2022 is the pathway for subclass 494 visa holders to gain permanent residency.

The subclass 191 visa is for people who have lived, worked and studied in a designated regional area in Australia on a previous, eligible visa.

With this visa you can:

• stay permanently
• work and study anywhere in Australia
• Sponsor eligible relatives for permanent residence 
• apply for Australian citizenship, if eligible. 

Subclass 191 Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional): To meet the requirements of the permanent visa (from November 2022) applicants must:

• hold a regional provisional visa subclass 491 or 494 visa when they apply for the subclass 191 visa, and have held that visa for at least three years;
• have earned the minimum income for at least three years as the holder of a regional provisional visa; and
• have complied with the conditions of the regional provisional visa.

Please contact our migration consultants to find out more information.

Partly extracted from Sydney Morning Herald

Surging demand for labour has deepened the shortage of skilled workers across 286 occupations ranging from chemical engineers to abattoir workers, in a new finding that will intensify calls for more investment in skills policy when federal and state ministers meet on Friday.

The list of skills shortages has increased to 31 per cent of occupations assessed by federal authorities to guide employment policy, up from 19 per cent of job types one year ago.

With employers advertising 301,000 job vacancies in August, up by 37 per cent on the same month last year, the labour shortage is turning into a pressure point in the October 25 budget when the federal government is trying to negotiate a funding deal with the states.

“The staggering jump in occupations listed reinforces the urgent need to tackle skills shortages,” said Skills Minister Brendan O’Connor ahead of the release of the new figures from the National Skills Commission.

The most in-demand jobs include Aged and Disability carers, child carers, retail managers, chefs, ICT business and system analysts, registered nurses, cooks and civil engineers. Most of these occupations however require the qualification to be equivalent to that of Australian skills and qualifications. As a result, in many cases gaining these qualifications in Australia or through an Australian education institute will assist in positive skills assessment.

Regional areas are undoubtedly hardest hit by skills shortages. Increasing the number of Australian permanent visas (Visa 189 and Visa 190) but failing to offer appealing incentives for regional-specific visas, means migrants are likely continue to seek employment opportunities in the more populated capital cities.

In the midst of this debate on regional settlement, subclass 491 visa has gained considerable success in the recent past. It allows the successful applicants to;

• ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​stay in Australia for 5 years
• live, work and study in a designated regional area of Australia
• travel to and from Australia as many times as you want, while the visa is valid​
• apply for permanent residence after 3 years from the time your visa is granted

Nomination or Sponsorship

You must be nominated by an Australian state or territory government agency or be sponsored by an eligible relative.

Score 65 points

You must score 65 points in order to receive an invitation to apply for this visa. Calculate your points

Age

You must be aged under 45 to be invited to apply for the visa, meaning, you can still apply for the visa if you turn 45 after receiving the invitation.
If you turn 45 after submitting your EOI and you haven’t received an invitation, you will not one.

Skill Assessment

You must have a positive Skill Assessment, in your nominated occupation, from the relevant assessing authority unless you are exempt.

Some applicants may be exempt if you are a medical or legal practitioner*.

English

You must have at least Competent English to apply for this visa.

Health & Character

You must meet the health and character requirements (Unless you are exempt

Here are the post codes for regional areas. Any post code falling outside the list falls under metropolitan areas and do not qualify under subclass 491 visa.  

The transport options available in Australia include buses, trains, trams and ferries.  Your access to these transport services will vary depending on where you live.  

Some larger education providers will also have their own in-house transport system, especially useful if you have to leave your campus late at night or live in a hard-to-reach area. We have listed below some useful links and information on transport concessions that are available in each State and Territory.

ACT

The Australian Capital Territory Government provides transport concessions to international students on the presentation of their formal student identification card or upon successful application for a MyWay Students Concession Card. For more information on obtaining a Student Concession Card for the ACT please visit the Transport Canberra website.

NSW

International students are generally not entitled to transport concessions in NSW. More informationon on getting around Sydney and New South Wales is available on the Transport NSW website. A small number of international students whose study is fully-funded under certain Australian Government scholarships may be eligible for transport concessions. Contact to your education provider directly for details on eligibility.

NT

In the Northern Territory primary, middle and senior school students travel free on presentation of a valid student card. University and VET students are entitled to unlimited bus travel for three hours on any scheduled public bus service at a cost of $1.00 on presentation of a valid student card. Full details can be found on the NT Department of Transport website.

QLD

Full‐time international students studying at a Queensland education institution in a course approved by Centrelink for Austudy, Abstudy or Youth Allowance purposes are eligible for concessions on public transport. The Translink website provides full details on Queensland concession fares. 

SA

The South Australian Government provides transport concessions for all international students on presentation of their formal student identification card. Further information on fares and conditions can be found at Adelaide Metro.

VIC

Victoria has a comprehensive system of trams, trains and buses and an easy-to-use Myki single-ticket system.

Students may be eligible for a concession card if they are studying as part of an approved overseas exchange program, if they have refugee status or if they hold an Australian Development Scholarship. Please check with your education provider to find out if you are eligible. More detailed information on Victoria’s transport system can be found at Study Melbourne.

TAS

International students who study in Tasmania qualify for the same travel concessions as local students. For detailed information on transport concessions in Tasmania please visit the Tasmanian Government Discounts & Concessions website.

WA

International students studying full-time in Western Australia are eligible for public transport concessions.  Transperth provides public transport services within the Perth metropolitan area, with an integrated bus, train and ferry network.  This means that with just one ticket, students can ride on any bus, train or ferry and transfer between services within a given period.

For information about current concession passes visit the Transperth website.