Monthly Archives: December 2022

Sydney New Year’s Eve is an annual New Year’s Eve fireworks event in Sydney, Australia. The event currently consists of two fireworks shows, with an evening display known as the “Family Fireworks” held at 9:00 p.m. AEST, and the main “Midnight Fireworks” held at 12:00 a.m. Fireworks are launched from barges in Port Jackson, as well as nearby landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House, and the Sydney Harbour Bridge—which serves as the main focal point of the show via lighting and pyrotechnic effects.

As one of the first major cities to celebrate the New Year, the event is widely-viewed in Australia and worldwide. Organizers have estimated the annual in-person attendance of the event to be around 1.5 to 1.6 million, with tourists accounting for a large portion of its attendees. Some locations, such as the Royal Botanic Garden, host ticketed seating areas.

The event is usually organized by the city; as of 2020, the state of New South Wales was given “temporary custodianship” of the event.

2022 end of year celebration schedule is as follows;

7.30pm : Smoking Ceremony : A sacred Smoking Ceremony on the Harbour conducted by Tribal Warrior. The Smoking Ceremony is a ritual of purification and unity, cleansing the space for the new year.

8.30pm : Pylon projections and lighting effects : Projections enliven the Sydney Harbour Bridge pylons throughout the night. Lighting effects on the eastern side dazzle the harbour foreshore.

8.57pm : Welcome to Country : Gadigal Elders from the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council welcome visitors to Gadigal land.

9pm : Calling Country fireworks : Calling Country fireworks celebrate the local histories and contemporary experiences of Indigenous storytellers through art, song, sound, and dance. As a way of Calling Country, the selection of artists brings connections between the land, water and sky to reflect on the past, and grow stronger into the future.

9.15pm : Sydney Harbour Lights : Boats adorned with lights create a visual spectacle as they glide across the harbour. Produced by the Commercial Vessels Association.

11pm : WorldPride : Sydney welcomes WorldPride 2023 with a spectacular pylon projection and lighting display celebrating our community.

Midnight : Fireworks :Ring in the new year with the world’s best fireworks show featuring pyrotechnics launched from the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House and barges in the harbour.

Watch a live stream 

The ACT has formally received its final allocation last week for the current program year: a total of 4,050 nomination places. ACT Government informed that the nomination policy will update in early 2023. The minimum Canberra Matrix score required to receive an invitation to apply for ACT nomination of a 190 visa will likely drop (as low as 70). The minimum Canberra Matrix score required to receive an invitation to apply for ACT nomination of a 491 visa will likely drop (as low as 60). ACT Government also announced that they will conduct an invitation round before Christmas. Applicants will have three weeks to prepare their applications instead of two.

Applicants can register an interest in applying for ACT nomination by completing a score-based ‘Canberra Matrix’ where points can be claimed against specific criteria including skilled employment, English proficiency, formal qualifications, length of ACT residence/study, investment activity and close family ties, etc. The ACT Government states that the Canberra Matrix is weighted to ensure that applicants who will make/have made a positive economic contribution to the Territory and/or have demonstrated a genuine commitment to the ACT are more likely to be ranked and invited to apply for ACT nomination.

Australia Day, holiday (January 26) honouring the establishment of the first permanent European settlement on the continent of Australia. On January 26, 1788, Arthur Phillip, who had sailed into what is now Sydney Cove with a shipload of convicts, hoisted the British flag at the site. 

Australia’s national day is controversial because it is held on a date marking British colonization. Aboriginal Australians have led the charge for it to be commemorated at a different time of the year.

Cricket bosses have removed the term “Australia Day” from promotional material for matches because they insist it was a time of “mourning” for many Indigenous players. On 26 January 1938, Aboriginal people protested against Australia Day and called it a ‘Day of Mourning’.

Immigration Minister Andrew Giles on Friday said the “pragmatic” change meant citizenship ceremonies could take place from January 23 to 29, reversing a Morrison government policy that required councils to hold one on January 26 as part of their Australia Day celebrations

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he won’t be moving Australia Day from January 26 after the government granted local councils the freedom to hold citizenship ceremonies on the three days either side.

The change comes days after Merri-bek City Council in inner-north Melbourne voted to follow the lead of the Yarra and Darebin councils by moving its Australia Day citizenship ceremonies away from January 26, which many Indigenous people consider a day of mourning.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has announced the government will abolish the controversial Administrative Appeals Tribunal, which reviews a range of federal decisions including those on migrant and refugee visas.

The new body is expected to be operating by the end of next year.

Matters currently before the tribunal will be unaffected.

What will the new body look like?

Mr Dreyfus said the government wanted to ensure appointments were merit-based and appropriately qualified.

He said the decision to scrap the AAT came as a result of long consideration and the government was proposing to appoint about 75 additional members to deal with backlog.

When asked if people who had associations with the former coalition government would be barred from being appointed, Mr Dreyfus said the process would be based on merit.

On Labor-connected appointments, Mr Dreyfus said a set of criteria would be applied for every individual considered for a role.

He said a task force led by former High Court judge Patrick Keane would consult on the design of the new body and legislation would be introduced next year.

The Department of Home Affairs issued 35,000 new invitations for visa in December 2022 for 189 visa.

The highest ranked individuals by points score are invited to apply for the relevant visa. Those who have equal points scores, the time at which they reached their points score for that subclass (referred to as the date of effect) determines their order of invitation. Expressions of Interest with earlier dates of effect are invited before later dates.

The minimum points score overall was 65 points, however different minimum points scores were applicable for different occupations. The complete list of occupations and scores can be found here.

Previously in August, an invitation round was issued for 12,200 followed by another invitation round in October for 11,982.

Good news for Tennis fans as we draw closer to the Australian Open 2023.

Novak Djokovic confirmed Wednesday he has received a visa to travel to Melbourne to play in the 2023 Australian Open after missing this year’s tournament when he was deported over his vaccine status.

“I was very happy to receive the news yesterday,” the Serbian said after beating Andrey Rublev in the ATP Finals. It was a relief obviously knowing what I and people closest to me in my life have been through this year with what happened in Australia and post-Australia obviously. I could not receive better news for sure, during this tournament as well.”

Here is the full statement of the Minister Andrew Giles:

On 14 January 2022, the then Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs made a decision under section 133C(3) of the Migration Act 1958 (the Migration Act) to cancel the visa of Mr Novak Djokovic on public interest grounds. A subsequent challenge to that decision was dismissed by the Full Federal Court which found that the decision was not affected by legal error.

Following the cancellation of his visa, Mr Djokovic sought revocation of the cancellation decision in accordance with the Migration Act. After considering all relevant factors, the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, and Multicultural Affairs the Hon Andrew Giles MP decided to revoke the cancellation decision under section 133F(4) of the Migration Act. The power under section 133F(4) may only be exercised by the Minister personally.

A decision to cancel a visa under section 133C(3) may be revoked if the person satisfies the Minister that the ground for cancelling the visa no longer exists. A decision to revoke a visa cancellation does not mean the original decision to cancel was affected by error.

Since the cancellation of Mr Djokovic’s visa in January 2022, all COVID-19-related Australian border restrictions under the Biosecurity Act 2015 have been removed, including the requirement to provide evidence of COVID-19 vaccination status to enter Australia.

Mr Djokovic has subsequently been granted a temporary visa to enter Australia.

The Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491) allows skilled migrants to live, study and work in designated regional for a period of 5 years. Regional Development Australia (RDA) offices across NSW assist the NSW government in assessing nomination applications for the 491 visa.

Applications for most RDA opened in November 2022 and have now commenced receiving applications.

RDA Committees in New South Wales (NSW) are funded by the Australian Government and administered by the Australian Government’s Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications.

There are 14 RDA Committees in NSW covering all areas of the state, including an RDA Committee for Sydney which covers the greater Sydney metropolitan area.

Under the RDA charter, NSW RDA Committees are responsible for:

• providing independent advice to all three levels of government on critical issues affecting their regions
• collaborating with relevant stakeholders to identify economic opportunities and leverage private and public sector investment to their regions
• connecting regional businesses, councils and industry sectors with international trade partners, financial markets and potential investors
• working closely with community leaders to identify priority activities that will drive regional economic development
• providing assistance to local communities to identify funding sources and develop project proposals to support economic growth
• promoting awareness of government programs in the RDA community

Here are the links for each RDA.

• Central Coast
• Central West
• Far South Coast
• Far West
• Hunter
• Illawarra
• Mid North Coast
• Murray
• Northern Inland
• Northern Rivers
• Orana
• Riverina
• Southern Inland
• Sydney

Skilled migrants are attracted to Tasmania because of the state’s enviable lifestyle, career opportunities, affordable housing, reputable schools and a globally recognised university.

From 12 December 2022, anyone seeking Tasmanian nomination for a subclass 190 Skilled Nominated or a subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional visa must now first register in the new Migration Tasmania Application Gateway.

State nomination gives successful applicants extra points to help meet the 65 points threshold set by the Department of Home Affairs including:

extra 5 points for the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) visa

extra 15 points for the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491)

Applicants nominated by the Tasmanian Government receive priority processing by the Department of Home Affairs, speeding up the time it takes to be issued a visa, compared to the Skilled Independent Visa (subclass 189).

NSW Immigration eased the nomination criteria for Subclass 190 and Subclass 491 Pathway 1 (Stream A) and Pathway 2 by removing previously published requirements for minimum points scores and work experience.

Only candidates applying for Subclass 491 under the Pathway 1 (Stream B) will be required to meet the minimum point scores and years of skilled work experience outlined for the relevant ANZSCO unit group on the Stream B skills list.

• Pathway 1 – Apply directly to a Regional Development Australia (RDA) office
• Pathway 2 – Be invited to apply by Investment NSW

There are two nomination streams under Pathway 1, these are:

• Stream A – Established work history with a regional NSW-based employer
• Stream B – My skills are required in regional NSW

Relevant scores for sub class 491 visa can be found here.