Australia and New Zealand Immigration News

Workpermit.com recently reported that the Australian government had resisted calls to scrap the so-called 'backpacker tax', which is set to come into force in July 2016. However, campaigners opposed to charging working holidaymakers higher taxes have been left confused as to whether a federal review of the proposed changes is actually taking place.

Australia's migrant digital workforce has a ten times higher percentage of 457 visa holders, than the national average. The findings, which come from an AIMIA salary survey, show that 10% of Australia's digital industry workforce hold a migrant visa.

AIMIA, which is the Digital Industry Association of Australia and represents a range of digital organisations, found the migrant workforce across the digital sector to be 'well above the 1% average across other industries.'

The Australian government has extended the country's Seasonal Worker Visa Program (subclass 416) to include cattle, sheep, grain, and mixed industries. The announcement to extend the programme comes in the midst of a severe labour shortage across Australia's agricultural sector.

The Seasonal Worker Visa Program helps Australian employers, unable to find enough local workers to meet seasonal labour needs, to recruit from Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste.

The Australian government has resisted calls to scrap the so-called 'backpacker tax', which is set to come into force in July 2016. Despite strong opposition from Australian farmers and tourism bodies, the government will press ahead with the scheme, which will see travellers who hold working holiday visas taxed 32.5 cents on every Australian dollar earned.

There are increasing numbers of Irish citizens remaining in Australia after their visas expire. Some Irish nationals who are no longer in work simply cannot afford the flight and resettlement costs to return to Ireland.

Figures released by Australia's Department of Immigration and Border Protection show that the number of 457 visas being issued to foreign workers has increased by 40 per cent across the state of Tasmania.

Due to an ongoing skills crisis, the number of visas issued in the first quarter of the financial year rose by 43 per cent compared with the same period 12 months ago.