Australia and New Zealand Immigration News

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen is expected to announce a change in Australia's points based system to encourage immigration of highly skilled professionals with good qualifications.

It is hoped that changes to the points based system will encourage foreign students with high level Australian qualifications to seek permanent residence. It seems likely that immigration will become more difficult for those with trade qualifications and experience in lower-skilled occupations.

Australian Immigration Minister Chris Bowen and Australian Capital Territory Chief Minister Jon Stanhope have announced the ACT State Migration Plan, part of an initiative to attract skilled immigrants to the State to try and deal with labor shortages.

KPMG, a global business consultancy firm, says that the ongoing boom in Australia has resulted in low unemployment and a demand for overseas skilled workers to fill gaps in the labor market -- a trend that is likely to increase in the future.

According to their report entitled Skilled Migration Survey 2010, employers are being forced to increase their skilled migration intake to meet the demand for skilled workers.

The top three skilled worker occupations who came under all the permanent skilled immigration visa programs in 2009-10 are Accountants, IT workers, and nurses.

According to the Report on Migration Program 2009-10, over 60 percent of skilled immigrants were applicants in categories targeted by the government as experiencing skills shortages, a 12 percent increase on the previous year.

The Western Australia (WA) Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) says that the Australian government must increase skilled immigration so that WA can cope with labour demand in the next mining boom.

According to a report by a leading Australian economic consulting firm, Western Australia will lead the nation in output growth for 2010 and beyond. It is also expected that the Western Australian economy will continue to grow in the next financial year.

More than 3600 people from 118 countries became citizens at 68 ceremonies across Australia as part of Australian Citizenship Day on 17 September 2010.

Chris Bowen, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, said that citizenship is a "bond which unites" all Australians.

"Australian Citizenship Day is a time for all Australians to take pride in their citizenship and reflect on the meaning of being a citizen of this great nation," he said.