Immigration Services for Employers

For employers, our full range of professional services include:

• Professional advice regarding the most appropriate registration and visa pathway for your employee
• Assistance with all aspects of temporary and permanent sponsorship and nomination of staff, whether they are clinical, administrative or managerial
• Strategic and procedural advice on skills assessments and recognition of overseas qualifications
• Ongoing representation before regulatory bodies and the Department of Immigration
• Extension of current visas

For an initial, confidential assessment of your situation, please contact: Katerina Tordon on (02) 8353 9031 or migration@wave.com.au

----------------------------------------------------------------

Wavelength Migration Services News Bulletin – 1st Edition

Welcome to the first edition of the Wavelength Migration Services News Bulletin. We have identified a need for genuinely helpful and current information regarding the migration process. We hope you find some of the following information and tips useful in shaping your own migration strategy.

In this issue…
You will find updates on:

Temporary 457 Business Visa

• Application Processing
• Changes to Regulations

National Registration Pathways for International Medical Graduates (IMGs)

• Competent Authority Model Pathway
• Standard Pathway
• Specialist and Specialist in Training Pathway

At Wavelength International our Migration Agents always stay up to date with developments in the area of Australian Immigration and Health Professional Registration. If you have any further queries, ideas for our next bulletin, or wish to talk to us about our Migration Services and how we might assist you, please contact us directly on migration@wave.com.au

------------------------------------------------------------

Immigration Updates:

Changes to the temporary 457 visa

To improve the efficiency of the 457 Visa system the Minister for Immigration Chris Evans has directed that the Department of Immigration and Citizenship:

• Eliminate processing backlogs for Subclass 457 visa applications and streamline the application process in the future
• Establish dedicated centres (known as the Centres of Excellence) for processing the applications to provide for expedited processing.
• Develop a more coordinated and streamlined process for the approval of labour agreements

Employers seeking labour agreements for Subclass 457 visas, which can contains concessions on standard arrangements, must now consult with industry stakeholders, including peak employer groups and unions, so that the process is more transparent.

Wavelength can verify that there has been a general improvement in processing and response times in relation to 457 visa applications lodged after July 2008.

Other changes include:

• An increase of 3.8 per cent in the Minimum Salary Level (MSL); a rise for the first time in two years. Unlike previous increases, this will apply to all new and exisitng Subclass 457 workers from 1 August 2008.

The introduction of legislation that will give the Commonwealth greater powers to investigate alleged abuses and to seek the imposition of financial penalties through Courts, where employers breach their obligations.

National Assessment and Registration Pathways Updates

Competent Authority Model for IMGs

• The Competent Authority Model (CAM) is up and running with some inevitable teething issues but we remain hopeful this will become more streamlined in time.

Standard Pathway for IMGs

• Standard Pathway (Workplace Assessment) which proposed to offer an alternative to the Australian Medical Council (AMC) clinical examinations is still under development by the AMC leaving some hospitals and doctors in limbo for non CAM eligible persons.  
• There have been a number of misconceptions regarding this pathway, no doubt due to the lack of information released in relation to it. At this point in time only the Standard Pathway (Examination) is available therefore there is not a choice as to whether a doctor undertakes the Clinical Examination or work-based training.To clarify the position, it is emphasised that completion of both the Clinical Examination and work-based training are required, although in some circumstances the work-based training can be waived. The Clinical Examination is mandatory for all doctors wishing to obtain the AMC Certificate via the Standard Pathway.

1.    Have their credentials verified; and
2.    Sit the AMC Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) Exam; and
3.    Sit the Clinical Exam; and
4.    Undergo 12 months accredited work-based training with an approved provider in Australia.
 
Doctors who have already completed 12 months or more of accredited work-based training in Australia may apply for waiver of step (4).

It is noted that doctors who are not eligible for the CAM Pathway of the Specialist Pathway and who wish to work in Australia only temporarily and who do not wish to gain the AMC Certificate, do not need to sit the Clinical Examination. They will gain entry to conditional registration via the completion of the MCQ Examination alone.

Specialist Pathway

• The Specialist Pathway appears to be “untouched” at this point in time and is still operating as prior to 1st of July and the Specialist in Training is up and running in a few jurisdictions.

Take advantage of our free migration consultation…
Let Wavelength take the stress out of the registration & immigration process. No matter what level of assistance you require, Wavelength can offer you a convenient and affordable service tailored to your specific needs.

For a free 20 minute confidential consultation about your specific needs please contact the Regulatory and Migration Team at:

Australia    1300 780 525
E- mail      migration@wave.com.au

MARN 9903288