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Australia News
Migration Occupations List in Demand
If you are planning to apply for Permanent Residency of Australia, your chances increase if your occupation is on Migration Occupations List in Demand (MODL). What is that? This is a list containing all the occupations which are in demand in Australia. For a student willing to lodge an application to become a resident it means that he / she will be given extra 15 points if the occupation is on the list or 20 if, in addition, he / she has a job offer in that occupation. This often means that application can be lodged without sitting IELTS test.
Current MODL is available at http://www.immi.gov.au/migration/skilled/modl.htm however it is often updated. It is therefore worth to check it regularly so that it is suggested to check for it gradually as it is never known when particular occupation can show on it.
Visa Changes for Students Coming from European Union (EU)
The Minister for Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs, Senator Amanda Vanstone has agreed to the following student visa changes:
Moving Certificate I-IV ELICOS to the independent ELICOS sector (subclass 570). From 1 November 2004, Certificate I-IV ELICOS will be recognised as courses for the Independent ELICOS sector visa (subclass 570). This will align them with non-award ELICOS which, until now, has been the only type of course in subclass 570. This change ensures that ELICOS students are subject to the same visa requirements, whether studying at award or non-award level.
Certificate I-IV ELICOS students who apply for a visa on or after 1 November 2004 will be assessed against the Independent ELICOS sector visa requirements. Any Certificate I-IV ELICOS applications lodged before 1 November 2004 will be assessed against the Vocational Education and Training sector visa requirements.
Plan for our first mega-uni
THREE West Australian universities could join forces to form the nation's first "mega-uni" with more than 70,000 students, in a higher education shake-up that could lead to other similar mergers.
The proposed University of Perth would become Australia's biggest university by combining the assets and resources of three institutions - Edith Cowan, Murdoch and Curtin universities - to compete aggressively for students in other states.Dorothy Illing, The Australian, 22 June 2005
Australia ’s eVisa System Expands in the Gulf
Citizens of Bahrain, Oman and Qatar wanting to visit Australia can now apply for a Tourist visa using the online eVisa system of the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs.
Applicants will find the online eVisa system fast and efficient. Since 2 April 2005, citizens of these countries in the Gulf have been able to lodge a Tourist visa application from the Internet or through an approved travel age
Department of Immigration Press Release, 29 April, 2005
Australia Third in Living Standards
Australia is the third-best country in which to live, says a United Nations report released yesterday.
However, as Australia joins Norway (first), Sweden (second), Canada (fourth) and the Netherlands (fifth) as the top-ranking countries, quality of life in Africa has plummeted because of AIDS, with average life expectancy falling below 40 in some areas.
This year's Human Development Index measured a nation's wellbeing by rating 2002 figures for per-capita income, educational levels, health care and life expectancy.
Stathi Paxinos, The Age Newspaper, 16 July, 2004
Top marks for Australian universities
Six Australian universities were named as among the best 50 in the world, with the Australian National University (ANU) the leading Australian institution at number 16. Six other Australian universities were in the top 50: University of Melbourne was 22nd, Monash University at 33, University of New South Wales (36), Sydney University (40) and Queensland University (49).
-AAP, 4 November, 2004
