Displaying items by tag: visas

Australia’s tech industry peak body the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) has called on the Federal Government to ensure that visas for skilled ICT professionals are prioritised to address Australia’s significant shortages of skilled workers as the country’s borders reopen.

The US has announced fresh curbs on H-1B visas, with the Department of Homeland Security unveiling what it described as an interim final rule "to protect US workers, restore integrity to the H-1B program and better guarantee that H-1B petitions are approved only for qualified beneficiaries and petitioners".

The Australian Government’s reissuing of 188C Business Innovation and Investment visas and allocation of interim places to high net worth migrants prior to the Budget will assist Australian businesses and entrepreneurs to counter the lack of availability of domestic capital investment, according to one advisory firm.

Expat Australians with technology industry experience feel Australian businesses discourage them from returning home, with many returned expats not even landing an interview for a potential role where their skills precisely match the job requirements, according to a newly published research report.

StartupAUS chief operations officer Alex Gruszka says the new Global Talent Scheme visa program, which has just came into effect, has the potential to provide some serious relief for start-up founders in Australia.

The Information Technology Professionals Association, an IT lobby group, has raised strong concerns that current practices to overcome skills shortages in Australia are seemingly facilitating recruitment to lower-end roles which could easily be filled by local graduates.

A new enterprise biometric identification service to be deployed by Australia’s Department of Home Affairs in July will vastly improve Australia’s biometric storage and processing capability, consolidating biometrics collected through visa and detention programs, according to the federal government.

The federal government is set to trial a new visa scheme to attract highly skilled global talent and deliver innovation to Australia with a pilot programme to be launched from 1 July.

Australia’s start-ups have had a record year in the 2017 financial year, with the industry raising a record $1.32 billion in venture capital and predicted to have the potential to contribute as much as $170 million to the economy by 2020.

Don’t mind me, I’m just reporting on MYOB’s welcoming of the Australian Government’s 457 visa changes, in line with AIIA’s comments.

The Turnbull Government has updated the occupations lists — including for chief information officers and chief executive — for a range of temporary and permanent skilled visas, but StartupAUS says there is still significant work to be done in bringing the skills list into line with the current needs of young tech companies in Australia.