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Canberra postpones international student pilot program
Canberra Postpones International Student Pilot Program SBS reported today (9 July 2020) that the planned “Safe Passage” program in the two state owned universities in the Australian Capital Territory has been postponed. The joint plan initiated by the University of Canberra and the Australian National University was slated to begin later this month. However, given…
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Hong Kong Citizens offered extended Australian visas
Hong Kong Citizens Offered Extended Australian Visas The Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, and Acting Minister for Immigration , Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs Minister Alan Tudge, held a joint press conference today (9 July 2020), to announce Australia’s plan to offer a permanent residency pathway for thousands of Hong Kong citizens already in Australia…
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Mental Health Clinicians Police Area Commands Welcomed
Mental Health Clinicians Police Area Commands Welcomed The Law Society of NSW welcomed the decision to expand the NSW Government’s Police Ambulance and Clinical Early Response (PACER) pilot and place 36 mental health clinicians in 10 Police Area Commands and Districts. The PACER program is designed to to provide a specialist mental health early response…
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lawyer deregulation bill passed
Lawyer Deregulation Bill passed On 15 June 2020, the Migration Amendment (Regulation of Migration Agents) Bill 2019 (the Migration Agents Bill) and the Migration Agents Registration Application Charge Amendment (Rates of Charge) Bill 2019 were passed with both the Coalition and the Labor Party supporting the bill. The purpose of the the Migration Agents Bill…
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Immigration news
Immigration news There are significant number of temporary visa holders in Tasmania that have lost their jobs and are experiencing hardship due to the restrictions in place to protect Tasmanians. In view of this, the Tasmanian government has recently announced the following assistance that will be made available to temporary visa holders: 1. Pandemic Isolation…
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Parliamentary inquiry into family, domestic and sexual violence
Parliamentary inquiry into family, domestic and sexual violence On 31 May 2020, Senators Marise Payne and Anne Ruston proposed the draft terms of reference (TOR) for an inquiry into family, domestic and sexual violence. Minister Payne indicated the challenging start to 2020 with the pandemic and associated restrictions required renewed consideration on how to reduce…
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New Agreement keeps Western Sydney Airport project on track
New Agreement keeps Western Sydney Airport project on track On 2 June 2020, Prime Minister Scott Morrison unveiled a new agreement with the New South Wales government of Gladys Berejiklian by injecting a further $3.5 billion to the Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport which is set to open in 2026. Construction of the airport…
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COVID-19: Parliament to consider pandemic reforms
The NSW government, in its recent media release, will convene a special sitting of NSW Parliament to consider a second set of laws to equip citizens, businesses and the justice system to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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NSW Government supporting international students through COVID 19
On 18 May 2020, the NSW government will fund temporary crisis accommodation for international students stranded amounting to $20 million to protect the latter and maintain the state’s record as a leading global study destination.
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Preliminary Retail turnover falls 17.9% in April 2020
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported that Australian retail turnover fell 17.9% in April 2020. This is the strongest seasonally adjusted fall published from the Retail Trade survey following the strongest ever seasonally adjusted rise in March 2020.