Insights
When studying in Australia, the Group of Eight (Go8) universities always attract significant attention. Most Go8 postgraduate programmes require a minimum Australian undergraduate GPA of 65%, and this strict entry requirement can lock out students whose grades fall short.
Read More →
Former NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet, who actively championed the NSW international student pilot programme, was appointed as the new NSW Premier last week. True to form as a new leader eager to make his mark, he promptly announced further relaxations to NSW's reopening plan.
Read More →
Plans to bring international students back to Australia are taking shape in New South Wales and Victoria before year's end — NSW has two batches of 500 students each, while Victoria will admit 120 per week. The numbers are modest, mainly serving as a pilot to lead by example, but it is better than nothing and marks a promising start.
Read More →
As skilled migration becomes increasingly competitive, WA state nomination has emerged as this financial year's dark horse — significantly lowering invitation score thresholds, expanding eligible occupations, and extending particularly generous invitations to local graduates.
Read More →
Immigration New Zealand launched a one-off resident visa on 30 September, available to people currently holding temporary work visas in New Zealand.
Read More →
Canada, one of the world's most popular migration destinations, has long been a firm favourite. Even after the pandemic, Canada has remained steadfast in pursuing its major population strategy — the Three-Year, One-Million Migrants Plan. New migration programmes have been continuously rolled out, while traditional high-quality programmes have also received fresh momentum through increased quotas and faster processing. The Canada Federal Self-Employment Programme we introduce today is one such well-established, high-quality programme. Following a quota increase from 700 to 10,000, processing times have been reduced from 7 years to just 2 years.
Read More →
Early childhood educators have long been in short supply across Australia and other developed nations. During the pandemic, many early childhood workers continued to report for duty, providing peace of mind for frontline healthcare staff and others who could not stay home with their children. Both rounds of NSW state nomination extended invitations to early childhood educators, and Victoria's dedicated state nomination pathway for the field has also seen significant uptake. Other state nominations have similarly invited early childhood educators — a well-deserved acknowledgement of their hard work.
Read More →
Victoria's state nomination Digital Sector has recently added many new sub-sectors — and this is genuinely great news for IT professionals! Victoria has finally extended an olive branch to the IT industry, and based on how the programme has been continually updated since launch — for example, when secondary school and early childhood STEMM teachers were newly added, relevant applicants were invited almost immediately — this latest expansion of IT sub-sectors signals that the golden window for IT professionals in Victoria's state nomination programme is just around the corner!
Read More →
This round again invited a wide range of occupations, with the biggest surprise being accountants. As far as we know, every accountant invited had a base score of 105 or higher; superior English (8s across all four bands) was essential, and local work experience wasn't just present but outstanding. The state government had previously said a base score of 95 for accountants had little chance — it seems there really is a deep pool of candidates to choose from, and they've picked the very best.
Read More →
Last week's official Department of Home Affairs report on 2020-21 financial year PR grants showed that the GTI (Global Talent Independent) program, with a quota of 15,000 PR places, issued only 9,584 — leaving more than 5,000 places unused. In fact, this outcome was expected. Although the 2020-21 quota tripled, processing support didn't keep pace, leaving a large number of applications stuck waiting for invitation codes.
Read More →Newstars has branded offices around the world — find a professional consultant near you.
Get in touch for a free consultation — we'll help you analyse your situation from every angle.
Book Consultation
