By Rasendu Nanavati
I am an Indian. Most of us dream of having a better life; if not for ourselves, for our children. And, so did we. In 2009, inspired by Australian values and lifestyle, my wife and I dreamt of having a life in Australia and applied for a Permanent Resident visa.
This is our story.
Both of us are well-qualified, through education and experience. Hence, with me as the main applicant, we applied for a Permanent Resident visa under the Skilled (Migrant) (class VE)- Independent (subclass 175). Based on my background then, I appropriately nominated 'General Manager' as my occupation. Our skills were assessed by the Australian Institute of Management (AIM), all fees duly paid and application was made successfully. We were advised that it would take 12-18 months to decide on our application.
To make myself more employable in Australia, I decided to get an Australian education. We packed our bags, relocated to Sydney and I went back to school at Macquarie University in Sydney for a MBA. I reckoned that near around the time my program would finish, a decision would also be made on our application. However, unbeknown to me, that was not to be.
Few months after our application, we were advised that the migration program had undergone a review and since the occupation that I had nominated - General Manager - was no longer on the Skilled Occupation list, my application had been assigned a low processing priority. Which meant, that it would take longer for a decision to be made on our Permanent Resident visa application.
Nonetheless, I acquired my Master's degree and returned to India to find employment while we waited for a decision on our application. We were assured that delayed as it may be, a decision was forthcoming.
In February 2014, my wife decided to enroll in a Master's program at UTS. Once again, we packed our bags and relocated to Sydney.
In April 2014, a case officer was assigned to our application. Requests for further documentation were made - Police Clearance Certificates...Medical Tests.....relationship evidence...... and we spent even more of our limited resources in complying with them. During the past sixteen months, the Department displayed its incompetence on numerous occasions - most notably, by sending communication to the wrong migration agent!
On 23/9/15, we were advised that under the 'Cap & Cease' provisions, our Permanent Resident visa application can no longer be considered. And, in the manner of a tyrannical diktat, it added, "your application is now taken to have never been made".
The Department further patronized, "Most of the offshore applications in priority group 5 are for occupations that are not currently in demand on the Skilled Occupation List," a spokesperson said. "This means that they are less likely to get a job if they migrate to Australia permanently." This added even more insult to the injury because I am currently employed in Australia and ironically in a role related to my originally nominated occupation!
The DIBP's this decision has in effect, obliterated the dreams, goals, investments and life-plans of more than 10,000 lives. It is unfair and just plain wrong on many counts.
First, the Department has never offered explicitly, or for that matter nor have the applicants asked for, assurances about employment. If the Department was indeed so concerned about applicants not being able to find a job, they could have added in their visa grant letters, a cautionary message on the lines of, "We need to advise you that the employment market in Australia has changed dramatically since you originally applied". The department's false show of concern for the applicants is condescending in nature and contradictory of Australia's core value of "Fair go".
Second, on one hand, they are taking the application to have never been made. On the other, they are offering to refund the application fees. That begs the question - if the application was never made, then what are you offering the refund for?
Third, on one hand, the department has recently offered 12,000 refugee visas. While, being fully sympathetic to the plight of the refugees, it must be pointed out that the government will spend taxpayer's money (and yes, I am an Australian taxpayer) to educate and rehabilitate refugees to make them productive members of the Australian society. While this seems noble, the timing could have not been worse because simultaneously the department has cancelled the applications of equal number of people, who are educated, skilled and do not require the government's aid in becoming productive members of the Australian society. In fact, many of us already are.
Fourth, the DIBP made an implicit promise to thousands of applicants - we will consider your applications and give you our decision in a timely and fair manner.
The DIBP's this decision is bad in law and arguably, bad in faith. By allowing such decisions the Australian government only adds to the narrative that it endorses the reneging on promises as acceptable. In essence, in 2010, the DIBP in collusion with the government, decided to sweep under the carpet, the problem - the more than 10,000 Priority 5 cases. Then, after five years, instead of dealing with it in a responsible manner, it decided absolve itself of all past responsibility. By declaring that the problem never existed in the first place and expecting all stakeholders to pretend the same. Just imagine, the disastrous implications if such precedents were followed in other branches of the government as well; policies changed and implemented with retrospective effect!
We believed in Australia. We invested considerable resources in the immigration process. We kept faith. Because we trusted, we waited. For a decision that was promised to us, but was not given.
We are not illegal migrants looking for mercy or expecting aid from the government. We are hopefuls looking to migrate legally and contribute to the Australian society. The DIBP's actions are unjust and akin to that of a bully. They must be challenged. This decision must be rolled back. Period.
