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Hairdresser's visa cut |
| News - Newsflash |
| Written by Natalie Gregg |
|
CHRISTINE Barker and her family came to Brisbane from Nottingham in the UK three years ago on a one-way flight for a new life in Australia. Now, the family-of-five might have to return to England after changes to Australia's skilled migration program put Ms Barker's application for permanent residency in jeopardy. A former IT worker, Ms Barker, 44, trained as a hairdresser to meet Australia's skills shortage and enable her family to move here from the UK.
Since they arrived, the family have not had access to Medicare, while they waited to become permanent residents. But the Australian Government no longer considers hairdressers, among other trade professions, to be in demand.
Priority is now given to employer-sponsored skilled migrants, as well as health professionals, engineers and people with construction trades.
Ms Barker only discovered the rule change when she went to apply for permanent residency for her family in mid-January.
As far as she understood, she met the right criteria, having completed a course at the Brisbane School of Hairdressing, worked 900 hours unpaid and completed a year's work experience in the industry.
Under the new system, Ms Barker, of Westlake in Brisbane's southwest, must complete another year-long skills assessment course, which costs $5000, despite becoming a fully qualified hairdresser in 2008.
But by the time she completes the course and has the training approved, her current temporary work visa would have expired.
``I'm emotionally drained and very sad and disappointed,'' she said.
``This is our home . . . we have built up all these lovely friendships and my children are so happy here.
``I've played to the rules they have laid down and for them to change them and invalidate everything that I've done is so wrong.''
Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said Ms Barker's story was not isolated and countless others would be affected.
``The great tragedy of this is, they appear to be becoming collateral damage in a botched transition of the scheme,'' Mr Morrison said.
But Immigration Minister Chris Evans said the Government has a right to change its visa rules to suit the economic climate.
Caption: SPLITTING HAIRS: The Government has moved the goalposts on permanent residency for Englishwoman Christine Barker, who trained as a hairdresser to meet the skill shortage
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| Last Updated on Tuesday, 24 August 2010 21:32 |
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