New visa concessions offer permanent residency pathways for select skilled migrants and post-study visa rights for returning international students

Blog & Articles, Immigration Law, Migration Law, Tang Law, Tang Legal

On 25 November 2021, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs Alex Hawke announced new special temporary concessions for around 200,000 highly skilled visa holders in Australia.

 

These positive changes will take affect gradually from 1 December 2021 to 1 July 2022 and will primarily benefit the following visa holder groups:

 

  1. Temporary Skills Shortage visa (subclass 482) (TSS) and Legacy TSS (subclass 457) visa

 

The concession presents an exciting opportunity for 20,000 skilled migrants who remained in Australia during the pandemic, to be eligible for permanent residency. This will apply to:

 

  • primary holders of the TSS (short-term stream) who will no longer be subject to the two-year stay limitation in Australia; and
  • primary visa holders of the now discontinued subclass 457 visa who previously did not meet the age cap.

 

  1. Skilled Regional (provisional) visa (subclass 489, 491 and 494)

 

Current and expired visa holders of the skilled regional provisional visas, including the 9,000 holders who have remained overseas and unable to travel to Australia due to COVID border restrictions, will now be able to apply for a visa extension; offering additional time to meet the regional work requirements for a permanent residency application.

 

  1. Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485)

 

The new concessions delivers targeted measures in support of Australia’s international education sector by awarding further study and post-study visa rights for students returning in the 2022 academic year including:

 

  • 30,000 current and former subclass 485 visa holders, whose visas expired on or after 1 February 2020 and unable to enter Australia due to border restrictions, will be able to seek a replacement subclass 485 visa to remain in Australia to live, study or work after graduation;

 

  • The stay period for students completing a masters by coursework will be extended permanently to three years to match that of masters by research graduate;

 

  • Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector graduates will also be receiving a two-year Subclass 485 visa.

 

  • Students who spent time completing online studies while offshore will continue to have their study recognised in meeting qualification requirements for the subclass 485 under the extension of existing measures; and

 

  • Streamlined application processing with the removal of the skills occupation list nomination requirements for the subclass 485 from 1 July 2022.

 

TANG LAW is pleased to hear of the Government’s continued recognition of skilled migrant workers and the return of international students to Australia in support of our COVID economic recovery efforts coming into the new year.

 

The Migration Team of TANG LAW has significant experience in preparing and lodging a variety of visa applications. If you would like to see advice on your immigration options, give us a call today and we can help you find the best pathway for your migration journey to Australia.

 

0

Upcoming changes to the Franchising Code of Conduct

Franchise, Franchised Business Perth, Perth, Tang Law, Tang Law, Tang Legal

In August 2020, the Government released its response to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services inquiry into the operation and effectiveness of the Franchising Code of Conduct report: Fairness in Franchising.

The response outlines a number of changes that will be made to the Franchising Code of Conduct (Code) which include the following:

  • Cooling Off/Disclosure Period – the Code will clarify that the cooling off and disclosure periods are measured in calendar days and clarify that the 14-day disclosure period must begin at least 14 calendar days before signing a Franchise Agreement
  • Cooling Off – cooling off rights will be extended to the transfer of an agreement to a new franchisee and where the franchisee enters a substantially new agreement with the franchisor (a deemed transfer) but not to renewals or extensions
  • Early Termination – the Code will allow a franchisee to terminate the Franchise Agreement at any time up to 14 days after the last of certain events have occurred, such as:
      • the agreement being signed;
      • payment being made;
      • disclosure documents being received; and
      • a copy of the terms of the lease having been received (if applicable)
  • Format – Disclosure Document and Franchise Agreement must be made available in both electronic and hard copy format
  • Information Statement (Annexure 2 of the Code) must be provided to prospective franchisees separately and prior to providing the Disclosure Document and other disclosure materials
  • Legal fees – the Code will prohibit (and have pecuniary penalties for) franchisors passing on the legal costs of preparing, negotiating and executing documents to the franchisee (except where it is already incorporated into a joining fee)
  • Lease – clause 13 of the Code (“Copy of lease”) will be amended to require a franchisor’s interests in a leasing arrangement to be disclosed in a new Key Disclosure Information Fact Sheet
  • Penalties for Breaches Doubled – penalties for a breach of the Code will be doubled
  • Financial Information – any financial information provided must be part of the Disclosure Document, which must include a statement on the accuracy and appropriateness of the franchisor’s financial information
  • Significant Capital Expenditure – the Code will:
      • prohibit franchisors from requiring franchisees to undertake significant capital expenditure, except where it has been disclosed before  entering into a Franchise Agreement, is legally required, or is agreed to by the franchisee during the term
      • introduce an obligation to discuss expenditure prior to entering into a Franchise Agreement
      • require disclosure of the circumstances under which the franchisee is likely to recoup the expenditure
      • require franchisors to specify the amount, timing and nature of the expenditure (as practically as possible)
  • Dispute Resolution Processes – introduce conciliation and voluntary binding arbitration. The Code will also clarify that, if the person conducting the dispute resolution process determines it is appropriate to conduct a multi-party process, the franchisor cannot refuse to take part in that process
  • Supply Arrangements – require franchisors to disclose more information on supplier rebates, commissions and other payments and to disclose any master franchisor controls and/or rebates from suppliers
  • Marketing Funds – clarify requirements relating to the treatment and reporting of marketing funds and introduction of penalties for breaches of clauses that relate to the use of marketing funds
  • Exit Arrangements – ensure end-of-term arrangements for franchisee goodwill are clearly specified in the Disclosure Document and clarify a franchisee’s entitlement to goodwill in the Franchise Agreement
  • Termination – clause 29 of the Code will be amended to require the franchisor to provide the franchisee with 7 days’ notice of a proposed termination in special circumstances (e.g. for fraud or public health and safety), so that a mediator or arbitrator can assist the parties to negotiate
  • Restraint of Trade – technical changes will be made to clause 23 regarding the effect of restraint of trade clauses in Franchise Agreements (if the agreement is not extended)

A new mandatory Key Disclosure Information Fact Sheet will be introduced containing information taken from the Disclosure Document and highlighting key information, obligations and risks associated with entering a particular Franchise Agreement (such as financial information to assist prospective franchisees in assessing the time that they will need to commit to the business, franchisee entitlement to goodwill etc)

Information Statement

The Information Statement (Annexure 2 of the Code) will be updated to include the following information:

  • Encourage prospective franchisees to refer to the Disclosure Document to see if a franchise system has a high turnover of sites (to look out for possible ‘churning and burning’)
  • Outline risks with estimating labour costs, particularly for greenfield sites
  • Place an obligation on prospective franchisee to obtain information about employment matters and compliance with employment law
  • Clarify that if the franchisor becomes insolvent, the prospective franchisee may lose the benefit of shared funds (such as marketing funds)
  • Warn prospective franchisees of the need to obtain advice about restraints of trade before entering the agreement
  • Prospective franchisees will be made aware of the use of ‘no agent’ and ‘entire agreement’ clauses

If you require specific advice regarding the content of your Franchise Agreement or would like us to review your franchise documents, please contact us at [email protected].

0

4 Changes Foreign Investors Need To Know About Purchasing Property in Australia

Anfernee Lai Perth, ATO Investigation, Blog & Articles, FIRB, FIRB Investigation, Foreign Investment Review Board, Property Investment, Tang Legal

The total value of foreign investment in Australia stood at $2.8 trillion at the end of 2014

(Statistic obtained from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade)

WHAT ARE THE RECENT CHANGES?

The current Government has introduced various changes to the foreign investment rules and the important ones include:
  1. Tougher penalties for foreigner who breached the rules relating to purchase of residential real estate – e.g. the existing criminal penalties have been increased to $135,000 or 3 years imprisonment or both for individual foreign citizens who breached the law;
  2. Although acquisition of agricultural land holdings are generally not required to be approved by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), Foreign-owned agricultural land holdings are required to be registered with the Australian Taxation Office’s newly established Agricultural Land Register;
  3. Introduction of an application fee for obtaining FIRB approval – e.g. $5,000 fee for obtaining approval for buying residential land where the price is $1 million; $10,000 fee for obtaining approval for buying residential land where the price is over $1 million and less than $2 million;
  4. Stronger enforcement process – the ATO has now taken over full responsibility for enforcing residential real estate purchases by foreign citizens. 

The recent changes are aimed to have stronger, more effective and more enforceable rules regarding foreign investment. The days where people thought that their breach of the foreign investment laws would never be caught are gone and every foreign citizen must carefully consider the legality of their intended purchase of assets in Australia.

THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN BUYING RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY

Australia has a long established policy to strictly regulate the purchase of established houses by foreigners in order to maintain sufficient housing supply to its residents.

 

If you are a non-resident foreign person, you should consider the following general rules before buying any residential property:
·         you are prohibited from buying established dwellings(2nd hand house) in Australia;
·      you will need to apply and receive FIRB approval before buying new dwellings (e.g. newly developed apartment) and usually approval will be granted without any condition;
·        you will need to apply and receive FIRB approval before buying vacant residential land for development and usually approval will only be granted under the condition that you must develop the land within certain period of time.

 

 

THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN BUYING COMMERCIAL/AGRICULTURAL PROPERTY

Whether a non-resident foreign person requires to notify FIRB prior to buying a commercial property depends on if the commercial land is vacant or developed. If the commercial land is vacant (no substantive permanent building on the land), FIRB notification is required. If the commercial land is developed(there is substantive permanent building on the land used for commercial purpose), foreign persons generally do not need to notify FIRB prior to the purchase unless the land is valued more than $252 million.
 
If a non-resident foreign person propose to buy an agricultural land, generally approval from FIRB is not required if the agricultural land valued less than $15 million. Agricultural land means land that is used wholly and exclusively for a primary production business. It is important to understand that “hobby farms” are not considered to be agricultural land and approval from FIRB will be required.


THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN BUYING BUSINESS ASSETS

Australia usually encourages foreign investment into its business sector and therefore rules regulating business acquisition by foreigners is less stringent than rules regulating purchase of residential properties.
Generally, foreign persons (except foreign government investors) can buy business assets in Australia without approval if the interest to be acquired valued at less than $252 million. If the business is an “agribusiness” then approval is generally not required if the value of the investment is less than $55 million. Agribusiness includes industries such as agriculture, forestry, fishing, meat processing, poultry processing, dairy product manufacturing, grain mill product manufacturing, sugar manufacturing etc.
 

 

Finally, if you are a non-resident foreign person and you have any doubts about your proposed purchase of assets in Australia, you should seek legal advice before signing any contract because fail to comply with the foreign investment laws may result in very severe penalties (including imprisonment) being imposed against you.  
 

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

About the Writer

Kelvin Tang

Kelvin has over 14 years’ experience practising law in Western Australia. He is the founder and Principal Partner of Tang Law based in Perth, Western Australia. Kelvin is a Registered Migration Agent (MARN: 1386452) and has extensive experience in providing service on Commercial Law, Dispute Resolution & Litigation, Family Law, Wills & Estate Planning and Settlements.
0

Defamation Case: How To Defend a Defamation Action?

Australian Defamation Lawyers, Blog & Articles, Commercial Disputes, Defamation and dispute, Defamation Law; Defamation Perth; Litigation, Tang Legal, 文章和出版物

The Story

Mr Wright, a shareholder of a company, had been served with a writ alleging he had defamed a company and its managing director in an online shareholder’s forum.

Mr Wright had been advised by the solicitors acting for the company and managing director that the damages could be in the vicinity of $80,000.

Solution

We were instructed by Mr Wright to defend the action and filed a statement of defense raising grounds of honest opinion amongst other defenses. 

Upon investigating further, we discovered the company had more than 10 employees and was therefore ineligible under the Defamation Act to commence a cause of action for defamation in Western Australia. 

 

Outcome

 

We advised the company and the managing director’s solicitors that we would file a notice to strike out the company’s claim against Mr Wright.

 

 

Whilst the managing director was still eligible to continue with the defamation action against Mr Wright, his solicitors agreed to discontinue the company’s claim and settle the managing director’s claim against Mr Wright for $10,000 plus a notice of retraction from the company to Mr Wright.

0

Case Study: How Did Our Lawyers Handle Complex Case involving Commercial Transactions & Migration Law?

Blog & Articles, Business Disputes Perth, Business Migrants, Commercial Disputes, Commercial Law, FIRB, Immigration Law, Migration Law, Perth Immigration Lawyer, Tang Legal, Visa 132

The Story

Mr Lee and his family was granted permanent resident visa.  To get the grant of the visa, Mr Lee entered into an agreement with the State that he will, amongst other conditions:

11) Invest at least $1,500,000 into an “Eligible Business” in the State;  and
22) The “Eligible Business” must employ at least five (5) full time employees who are either citizen or permanent residents of Australia.
Mr Lee looked at many possible investments in the State but repeatedly encountered these problems:
1.       Language barrier – Mr Lee does not speak or understand English.  Communication was a huge barrier.
2.       Cultural difference – Mr Lee operates a large enterprise in Asia and he has many personnel under him to manage and run his businesses for him. He was surprised to learn that owner of the business here is very often key person to the business.  He will not be able to commit 100% into the business due to his other commitments.  Mr Lee is also concerned about the safety of his investment.
3.       Constant uncertainty as to whether the business is in fact an “Eligible Business” and whether it can help him satisfy the migration requirements.

 

Mr Lee finally decided to invest with a property developer.  Mr Lee’s instructed us to advise and represent him.

 

Solution

We advised Mr Lee that his proposed venture and transaction must be structured to achieve the overarching purposes of:
11) Complying with Commonwealth migration requirements and Mr Lee’s Agreement with the State; and
22) Securing his commercial interests and his capital.
In terms of Commercial Law, Mr Lee took the following steps with our advice:
1.       Formation of legal structures for Mr Lee to undertake the investment.
Amongst other issues, segregation of risk, protection of personal assets, complying with migration requirements, and tax implications are important considerations in undertaking this task.
2.       Negotiation and formulation of the transaction structure with the property developer.
Amongst other considerations: 
·         Specific focus on ownership structure, investment vehicle, investment structure, key personnel required, role and obligations of Mr Lee and the property developer is important for migration compliance. 
·         Control of project and funds, security or collaterals, timing of project, possible variations, and terms and conditions of investment are important considerations for protection of capital.
·         Transfer duty and tax implications must be considered PRIOR TO entering into formal agreements.
3.       Prepare and advice on the formal agreements required in order to put together the transaction.
4.       Carried out due diligence on the proposed investment and the property developer.
5.       Completion and settlements of the agreed transactions.

In Migration Law:

 

11) We conducted a full review of Mr Lee’s initial business plan and Agreement with the State, and we advised Mr Lee that given the changes to his agreement with the State, he needs to notify and obtain approval from the State for the variation.  Note:  The formal agreements between the parties were made subject to Mr Lee obtaining an approval to amend Agreement with the State.
22)  IMPORTANT issue to overcome: Investment in property is very often seen as a passive investment and does NOT qualify as an “Eligible Business”.   Special attention must be given to how the transaction is structured to avoid complications.
33) Also given his increase in the amount of investment into the “Eligible Business”, we advised that he could negotiate with the State for a more lenient requirement on the number of full time employees.

Outcome

Mr Lee and the property developer were successful in reaching an agreement.   We strategically structured mechanism into the transaction to achieve the overarching purposes of satisfying the migration requirements and protecting his commercial interests.

Upon our conduct of legal due diligence and comprehensive checks on the proposed investment and the property developer, Mr Lee was satisfied with the results.
Mr Lee also obtained approval and a more favorable agreement with the State for the proposed investment, as we were successful in negotiating with the State in reducing the number of employee from five (5) to two (2).  

The property project has since commenced.

About The Writer 

Kelvin Tang has over 14 years’ experience practising law in Western Australia. He is the founder and Principal Partner of Tang Law based in Perth, Western Australia. Kelvin is a Registered Migration Agent (MARN: 1386452) and has extensive experience in providing migration advice to clients, advising on “Eligible Businesses” within the definition of the Migration Regulations, assisting migrants (investor of the business) with satisfying migration requirements, making visa applications and appealing cancelled or refused visas in the Federal Court of Australia, Administrative Appeals Tribunal and Migration Review Tribunal. Kelvin also has extensive experience in civil litigation, commercial and corporate law matters.
1 2