# New TRA 1 September Changes



## Veronika Hurbis (Jun 6, 2008)

Just an important note on the new TRA assessment regime. 

We've spoken to the TRA and we understand that when the new changes kick in (1 September) people applying under the Australian skilled stream route will _not_ be allowed to include _unpaid_ work experience toward the 900 hours work experience requirement. 

ie: the requirement that Applicants awarded an AQF Certificate III or above as applicable to a nominated occupation on the basis of formal vocational training must also demonstrate no less than nine hundred (900) hours employment refers to paid employment.

This will be relevant to people who are in Australia studying vocational courses on completion of which they plan to apply for skilled visas.


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## s0uLja girL (Jun 29, 2008)

SOMV said:


> ie: the requirement that Applicants awarded an AQF Certificate III or above as applicable to a nominated occupation on the basis of formal vocational training must also demonstrate no less than nine hundred (900) hours employment refers to paid employment.
> 
> This will be relevant to people who are in Australia studying vocational courses on completion of which they plan to apply for skilled visas.


hey Veronika,

im planning to come across on study grounds, and have applied for a 2-year diploma degree in Graphic Pre-Press Printing & Multimedia.

i understand that during the course, i could opt for the 900-hours employment arrangement, however, i would need to pay my institute for the same, which i thought was strange.

is that how it usually happens? 

hugzyz,
s0uLja gurL


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

Hi Soulja Girl,

I did not know you have applied for this course, did I tell you, I run an advertising agency here, and its great fun.

From what I have heard, you can work part time, i think 4 or 5 hours a day or i think it was 20 hours a week, a friend went on study visa and is working as well for 20 hours a week (if I am not wrong)...whats with the 900 hours employment arrangement?


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## s0uLja girL (Jun 29, 2008)

anj1976 said:


> Hi Soulja Girl,
> 
> I did not know you have applied for this course, did I tell you, I run an advertising agency here, and its great fun.
> 
> From what I have heard, you can work part time, i think 4 or 5 hours a day or i think it was 20 hours a week, a friend went on study visa and is working as well for 20 hours a week (if I am not wrong)...whats with the 900 hours employment arrangement?


hey anj...

advertising agency n all... boss lady huh... im thinkin, t*h*a*t - in gurgaon... must be one roller-coaster ride eh... 

thot i'd mentioned the course...

so yeah, im so looking fwd 2 it myself... heard heaps about how interesting life in graphic design can b (((pros n cons et al)))... 

though my relevant experience only goes as far as jazzing up my picz on picassa... hoping im not the dull one in da class once im there... *giggle~giggle* 

about the 20-hours per week thingee... yeah, that i understand is a limit for every student-visa holder... however, this 900-hour arrangement, is mentioned in the prospectus... 

seemed more like the institute's way of getting a candidate to be eligible for the PR criteria... im yet to figure it out all the way though. 

hows the preps for ur english test coming along?

lotsa luck 2 u n ur OH for D-Day 

hugzyz...
s0uLja gurL


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

s0uLja girL said:


> hey anj...
> 
> advertising agency n all... boss lady huh... im thinkin, t*h*a*t - in gurgaon... must be one roller-coaster ride eh...
> 
> ...


Preps are going on, with nothing much to do, everytime I pick the book, I read a page and feel, darn!!! this is so god-damn easy, but am still reading, am almost done with the reading tasks, will start with the hearing bit, but i guess its for those who are very very and once again veryyyy weak in the language. We use it in our day to day life so much that all the tasks seem like kids play.

there isnt much about advertising, its simple and interesting, u need a bit of designing sense and lots of common sense.

its fun working in an agency, and mine isnt one of those big wiggies.. its a small timer agency with countable clients. I do copywriting, designing, client servicing and my partner does just the designing and he is good at messing my life . but yeah there are no time limits while working in an agency, timeline never works .

wish you luck, i too till try and read about the 900 hour thing and let u know if at all i can manage finding something. why dont you google it, i am sure you will find lots of info in there, or best is to call them and clear things out.


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

do send me a link of your picasa album, i too do it once in a while, m ypics are on flickr, nothing great but something that i started way back and never bothered to update.

the link is
Flickr: anj1976's Photostream

anj


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## Veronika Hurbis (Jun 6, 2008)

Graphic Pre-Press Tradespeople are assessed by the TRA so yes this change will apply to you. 

Going by the recent clarification from the TRA you have to make sure that you complete 900 hours of paid experience before you can apply for a skills assessment. If your course arranges for you to undertake paid experience then that is good and well and you should consider this. If your course only arranges unpaid work experience you may be better off looking for paid work as a junior/apprentice. 

Remember that once your course is completed and if you haven't done the 900 hours you can still apply for a further student visa or, better yet, you can apply for an employer sponsored 47 visa in your new profession/trade.

The 20 hour a week limitation has nothing to do with the TRA, it is relevant to all student visa holders. All student visa holders are restricted to 20 hours of work per week during term time. There is no limit on how many hours you can work during the holidays. 

Last but not least, the TRA news is subject to change until the final version of the new rules are rolled out on 1 September. But if there is any further change or if I find out more about the new rules I will post up another thread.


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## s0uLja girL (Jun 29, 2008)

SOMV said:


> Graphic Pre-Press Tradespeople are assessed by the TRA so yes this change will apply to you.
> 
> Going by the recent clarification from the TRA you have to make sure that you complete 900 hours of paid experience before you can apply for a skills assessment. If your course arranges for you to undertake paid experience then that is good and well and you should consider this. If your course only arranges unpaid work experience you may be better off looking for paid work as a junior/apprentice.


hi Veronika...

i think u just saved me a huge... gigantic... mammoth... mammo-gantic blunder...

i decided to re-read the prospectus for the institute i referred to in my earlier post, and here's what they say about the work experience bit...

*Work Experience:
We give the trainee the opportunity to undertake 900 hours of unpaid work experience in the Graphic Pre-Press field. (Additional fees apply)*

a second institute offers the following options...

*Optional work experience fee:
$4500 - 900 hours unpaid OR $9000 - 520 hours paid*

i reckon the second arrangement would be a safer deal... however, the glitch is that this isn't available in sydney... *argh* 



> Remember that once your course is completed and if you haven't done the 900 hours you can still apply for a further student visa or, better yet, you can apply for an employer sponsored 47 visa in your new profession/trade.


again for this employer-sponsored visa, i need to get down on my knees n start praying for a miracle so that a relevant employer finds me... or how does it work?

given this situation, what should i keep in mind in choosing my course / institute, being that the objective we're looking at in all of this is a sure-shot PR (if there ever were such a thing)? 

(i gotta mention here that the whole thought of being sent packing back after my course does send nauseating chillz down my spine now n then... n i just hope im not missing anything in the fine print in choosing my course / institute)

p.s: *NEWS FLASH ::: L.O.S.T... in need of a map... (barf~barf)* 


hugzyz...
s0uLja gurL


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## Veronika Hurbis (Jun 6, 2008)

The thinking among my colleagues is that all the Colleges/Educational Providers will have to change their courses to make sure that their students end up with a course which can be successfully assessed by the TRA. But that may take a while. So if I were you, and you can afford it, I would go for the paid employment option. It does give you more security than having to rely on yourself to secure paid employment for the 900 hours. 

With the employer sponsored visa you have to find your employer and hope that s/he offers you the right salary (at the moment that is about $43K) as well as sponsorship. The visa is relatively cheap, so visa costs are not a huge worry. Again, if you start working for someone while you are studying, you'd be hoping that you make such a great impression and become an invaluable member of the team, so that when it comes to the crunch your employer will be grateful to have to sponsor you to stay on in employment.


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## CarterTucker (Mar 5, 2008)

*Re: Tra changes*

Hi Veronika,

I had been eagerly awaiting for August 1st, as I thought the new guidelines were due then, but im assuming that they got put back to September 1st 

Im wondering if you could help me please, my husband is a self employed roofer, with no formal qualifications, although he runs his own sucessfull business, we are under the impression that he needs to apply for the AQF III certificate, which we understand will cost approx £2800, if he passes this, we can then apply under the pathway 'E' route (although I believe it may not be called that any longer)? 

Does this all sound correct to you & if so, when would you advise I start the 'ball rolling'? Should I wait until the new guidelines are in place?

Would you advise I get a migration agent (I was going to go it alone, to save money, but then it got a little more complicated, so im not so sure now?) If I should get an agent, when would be the best time?

And lastly, if my husband gets his AQF III, should it be pretty much a good bet that we will be accepted after that, we are a young family, 2 boys, one age nearly 16 & one aged 5 years, all in good health (thankfully) no criminal records.

Im sorry to put so many questions to you, but you always come across so helpfull & knowlegable and it would be really helping me to sleep at night to get some help, as my head is spinning!! 

Thankyou in advance,
Kindest Regards, Kelly.


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## Veronika Hurbis (Jun 6, 2008)

Hi Kelly,

I am a migration consultant so I can't answer your question about whether or not you should get one - my answer would be a biased one. 

I can say this though: Some people can go through the whole process without needing the help of an agent, others prefer to rely on someone else to do all the work and take the responsibility. It all depends on you as well as the complexity of a case. 

Your case sounds quite straight froward assuming you can get over the skills assessment hurdle (which is a bit of a nightmare for everyone at the moment). 

As to your questions about pathway D and E (I believe those names won't be used anymore after 1 September) if your husband has any licences or registrations it may well be that he will not even need the AQFIII. We really are not 100% sure at this stage. 

What I can do for you is provide you with a free assessment of your visa options, so that you do know that you are heading in the right direction, and then you can make up your mind as to whether or not you think you need to use an agent. 

If you email me your husband's CV (and yours, if you think it is relevant), together with his date of birth, I will be happy to get back to you with some advice.


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## ckchan21 (Mar 5, 2009)

HI s0uLja girL!!

Can you tell me these institutes in melbourne that offers 520 hrs of work experience? Thanks! 




s0uLja girL said:


> hi Veronika...
> 
> i think u just saved me a huge... gigantic... mammoth... mammo-gantic blunder...
> 
> ...


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