Acting Tourism Minister Bill Johnston has released a media statement announcing that Tourism WA has signed a two-year funding deal to support WA's biggest annual horse racing festival, the TABtouch Masters, in 2018 and 2019. The funding will help to secure more high-profile thoroughbreds to elevate the status of the event, as well as market the series nationally and overseas. Sponsoring such events helps attract interstate visitors to Perth and showcase the city's transformation into a more vibrant and affordable destination, a key goal of the McGowan Government's Two-Year Action Plan for tourism. This Plan aims to boost visitors to the State and encourage them to stay longer and visit regional WA. The media release can be found here. Highly skilled workers from around the world will have a new visa pathway into Australia as a part of the Government's new Global Talent Scheme pilot program. From 1 July all businesses will be able to sponsor highly skilled and specialised workers . The pilot will run for 12 months and provide businesses with a streamlined process to sponsor overseas workers with cutting edge skills, where there are no suitable Australians available to fill the vacancies. The Government has been consulting with industry, the start-up sector and tertiary institution leaders, who informed the initial design of the scheme and will provide additional advice during the pilot. The scheme includes two streams – one for established businesses and one for start-ups. All businesses sponsoring workers to Australia under the scheme will need to demonstrate that they have been unable to source suitable individuals in the Australian labour market. Workers sponsored under the scheme will have access to a Temporary Skills Shortage visa and permanent residence after three years. Minister for Jobs and Innovation, Senator Michaelia Cash said the new scheme answers the call from business to deliver more flexible, future focussed visa arrangements that help attract global talent to Australia. Read more. The Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) is the national policy for regulated qualifications in Australian education and training. In the 2017-18 budget, the Australian Government announced a review of the AQF, which aims to ensure the framework continues to meet the needs of students, employers, education providers and the wider community. The AQF was last reviewed between 2009–2011. Since then there have been technological advances in education delivery, increased uptake of sub-qualifications and changes to standard international practice related to qualifications frameworks. The review will involve broad public consultation in response to a discussion paper and will include extensive consultations with the sector. Release of a discussion paper and public consultations are expected in the second half of 2018, with the final report to be provided to government by June 2019. Visit the federal Department of Education and Training to find out more. The McGowan Government has announced a review into the Fitness Industry Code of Practice. The code governs how the industry deals with consumers and their membership contracts in Western Australia. Since the last review in 2010 the Australian Consumer Law has come into effect, which generally provides wider protections for consumers. The Government would like stakeholders’ views on whether there continues to be a need for a separate Code of Practice. The Minister’s media release is here. The Government’s consultation paper can be found here. The review closes on 27 August 2018. |
Categories
All
Archives
April 2024
|