Bridget battled bushfires, helped flood victims and was an essential worker during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now she might have to leave Australia. Here’s why.
Bridget* has volunteered with the CFA in Victoria for around two years but may now be forced to leave Australia.When Bridget arrived in Australia from France in July 2019 she was intending to stay for a while — possibly even permanently.
This year Bridget thought she had finally become eligible to apply for permanent residency in Australia but got a shock when she consulted a migration lawyer about her application. "So all of a sudden to be confirmed that you don't have the option of staying, and you had it before, it's very unfair."It's hard to understand because at the same time, they were opening permanent residency to other visas, and the government kept on saying that they wanted more migrants and more workers, and more regional workers, and more permanent immigrants so it didn't make sense at all, it still doesn't.
A spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs said the temporary skills shortage visa program was intended to be flexible and responsive to the economic cycle, in line with employer demand to fill genuine vacancies where an Australian worker is not available. "But I think we do have to recognise that the manner in which we have operated .... the manner in which we have supported people or too often failed to support them, impact significantly, not just on their lives but on our ability to continue to attract them - retaining people who want to make a contribution, and in many cases, a life here," he said.
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