According to reports, Government of Australia is planning to come out with strict checks on applicants who come from nations applauded at high risk of terrorism. The new amendments would accommodate measures like collection of fingerprints, facial imaging data, to name a few.

The strict measures would keep terrorists away from seeking entry in Australia; Prime Minister Kevin Rudd confirmed the statement. He went on to say that Terrorism is one of permanent facets of Aussie security ambiance, confirming that the nation has become one of the soft targets, especially after the eminence of jihadist movement! However, the names of those countries which would be subjected to the new amendments have not come out in the limelight yet.

Cameron Murphy, president NSW Civil Liberties Council, feels that making the rules rigid and implementing imaging data would only lead to breaching the privacy of immigrants rather than fighting terrorism.

In addition to global jihadist movement, Australia face threats from those terrorists who are born and brought up in Aussie Land, the report confirmed. The report highlighted an incident where a judge sentenced five Aussie culprits for accumulating explosive goods to be used in criminal activities. Last year, five people were arrested for plotting an attack against Sydney military barracks. These, along with other occurrences, indicate that the Australia faces threats from overseas as well as homegrown terrorists.

Opposition leader Tony Abbott criticized the Rudd government for being too lax in acknowledging such issues. He said that the country surely faces security problems and the borders are totally out of control!

In another news piece, Australia has also tightened regulations for overseas students studying or intending to study in Australian colleges.

When we talk about Australia, imagery of kangaroos, yellow jerseys of the Aussie cricket team and Sydney Opera House comes to our mind! Aussie land is not only famous for Symonds, Gilly, or Ricky Ponting, but for world class education system also! People regard Australia as one of the best study abroad destinations on this globe. The education system of the country celebrates a strong reputation and is applauded for its ace faculty facet throughout the education arena. Apart from enjoying the scenic beauty, decent cost of living and world class facility, Australia makes an excellent place to study your favorite course in an applauded university.

The world’s smallest continent is draped with all the educational amenities one can ask for! The mix of various ethnic backgrounds serves as a cherry on the cake when it comes to studying backgrounds of different kind of people under one roof! In addition, students get to know the tradition of other countries, while sharing their own perspectives with other overseas students.

Studying in Australia provides a magnetic experience, giving ample opportunities to students to come and study in world class colleges and universities. Additionally, overseas students have the choice to indulge themselves into part time employment during their ongoing curriculum.

Education in Australia ensures a high quality education affirming success in your field in the upcoming future. The education system is divided into four major facets: Vocational institutions, Universities, English language institutions and schools.

Applicants can go for some of the highly applauded Universities like The University of Adelaide, The Australian National University, The University of Melbourne, Monash University, The University of Queensland, The University of Sydney, and The University of Western Australia. In order to enroll in Australian institutions, it is vital to clear all the requirements and fulfill the eligibility criteria, recommended by different universities.

Educational institutions need to have accreditation from Australian Government and ensure that they are providing the right information to the overseas students. Applicants need to get a valid Student Visa and check with the Australian Embassy to know about the whole process. Advice from an expert Study Visa consultant would also prove crucial at this stage!

Australia has acknowledged that some of the attacks performed on Indians have been filled with a hint of racism in them. Confirming the news, Aussie Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said that it seems some of the attacks are racists and the culprits would be punished with full force. He further went on to say that the recent spate of attacks is inexcusable and the matter would be seen seriously.

The attacks have crafted a shadow on Australia as a reputed study destination as well as on the bilateral relationship between both the countries and that the government is taking the case in a very serious manner, the Minster further added.

The minister feels that the attacks have obviously damaged Aussie reputation and said that he has deep sympathy for those Indians who suffered because of the recent incidents. He said that their police force is performing investigations on every incident and would ensure that the victims and their families get justice as soon as possible.

He assured that the Aussie government will continue to perform their utmost in order to ensure the safety of Indians residing in Australian communities. His words “ZERO TOLERANCE FOR RACISM” spoke everything on his behalf! The Australian community condemns such attacks which have an element of racism decked in them.

Governments at every level are involved in performing their best to address and solve this problem in a major way. He said that Indians are welcome guest here and Australia would ensure that Indian students get quality education and a positive experience during their stay in Australia.

The recent spate of the recent attacks played a huge role in crashing the number of Indian students planning to study in Australia.

A report by Immigration Department showed that Study Visa Applications for Vocational courses fell to 19,530 during the last three months of the year 2009. In addition, a decline of 15 percent has been noticed in visa applications for all the educational sectors, reported The Age.

In another news piece, Jaspreet Singh, 29, a man of Indian origin, who faked racial attack after showing 15 percent burn injuries, has been charged of claiming fake insurance in shade of being racially attacked.

He deliberately torched his car, as evidences such as container and petrol, amongst others found from his home, confirmed his fakeness after his arrest, stated the Aussie police. Police has also found footage of him, buying petrol, a day before he made the roar of being attacked.

Singh, earlier came out with the statement that a group of attackers set him on fire while he was parking his vehicle. However, this incident should not be linked with the series of attacks on Indians in the past few months. All of them were genuine and government should take ample measures to stop this catastrophe right here!

Also, Indian envoy to Australia, Sijatha Singh, has been called to New Delhi for further discussion of the series of attacks on Indians in Australia.

Racial attacks on Indians in Australia have raised many unanswered questions. Opposition Leader Tony Abbott recently stated that there must be ample room as far as the debate on Immigration is concerned, without being applauded “racist.”

He earlier said that some Aussies are anxious that Australia grants citizenship, too easily, a statement for which he was criticized too.

Later, he defended himself and added that Aussies always had anxieties concerned with the aspect of Immigration but their country has managed the aspect if Immigration in a brilliant way. He further added that they run a Immigration program in a successful manner, despite decked with various anxieties!

He believes that “what is important is to have a healthy debate over Immigration, without involving the aspects of racism in between. People, with different attitudes, from the entire globe come to Australia, but at the end of the day, we only remember that they are an integral part of Australian team. Nothing else matters…

He went on to talk on the aspect that being an Aussie is the biggest prize on the entire globe and the country doesn’t DISCRIMINATE! He said that their country can adopt fewer applicants and as long as the Immigration program is commenced smoothly and in interest of the country, Australia will continue to be applauded as one of the finest places for immigrants.

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The recent flare of attacks on Indian students has left Australia with no option but to come out with quick actions! Recently, they have decided to make the Immigration rules stringent for the migrants, to allow the entry of genuine applicants in their country. The strict regulations would further ensure the stoppage of those applicants who come to Australia for study and regard it as a BACKDOOR of getting employment in Australia.

According to Australian High Commissioner Peter Varghese, a legislation has been introduced that would further certify that students have ample amount of finances to support their education and livelihood in Australia. He further said that their country is looking for those migrants who have qualified skills that are, at present, in short supply in the nation.

The strict measures may be an outcome of fraudulent documents presented by many applicants or/and failure to prove their real intention to study in Australia.

These racial attacks have seen an exceeding protest from not only the Indians, but people from all over the world. Recently, almost 150 Sikhs held a protest against the flood of racial attacks and the burning of their religious institution in Australia. They displayed various banners like “Down with Aussie” and “Stop racial attacks.” Despite all this, there has been NO stoppage to the attacks and Indians are assaulted on a regular basis, recent being the incident of assaults of taxi drivers, to name a few.

Now, we have to wait and watch whether these stringent rules would make any difference in the recent catastrophe that is happening between the countries or not…

It is a facts that Australia is regarded as one of the best and commendable countries to migrate to! Be it for the purpose of studying, traveling, working, vacation or no matter what, but here are some fun facts about Australia that add more feathers in its cap as a prospective Immigration destination. Have a look at some of them:

• The Platypus, which is a rare semi-aquatic mammal, is only found in Australia! People from all over the world visit Australia to see this beautiful species!
• People who are health fanatics, they would be happy to know that Tasmania offers the cleanest ambiance and air in the world! So, people residing in Tasmania not only experience fresh air but also take advantage of plenty of health benefits offered by the place
• Australia is geared with the largest herd of wild Camels on globe. So if you think that deserts in your own country don’t allow you to witness camels, visit Australia.
• The continent serves host to some of the eccentric and gigantic structures, which say the story of the marvelous architecture of the place. Some of the cute examples are Big Banana in New South Wales, Big Apple in Queensland, the Big Koala in Victoria and the Big Stubby in The Northern Territory, to name a few.
• For those who are café lovers, Perth is the place for you. It has more cafes per capita as compared to any other all over the globe. And wine lovers can find solace in South Australia as the place as more than 50% of Australia’s total wine production comes from SA.
• Beach lovers, here is some hot news for all of you: Hyams Beach in Jervis Bay, NSW is famous for its white sand, which is whitest of the all!
• And if you are a lover of parks and reserves, then you would be more than excited to know that there are more than 60 national parks and reserves in the Northern Territory. Some of the famous ones include: Litchfield National Park, Davenport Ranges National Park and Kakadu National Park.
• Economist Intelligence Unit regarded Melbourne as the most liveable city on the globe.

The facts are endless. But the reality is one: Australia is one of the most favored countries to migrate!

Peter Varghese, Australia’s High Commissioner, in recent news stated that the image of Australia as a potential country to migrate to has been affected in a negative way! India has been a source of immigrants who come to study and work in Australia, amongst other countries. But the recent racial attacks have served as a major reason for hampering the Oz image, not only amongst the Indians, but people from all over the globe.

Varghese further stated that he accepts that the Oz image has taken a beating, but feels that the relations between the governments are strong enough to overcome these issues. He stated that the negative media coverage and the perception of people in India about the Australia country has been the major cause of worry for him.

He stated that Oz has been applauded as an unsafe country for Indians, which is really creating worries for him as well as the whole country. This is further destroying the relations between the two countries.

He elaborated that the Aussie government is in the process of taking steps to calm down this situation and commented that these attacks are NOT RACIST IN NATURE! Some of the steps taken by the Aussie government include enhancing the number of anti-robbery squads and police patrolling along with making amendments in the legislations. For those planning to migrate to Australia, hire the services of an Immigration veteran and go for a hassle free application process as far as your Immigration process is concerned.

Australia is one of those countries that attract the highest number of overseas flocks each year, be it for study purpose, business purpose or some other reasons. The statistics says the highest number of immigrants in the nation is from the United Kingdom, followed by China and other European countries.

Immigrants make up one quarter of Australia’s 22 million of total population. People from the UK comprise the largest migrant group in the nation. According to the statistics, British people account for more than 1.2 million of Australian population.

Australia also has a large number of migrants from New Zealand, reason being Kiwis are not required to obtain visas in order to enter Australia. Apart from British and New Zealanders, some other major immigrant groups contributing to the Australian population are from India, Vietnam, China, Philippines, South Africa, Greece, Macedonia, Netherlands, Indonesia, the US, Malaysia and Lebanon.

AS per the 2006 census, New South Wales boasts the largest immigrant population, including South Korean, Chinese, Iraqi, Lebanese and Fijian. With overseas-born population, including Italians, Turkish, Indians and Sri Lankan, Victoria is the Australian state with second largest immigrant population.

Besides, Western Australia has a considerable number of overseas-born settlers. The immigrant population in the state makes over 500,000. The state is second to New South Wales, when it comes to British settlers. Queensland with near about 700,000 foreign settlers proves as one of the most prospective states for immigrants. It hosts settlers mostly from New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

When we see the statistics of the immigrant population in Australia, it comes clear that the nation is one of the hot destinations among the overseas settlers, along with the US and UK!

Despite screaming headlines about the violence against the international students in Australia, as well as the country’s low quality courses few months back, Australia has been rated safer for study, as compared to the UK and the US. But, as far as the quality of education is concerned, it is accepted that Australia lags far behind the UK and the US.

There are certain factors that international students are being attracted to Australia. According to Monash University academic Bob Birrell, Indian students consider Australia as one of their prime study destinations because they expect to get permanent residency easily. Molly Yang, a student of Central Queensland University said that many of the students in her 2007 batch opted to migrate to Australia, because they all had the same thing in mind, which is future migration.

Indian and Chinese students account for a large percentage of the higher education international enrollments. According to Australian Education International, in May 2008 to May 2009 session, Australia saw an increase of 31 percent in the number of Chinese students getting enrolled in higher education courses. But, the reason behind the flow of international students to Australia is different from the reason as to why students go to the US and Britain for study purpose.

According to a report from London-based Observatory on Borderless Higher Education, the quality of education available in the UK and the US has always been the prime factor that international students migrate to these two destinations for education. A report from the IDP Education, an international recruitment agency said that some 5000 plus students from eight countries also rated Australia behind the UK and the US where the quality of education is concerned.

Thus, overseas students find Australia safer, but do not find it as good as the UK and US when it comes to the quality of education. On the same note, the reputation of Australian universities is also faltering. In 2009, only nine Australian universities made it to the Times Higher Education Supplement’s top 200 list of world universities, as compared to the fourteen universities in 2004. The worst thing is that RMIT and Curtin University which were formerly in the top 100 are nowhere in the top 200 list this year. In 2004 rankings, there were two Australian universities in the top 25, but this year only the Australia National University could make it to the top 25.

It is also found that Australian universities make it easier for international students to get entry to courses with relatively low English scores. Besides, the fact that Australian universities employing overseas recruitment agents (many offering advise about migration) also brings about another controversy that these universities are “offering fast track to residency, not a quality education.”