The following blog post written by Karen on the Department of Immigration and Citizenship's (DIAC) Skilled Migration Blog explains the difference between Net Overseas Migraton (NOM) and the Migration Program, and what they mean to Australia's population growth.

Did you ever wonder why the outcomes from NOM and the Migration Program do not look the same? Put simply NOM includes all long term temporary and permanent migration whereas the Migration Program only counts permanent migration.

Net Overseas Migration
Net Overseas Migration (NOM) is the net gain or loss of population through immigration to Australia and emigration from Australia. Overseas arrivals only count as NOM arrivals if they are inAustraliafor 12 months or more over a 16 month period. Conversely, overseas departures are subtracted from NOM if they are away for 12 months or more over a 16 month period. So the level of NOM is the balance of NOM arrivals minus NOM departures—easy!

This ‘12/16 month rule’ means almost all short term movements such as tourists do not count as either NOM arrivals or departures. It also means that people who are not permanent residents ofAustraliacan be counted as NOM arrivals so long as their residency stints add up to 12 months within a 16 month period.

Permanent Migration Program
The permanent migration program refers to the number of visas granted during a given year against specific visa streams. These streams are skilled, family and special eligibility. The permanent program provides visas to people who are not Australian residents and wish to live in Australia permanently.  Of these visas granted 25% of family, 59% of skilled and 89% of special eligibility visas (for 2010-11) are granted to people currently inAustralia, that is onshore. Onshore grants of permanent visas are effectively NOM neutral as the applicant will already have been counted in to NOM after their initial temporary stay.  So NOM arrivals are a combination of temporary and permanent migrants.

Why is NOM so important?
NOM is effectively how we measure migration’s contribution toAustralia’s population growth. For instance the March 2011 NOM was 167, 100 which accounted for 54% of our population growth of 1.4% for that 12 month period—the other 46% coming from natural increase (births minus deaths). NOM is a truer reflection on what is occuring in our communities and labour markets than permanent migration, particularly given our large temporary student and worker populations. NOM also captures long term New Zealander movements in and out ofAustralia, which are not covered under our permanent migration program. While the Migration Program hands out the prize of Australian permanent residency to individuals and has been and remains an important focus of our work NOM is a better measure of what is actually happening out there.

NOM and Permanent Migration Program: Back in Balance
For the first time in six years, DIAC forecast the level of NOM for the year ending June 2011 to be 171 200, well below the number of permanent residence visas granted during that year. This drop in NOM restores the long-run relationship where the number of permanent residence visas and NOM move roughly in tandem and corrects the previous spike in NOM for the year ending
December  2008 where NOM reached 315 700 and when temporary residents seemed to be staying longer term. Further reforms and strengthened integrity measures for our student and immigration programs have now restored the long term balance.

To follow DIAC's Skilled Migration Blog, click here.

At last count, there are almost 60,000 unlawful immigrants currently living amongst us in Australia, a number that significantly overshadows the 4,700 asylum seekers who arrived by boat in 2010-11.

According to a report by the Herald Sun, this is enough unlawful immigrants to populate a large regional Australian city, a statistic which has prompted calls for a crackdown on those who have overstayed their visa periods in Australia.

Documents released to the Herald Sun under Freedom of Information also reveal the biggest groups of illegals are Chinese, Americans, Malaysians, Britons and South Koreans.

More than half have been here for five or more years; 20,000 for a decade or more; and two in three have evaded authorities for more than two years. (The figures do not include visitors who overstay visas by less than a fortnight.)

Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria chairman Sam Afra said illegal residents attracted little of the outrage associated with boat people, despite taking jobs and housing, using public services, and not paying tax.

He said it was far too easy to stay here if you knew how to "work the system".

"It's shocking," he said.

"To have one in three who have been here more than 10 years (suggests) something's wrong with the system."

Illegal immigrants have also been involved in drug cartels, sexual slavery, and fraud. Illegals accused of guarding marijuana crops in Melbourne and regional Victoria were among 43 people arrested last year in raids focusing on a $400 million crime syndicate.

To read more at the Herald Sun, click here.

If your temporary visa is due to expire soon and you would like to extend your stay in Australia, contact Australian Migration & Visa Lawyers. Our team of friendly and professional Registered Migration Agents specialise in all visa categories and can assist and advise you on your visa options in Australia.

With the unemployment rate consistently hovering around the 14% mark in Ireland, Skilled Workers all over the country are looking to countries such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand to find work.

Australia alone has many thousands of jobs that need to be filled in the midst of its current resources boom, creating a significant skills gap that Australia simply cannot fill with Australian workers alone - we need skilled workers from overseas. Herein lies a wonderful opportunity for the above mentioned skilled workers from Ireland.

Less than a week ago Dublin hosted its second Working Abroad Expo for the year, with over 5,000 Irish men and women seeking opportunities abroad walking through its doors both days. The Australian Migration & Visa Lawyers (AMVL) Employment Network Team attended as an exhibitor and were overwealmed by the reponse to the 200+ jobs we currently have available to skilled workers within our network. Every job offered included an employer sponsored 457 visa at no cost to the employee, obviously a popular catch for those with dreams to live and work in Australia.

An article titled "Irish mob job expo to join NT boom" goes on to describe the situations in Ireland and Australia further, click here to read.

If you're in Ireland and are keen to learn more about migration in Australia and the jobs we have available, click here to see the details of our Employment Network's "Tour of Ireland".