The following article was recently released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics -

Almost 6 million migrants, born in over 200 countries, live in Australia. According to figures released on 16 June 2011 by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 27% of Australia's resident population were born overseas, as at June 2010.

People born in the United Kingdom continued to be the largest group of overseas-born residents, accounting for 1.2 million people. The next largest group was born in New Zealand with 544,000 people, followed by China (380,000 people), India (341,000) and Italy (216,000).

Over the last decade, the proportion of those born in the UK declined from 5.9% of Australia's population in 2000 to 5.3% in 2010. In contrast, the proportions increased for people born in New Zealand (from 1.9% to 2.4%), China (from 0.8% to 1.7%) and India (from 0.5% to 1.5%).

The majority (76%) of overseas-born residents were of working age, 15–64 years at June 2010. Migrants born in Asia, America and Africa had proportionally larger young (0–14 years) and working age (15–64 years) populations compared to those from Europe.

In 2008–09, the net contribution of international students to the Australian population reached a record high of 122,400 students, contributing 27% of Australia's total population growth for the year. The top three countries of birth of these students were from India with a net of 43,000 students followed by China (24,700 students) and Nepal (10,500).

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Mining boom Mark II brings an unprecedented level of investment and opportunity to Australia. The National Resources Sector Employment Taskforce conducted extensive research and consultation finding that there will be serious skills shortages in the resource industry.

The simple fact is this: there will simply not be enough Australian workers to get the job done. For example, there is $380 billion of new investment planned for resource projects – this is projected to lead to a shortage of 36 000 tradespeople by 2015. This impact will not just be felt in the outback of Western Australia and Queensland but also in our major cities as workers are attracted to jobs in mining.

To meet this important challenge, the government will implement all of the recommendations of the National Resources Sector Employment Taskforce report. One of these 31 recommendations is to introduce Enterprise Migration Agreements (EMAs).

These agreements will be one way to help the resource sector meet its skills needs in the coming years. EMAs are not a new visa, but an umbrella agreement to bring in temporary skilled workers from overseas.

Access to overseas workers under EMAs will help to ensure the workforce needs of these projects are met, ensuring economic and employment benefits for all Australians can be realised. This will be done without undercutting local wages.

This is because all overseas workers employed under EMAs will be on 457 visas. The 457 program is efficient for business without undermining local opportunities. Subclass 457 visa holders must be paid at least as well as an Australian doing the same job.

The average salary for a 457 visa holder working in the mining industry is $122 000.

This does not take into account any allowances or bonuses. Subclass 457 visa holders must be paid superannuation.

Click here for more information on EMAs on the Australian Government website.

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A review of the English language requirement for nurses and midwives has left students in limbo and may exclude competent people from the workforce capable of practising safely, experts say.

Under national rules, nurses must score at least 7 at one sitting in four components of the International English Language Testing System to be registered to practise.

Yet Joanne Gray, president of the NSW branch of the Australian College of Midwives and a member of its national midwifery education standards advisory committee, said the standard was too onerous. ''It's a crude measure that is preventing us mobilising our workforce as effectively as we could,'' Dr Gray said.

She said English language skills were essential. ''The bottom line is safety … Communication is key to what we do.''

But Dr Gray said it was hard to achieve a 7 (on a scale of 1 to 9) in all subjects on the same day, and repeated testing could undermine safety by delaying new graduates' entry into the workforce and prevent them from applying newly learnt skills.

Rhonda Griffiths, head of the University of Western Sydney's school of nursing and midwifery, said the standard was unrealistically high and many native English speakers would not meet it.
''We're all familiar with exam stress,'' said Professor Griffiths, adding that it could undermine performance on a single day.

Her school enrols students with a 6.5 score on IELTS on the basis that their English will improve while they study.
She called for the acceptance of scores in individual test components achieved on different occasions within an agreed time period.

Click here to read the full story at the Sydney Morning Herald.

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