Where are we now in overseas qualifications recognition? A decade of review and changes

Over the last decade, more and more of Australia\u27s immigration intake has come from non- English speaking background (NESB) countries. Whereas in 1981 50 per cent of the overall intake was from NESB countries, by 1990-91 this figure had reached 63 per cent. As a consequence, in the skilled categories there has also been a proportionate increase in the immigrants arriving from non-English speaking background (NESB) countries. In 1990-91, for example, 78 per cent of professionals and 53 per cent of tradespeople came from NESB countries. Asian countries have featured particularly in recent years. In 1990-91,61 per cent of the permanent settler professional intake was from Asia

New assessment procedures for overseas trained medical practitioners in Australia

In July 1990, the Australian Medical Council’s Working Party to Review the AMC Examination released its Interim Report. The Report marks a significant step forward in the attitude and approach to overseas trained medical practitioners already in Australia. However, the implementation of the report will depend on a significant commitment of resources by both State and Commonwealth Governments together with a similar change in attitude among some of the medical boards and other assessing/accrediting authorities. The aim of this paper is to outline the major problems that have existed in the past decade with respect to the assessment and registration of overseas medical practitioners in Australia and to discuss the changes proposed by the AMC Working Party

Australia and Asia - Refugee Practices and Policies

The demise of the old European empires and the rise of the modern nation state meant that masses of people were displaced by the new boundaries and new principles of the nation state. Mass migration, forced or voluntary-a consequence of the nationalist or ethnic makeup of many new states-created the modern refugee. Refugees are people who have been forced to leave their homelands because of a well-founded fear of persecution or a threat to their survival or that of their immediate families. International laws were developed to protect those not protected by their own governments or who came under threat because of the actions and policies of their own governments. The conviction that the international community has a duty to protect refugees was recognised by the League of Nations. When the United Nations replaced the League in 1945 it accepted the collective obligation of states to take responsibility for those fleeing persecution or danger. Accordingly, the UN General Assembly in 1946 adopted a resolution that laid the foundations for international refugee protection laws

Health professionals in multicultural Australia

Targeted recruitment in the health systems to meet the special needs of patients has never been a high priority. The assumption has normally been that any health professional, working in conjunction with a trained interpreter, can adequately service a patient of non-English speaking background with or without low proficiency in English. Many articles and submissions have alerted governments to the need for more sensitive and targeted recruitment and workforce planning and more effective human resource development and management. But evaluations of migrant health services carried out in 1993 highlighted again the inadequacies in these areas. The options are to train workers in Australia, recruit or recognise appropriate biculturall bilingual health workers from overseas or a combination of all of these

The Australian Labor Market for Medical Practitioners and Nurses: Training, Migration and Policy Issues

Australia has a long history of migration of medical practitioners and nurses. This paper will provide an overview of the current situation regarding the supply of and demand for doctors and nurses and Australia's immigration policies and regulatory framework. Trends in training numbers and the relationship to demand will be analyzed and it will be shown that a continuation of widespread shortages can be expected. In recent years, Australia has been the forerunner, among Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, in its overt policy initiatives to attract overseas-trained doctors. It has shown little concern for the negative consequences on some sending countries that lose their doctors and nurses. Also, it has not entered into the spirit of international attempts to try to ameliorate the potential effects of developing-to-developed country health professional migration and trade, where there are negative consequences for the sending country. It will be argued that Australia could become a better global "citizen."

Luring Overseas Trained Doctors to Australia: Issues of Training, Regulating and Trading

Australia is at a crossroads. Its long history of relying on overseas trained medical practitioners and the last decade's changes, in terms of the introduction of policies to recruit large numbers of temporary doctors, both require examination. Not only is Australia alone in its overt policy initiatives but it also fails to be aware of the consequences for some sending countries. Australia has not entered into the spirit of international attempts to ameliorate the potential effects of developing-to-developed country medical migration and trade. This paper will provide an overview of the current international situation regarding supply and demand, major ethical issues, Australia's immigration policies and regulatory framework and the situation with respect to the labour market integration of overseas trained doctors (OTDs). It will be argued that Australia 'lures' with little concern for the consequences for source countries

Skills recognition within Asean

Many countries are experiencing skills deficits and are looking to bring in skilled workers as a means of alleviating these shortages. How the skills of workers from overseas are assessed, accredited and compensated has been a contentious issue in many countries. Within the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) skills recognition gained increased prominence in recent years and became the basis for a major project, on which this paper is based, from 2004 to 2007. Sending and receiving countries in ASEAN have different motivations but they all want improved skills development and accreditation mechanisms. This paper will focus on three case studies. Sending countries, such as Laos and Cambodia, are keen to develop their technical and vocational education training (TVET) systems and skills recognition arrangements quickly, and possibly in co-operation with other countries in ASEAN (Thailand and Vietnam). Thus their systems are on the verge of significant structural reform. Receiving countries, such as Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei, already have a range of skills training and recognition systems in place for their own workers. Singapore will be used as an example of how its own workers are accredited and how foreign workers are assessed and accredited. It remains to be seen how ASEAN workers from elsewhere will be accredited by Singapore in the future. The viability of a true common labour market within ASEAN by 2015 will depend on how these skills recognition arrangements emerge and develop. It is timely to examine the early stage of this process

Australia and Asia - Refugee Practices and Policies

The demise of the old European empires and the rise of the modem nation state meant that masses of people were displaced by the new boundaries and new principles of the nation state. Mass migration, forced or voluntary-a consequence of the nationalist or ethnic makeup of many new states-created the modern refugee. Refugees are people who have been forced to leave their homelands because of a well-founded fear of persecution or a threat to their survival or that of their immediate families. International laws were developed to protect those not protected by their own governments or who came under threat because of the actions and policies of their own governments. The conviction that the international community has a duty to protect refugees was recognised by the League of Nations. When the United Nations replaced the League in 1945 it accepted the collective obligation of states to take responsibility for those fleeing persecution or danger. Accordingly, the UN General Assembly in 1946 adopted a resolution that laid the foundations for international refugee protection laws