In 2014 I set out on a journey that has been both personally and professionally rewarding. I travelled to Italy, the recipient of the Literature Fellowship from the International Specialised Skills Institute, and the Italian Services Institute. (Photo Wide Shut Photography)

'I couldn’t imagine Australia. I did not have a sense of Australia, other than being a place where I would work.’

Immigration stories are important. Some give a voice to those who found a sense of freedom in Australia that they never enjoyed in their native country. One such story belongs to Giuseppina Liuzzi, originally from Montemurro, and now a citizen of Australia.

What catches my attention the moment Signora Vincenzina Marsicovetere and I sit down to chat is her accent. It is distinctly northern Italian. Although born and raised in Viggiano, Signora Marsicovetere has lost all her native dialect as a consequence of years living with her husband’s family who were from the Trieste region.

Domenico De Mase has two sons with very English names. Alan, the eldest, was born in Australia just before the earthquake that devastated much of the Basilicata region in 1980.

It is raining and cloud cover is low the afternoon I arrive at the home of Rocco Antonio Aieta and his wife Francesca in the picturesque Basilicata village of Montemurro.

The General Skilled Migration Program (GSM) as a pathway to Permanent Residency

“Una mattina all’alba vedemmo l’Australia per la prima volta. Una striscia di terra piatta, il cielo azzurro ed una cortina di nuvole bassissime. Sembrava che schiacciassero la terra.” (One morning at dawn we saw Australia for the first time. A strip of flat land, a blue sky, and a very low curtain of clouds. They seemed to be squashing the land).

The healthcare system in Australia – Medicare – is of a high standard. It is no surprise that the country’s population claims one of the highest life expectancies in the world.

88 days, few less than three months, are required to apply for a farm job to get the renewal of the second Working Holiday visa. Three months not necessary to have the opportunity to stay in the country for another year and to “live the dream”.

From the Directors Desk: The Subclass 485 Temporary Graduate Visa can offer opportunities to international student visa holders, who wish to gain practical work experience to accompany their Australian qualifications.

Born in Viggiano, Basilicata, Delia Estelle Giliberti, is an elegant lady with a soft voice and eyes that hold your attention as she speaks. We meet on a rain soaked afternoon in her native town, where she is visiting for the Festa Della Madonna from Liguria where she now lives.

AMALSA MAKES THE LAW WORK FOR YOU From the Director’s Desk It seems like one of the “hot topics” in migration law is establishing that the position for which a 457-visa applicant has been nominated is “genuine”.

Angelo Savino was 31 years old when he decided to follow his sister to Australia. After a ten-year absence and during her brief visit back to Italy she had been one of the very first in the Post-war era to take advantage of the call for migrants. Having made a life in her adopted country, she felt Australia and its opportunities would also appeal to her brother and his young family.

The first step for students or temporary residents after their arrival in Australia is finding a place to live in – usually a single room, a room to share or, for those who can afford it, an apartment or a house.Often, the rush to settle or the fear of losing a place that is readily available induce wrong decisions – for example, to accept a lease “in nero” (paying cash) or to pay the deposit before signing the contract.

I gave myself an early birthday present this year: a bicycle, with a trailer for the kids, complete with jaunty red flag to keep us seen. It resolved a significant transport problem for our family. I really love riding with my children. It feels like walking around with a newborn baby, because people are constantly smiling at us as the little ones wave from their chariot.

From the Director Desk Major Changes to Student Visa and subclass_457 visa program An overhaul of both the two most popular visa categories have been announced with some changes effective since 19 April 2016 and further “significant changes” expected from 1 July 2016.

“I saw my father for the first time when I was five years old. My zio, mum’s brother, had been back to Italy several times, so I knew him. When we disembarked from the ship in Melbourne, I ran to embrace my zio rather than my father.”

Witnessing history and sacredness in a former old distillery We recieved a text from Enzo at around 5pm. The ‘Pizzica Spagnola’ event is on at ExFadda at 7.

The changes that the federal Government has announced to reduce torts and abuses in the 457 Skilled Visa Program

From engineer to a restaurant manager of one of the most famous Italian restaurants in Melbourne. This is the story of Silvio Stellavato, a civil engineer, born 1982 in Cilento and left Italy, almost three years ago with the idea of living abroad and learning English.

In 1974, after 14 years in Australia, Signor Gino Milano, a native of Marsicovetere in the Basilicata region of Southern Italy, decided enough was enough, and with two Australian born children in tow, decided to return to his native village.

Ida and Sara, (fictitious names), 31 years of age are two of the many young Italians who visit our shores each year in search of “opportunities”. Many of them come to Australia equipped with various degrees, masters and in certain circumstances a PhD.

The ongoing economic uncertainty and subsequent lack of employment opportunities which various developed nations are currently facing has impacted on the decision of numerous young people to travel outside their country of origin in search of new opportunities.

It’s easy for many young Italians with a working holiday visa to find a job in the Hospitality Industry but they need to get a qualification if they want to find a way to live in Australia permanently.

How an unintelligible bizarre culture became my constant companion I remember standing at Roma Termini with a printed bus ticket in my hand, watching a mother and daughter in skin- tight jeans and runners. They were speaking in husky voices and the sounds just washed over me.

Further to our first section on Student Visa requirements, we will be continuing with the second part of the article in an attempt to simplify this area of Migration of Law so to enable a smooth process for Student Visa Applicants.

‘Nella mia testa, io cammino per le strade d’Australia, perche’ me le ricordo tutte. Tutti i santi giorni…Io sto qua e la.’ (In my mind I walk the streets of Australia still, because I remember them. Every day. I am both here –in Italy-and there.)

OOD: THE STATUS SYMBOL OF THE HASHTAG GENERATION!WHEN FASHION OVERLAPS CULTURE My mother-in-law lives in an apartment in a small city in Apulia. Her balcony faces a piazza, where the food market is held twice a week.

Traveling, taking pictures and feeling the real Australia. It looks like the perfect life and in a way it is. This is what the photographer, 24 years old, Davide Degano, from a small town near Udine in the north-eastern Italian region of Friuli, has been doing for the past two years in Australia. He left Italy with his camera, not one word of English and a big desire to discover not only a new continent but also new people.

It must be so weird for them to be dragged around all the time.That was what I was thinking, as jetlagged and weary, we walked down to Ostuni’s Villa Comunale, the city’s green space, housing the only play equipment within a 20 km radius.

One of the most endearing qualities of Mr Enzo Vivarelli was his frank honesty. He made no lie of the fact that life in Australia for Italian migrants in the early 1960’s was, from his perspective at least, difficult. Nor did he shy away from making it clear that the cultural differences between Italians and the countrymen of their new homeland sometimes ended in physical violence.