VPRS 5977 Employer Nomination Files

BackgroundThe series has its origin in agreements reached between the Commonwealth and British Governments in March 1946 for free and assisted passage for British residents wishing to migrate to Australia. Under the agreements residents of the Australian states could nominate residents of the United Kingdom for assisted passage to Australia, or in the case of British ex-Service men and women and their families, free passage. Nominations were of two types: personal and group. Personal nominations were made by residents of Victoria who were friends or relatives of the nominee, or an employer seeking a particular worker. Group nominations were usually made by employers seeking to recruit particular categories of workers, though groups such as religious organisations also participated. In 1976/1977 group nominations were replaced by the employer nomination (group) and employer nomination (personal) system. This series contains papers relating to nominations made under this system.The States agreed at the Premiers Conference of 1946 to take responsibility for verifying nominations and arranging for reception, transit accommodation, travel to final destination and aftercare. The end of the States role in immigration matters came in early 1983, when the Commonwealth (VRG 87) took over its remaining functions relating to administering both assisted and unassisted British sponsorship schemes and associated services.The recording agencies for this series are as follows:Immigration Division, VA 552 Department of State Development and Decentralisation, 1976-1977;VA 1042 Ministry of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs, 1977-1983.Contents includeNomination forms (group and personal);Associated correspondence.Information in the series includes; details of the employer and the reason for nomination, personal details of nominees, proposed employment arrangements for nominees, dates of arrival, and so forth.Some nominations in this series were first activated under the group nomination system (refer VPRS 5976).