This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka , your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans  in Australia and beyond. මෙවර වසර ආරම්භයේදී දිගු කාලීන වාහන ආනයන තහනම ඉවත් කිරීමෙන් පසු ඇති වූ වාහන ආනයන වාර්තාමය වැඩිවීමෙන් අනතුරුව, ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ වාහන වෙළඳපල දැන් මන්දගාමී වී තිබේ. ශ්‍රී ලංකා වාහන ආනයනකරුවන්ගේ සංගමය (VIASL) අනුව, ආනයන තහනම ඉවත් වූ තත්පරයකින් පසු වාහන මිලදී ගැනීමට උද්‍යෝගශීලී වූ පළමු පිරිස දැන් අඩුවී ඇති අතර, එමගින් ඉල්ලුම ද පැහැදිලිව පහළ යාමක් දක්නට ලැබේ. විකුණුම් වැඩි කිරීමට, සමහර ආනයනකරුවන් ප්‍රවර්ධන යෝජනා සහ විශේෂ සංචාර සංවිධානය කරමින් නව ගනුදෙනුකරුවන් ආකර්ෂණය කිරීමට උත්සාහ දරති. කෙසේ වෙතත්, විකුණනට නොගත් වාහන 90 දිනකට පසු ආනයනකරුවන්ට 3% දඩ ගාස්තුවක් ගෙවීමට සිදුවන අතර, එම පිරිවැය මිලදී ගන්නා පාර්ශවයට මාරු කළ නොහැක. 2025 මුල් භාගයේදී ආනයන තහනම ඉවත් කළ දා සිට, ශ්‍රී ලංකාව වාහන ආනයනය සඳහා ඇමරිකානු ඩොලර් බිලියන 1 කට වඩා වියදම් කර ඇත. 2024 දෙසැම්බර් සිට 2025 ජුනි දක්වා කාලය තුළ, මෝටර් රථ 14,000 ක් ඇතුළුව, වාහන 50,000 කට ආසන්න ප්‍රමාණයක් රේගුව හරහා  මුදාහැරී බව නිල දත්ත පෙන්වා දෙයි. 2025 අගෝස්තු මාසයේදී පමණක්, ආනයන වටිනාකම ඇමරිකානු ඩොලර් මිලියන 249ක් වූ අතර, වසරේ පළමු මාස 8ක සමස්ත ආනයන වටිනාකම ඇමරිකානු ඩොලර් මිලියන 918ක් දක්වා ඉහළ ගොස් ඇත. විදේශ සංචිත ආරක්ෂා කිරීම අරමුණු කරගත් වසර ගණනාවක සීමාවන්ගෙන් පසු, වාහන ලියාපදිංචිය දැන් නැවතත් ඉහළ යමින් පවතී. 2025 සැප්තැම්බර් වන විට ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ සමස්ත වාහන සංඛ්‍යාව 86.7 ලක්ෂක් තෙක් ඉහළ ගොස් ඇත. More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. The University of Melbourne has retained its crown as Australia’s top university, climbing two spots to 37th in the world in the latest Times Higher Education rankings. The University of Sydney also impressed, jumping from 61st to 53rd globally. Rankings are based on factors like teaching quality, research strength, and international outlook. Melbourne earned a standout 99.8 score for industry impact, reflecting its strong ties with innovation and industry partnerships. Other notable Australian movers include: UTS (University of Technology Sydney): Up to 145th from 154th despite recent cost-cutting. Macquarie University: Up 12 places to 166th. University of Adelaide: Re-entered the list at 176th after being unranked last year. Meanwhile, University of Queensland and University of Western Australia both slipped slightly. Globally, Oxford University and MIT held the top two spots, while ETH Zurich remains the highest-ranked university outside the UK and US. Australia’s strong showing highlights its growing global reputation for education, research, and innovation. Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Victorians can look forward to free public transport every weekend this summer as the state celebrates the opening of the $15.5 billion Melbourne Metro Tunnel. From early December until February 1, all trains, trams, and buses across Victoria will be free on Saturdays and Sundays. Commuters won’t need to tap on or off their myki cards, and anyone who does by mistake won’t be charged. Premier Jacinta Allan called it the “biggest free transport event in Victoria’s history,” thanking residents for their patience during the long construction period. The free travel period, dubbed “Summer Start,” coincides with major events like the Boxing Day Test and Australian Open, making it easier for locals and tourists to explore the state. The Metro Tunnel, featuring five new underground stations, is set to officially open in early December after eight years of development. Allan said the project will cut congestion and slash travel times, marking a major step forward for Melbourne’s growing transport network. More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Gold is shining brighter than ever as global anxiety drives investors toward safe assets — and Australia is reaping the rewards. For the first time, gold prices have surged past US$4000 (A$6070) per ounce, jumping nearly 50% since January 2025. Experts predict gold will soon overtake gas as Australia’s second-largest resource export, bringing in about $60 billion this financial year, up from $47 billion last year. The boost comes as other major exports like liquefied natural gas (LNG) and iron ore face falling prices. LNG export earnings are expected to drop from $65 billion to $48 billion, while iron ore could fall by $3 billion this year and another $10 billion by 2027. Resources Minister Madeleine King said gold continues to “create wealth and jobs” for Australia, reinforcing its vital role in the nation’s economy. The rush toward gold reflects a world on edge — with trade tensions, a weakening US dollar, and global economic slowdowns driving demand for safe investments. Silver has also joined the rally, soaring 60% to around US$48 per ounce. Analysts say gold remains a popular “safe haven” in uncertain times, but they also warn that its price can be volatile. As the saying goes — not every glittering investment is risk-free. Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .

This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka , your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans  in Australia and beyond. The Australian Department of Home Affairs has quietly updated its student visa evidence levels, which determine how much documentation students must provide when applying for a visa. These internal updates, shared via the PRISMS system, are part of Australia’s Simplified Student Visa Framework (SSVF) — a risk-based model used to streamline genuine student applications while tightening checks on higher-risk cases. Updated Country Evidence Levels Based on current industry information: Level 1 (Low Risk):   Bangladesh, Sri Lanka Level 2 (Moderate Risk):   India, Bhutan, Vietnam, China, Nepal Level 3 (High Risk):   Fiji, Philippines, Pakistan How the System Works Each education provider and country is assigned a risk level (1–3). The combination determines how much evidence students must show — such as financial proof, English proficiency, or academic background. Level 1 + Level 1:  Fast, low-documentation process. Level 1 + Level 3 or Level 3 + Level 1:  Moderate checks. Level 3 + Level 3:  Most stringent assessment. Students from lower-risk countries like Sri Lanka now enjoy a smoother, faster visa process. Those from higher-risk regions may need to submit extra documents to prove their financial capacity and study intentions. This evidence-level system helps Australia maintain the integrity of its international education sector while ensuring genuine students can continue to access study opportunities with less red tape. More updates to come on AusNewsLanka .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Sri Lankan community informed with timely updates. 2025 ඔක්තෝබර් 15 සිට, ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට පැමිණෙන සියලු විදේශීය සංචාරකයින් තම විද්‍යුත් සංචාරක අවසරය (ETA) අත්සන් කිරීමට පෙර අන්තර්ජාලය ඔස්සේ අයදුම් කළ යුතුය. මේ අනුව, ගුවන් තොටුපළේ පැමිණීමේදී විද්‍යුත් සංචාරක අවසරය (ETA) ලබා ගැනීම තවදුරටත් හැකි නොවේ. ලොව පුරා ශ්‍රී ලංකා තානාපති කාර්යාල කිහිපයක් විසින් තහවුරු කරන ලද මෙම නව නීතිය - මේ වන විට ETA ගාස්තු නිවාරණය ලැබූ චීනය, ඉන්දියාව, රුසියාව, ඉන්දුනීසියාව, තායිලන්තය, මැලේසියාව සහ ජපානය වැනි රටවල්ද ඇතුළත් වේ. ETA යනු ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට සංචාරය කරන බොහෝ සංචාරකයින් සඳහා අවශ්‍ය කෙටිකාලීන අන්තර්ජාල වීසා එකකි. අයදුම් කළ යුතු වෙබ් අඩවිය:   eta.gov.lk ගාස්තුව:  ඩොලර් 50 (ද්විත්ව ප්‍රවේශය) වලංගු කාලය:  නිකුත් වූ දිනය සිට මාස 6ක් පැමිණීමේ කාලය:  දින 30ක් (දේශීයව දිගු කළ හැක) ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ETA ගාස්තු නිවාරණ වැඩසටහන ඔස්ට්‍රේලියාව, එක්සත් රාජධානිය, එක්සත් ජනපදය, කැනඩා, ප්‍රංශය සහ UAE ඇතුළු රටවල් 33ක් වෙත පුළුල් කිරීමට සැලසුම් කරයි. එහෙත් මෙම වැඩසටහන තවම ක්‍රියාත්මක කර නැත. සංචාරක ව්‍යාපාරය අඛණ්ඩව ශක්තිමත් ලෙස වර්ධනය වන අතර, 2025 දී දැනටමත් මිලියන 1.7 ක සංචාරකයින් සංඛ්‍යාවක් වාර්තා වී ඇති අතර ඉන්දියාව ප්‍රමුඛතම මූලාශ්‍ර වෙළඳපොළ ලෙස පවතී. වසර අවසන් වන විට වාර්තාගත සංචාරක පැමිණීම් අපේක්ෂා කරන බව නිලධාරීහු පවසති. Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Sri Lankans .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Extreme weather is hitting Australians hard. New research from the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) shows insurers are paying an average of $4.5 billion annually in claims — three times more than 30 years ago. This year alone, three major events caused nearly $2 billion in losses: North Queensland floods: $289 million Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred: $1.43 billion NSW Mid North Coast and Hunter floods: $248 million Rising costs are linked to population growth in flood-prone areas and infrastructure not designed for climate change. Australia now ranks among the highest in the world for economic losses per person due to extreme weather. The report also highlights a worrying social impact: of 242,000 homes at highest flood risk, 186,000 lack insurance. Most are owned by low-to-average income households, leaving the most vulnerable with little protection. ICA CEO Andrew Hall warns that without more investment in resilient infrastructure, Australians will continue to bear a growing financial burden from extreme weather. Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .

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Discover the true essence of Sri Lankan cooking — from flavour-packed rice and curry to sizzling kottu and hoppers made fresh daily. Our dishes are prepared with traditional spices and passion, bringing you a homestyle dining experience like no other. 📍 Address: 273A Huntingdale Road, Huntingdale, VIC 3166 📞 Phone: (03) 9543 8596

Experience the rich, traditional flavours of Sri Lanka right here in Hallam. From spicy curries to mouth-watering rice and kottu, every dish is prepared with authentic Sri Lankan spices and homestyle recipes. 📍 Address:  78 Spring Square, Hallam, VIC 3803 📞 Phone:  (03) 8795 7432 📧 Email:   maddumagechm@gmail.com 🌐 Facebook:   Ambula Sri Lankan Restaurant

This is a developing story brought to you by Aus News Lanka , your trusted source for news for Sri Lankans  in Australia and beyond. විදුලිබල හා බලශක්ති අමාත්‍ය කුමාර ජයකොඩි මහතා ගාල්ල හියාරේ ප්‍රදේශයේ මෙගාවොට් 5 ක සූර්ය බලාගාරයක් විවෘත කිරීම සිදු කළේය. මෙම ව්‍යාපෘතිය සංවර්ධනය කර ඇත්තේ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ප්‍රමුඛතම පුනර්ජනනීය බලශක්ති සමාගමක් වන පෑන් ඒෂියන් පවර් පීඑල්සී හි අනුබද්ධිත සමාගමක් වන පීඒපී ඊජීඑස්එස් සූර්ය පුද්ගලික සමාගම විසිනි. උත්සවයේදී කතා කළ අමාත්‍ය ජයකොඩි මහතා පැවසුවේ රට පුරා පුනර්ජනනීය බලශක්ති ව්‍යාපෘති බාධාවකින් තොරව අඛණ්ඩව පවත්වාගෙන යාමට රජය කැපවී සිටින බවයි. බලශක්ති ආරක්ෂාව සහ දිගුකාලීන තිරසාරභාවය සහතික කිරීම සඳහා විදුලිබල අංශය ප්‍රතිව්‍යුහගත කිරීමේ අවශ්‍යතාවය ද ඔහු අවධාරණය කළේය. සමාරම්භක උත්සවයට තිරසාර බලශක්ති අධිකාරියේ අධ්‍යක්ෂ ජනරාල් හර්ෂ වික්‍රමසිංහ, අක්මීමන ප්‍රාදේශීය සභා සභාපති සුගත් ආනන්ද සහ පෑන් ඒෂියන් පවර් පීඑල්සී සභාපති ලක්ෂ්මන් ද සිල්වා ඇතුළු සම්භාවනීය අමුත්තන් කිහිප දෙනෙකු සහභාගී වූහ. Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Sri Lankans .

At AusNewsLanka , we aim to keep the Australian community informed with timely updates. Australia has made several substantial changes to its skilled migration / temporary skilled worker visa program, especially changes effective from 1 July 2025, plus some updates later in the year. These changes are part of broader reforms under its Migration Strategy, aiming to align migration with labour market needs, ensure fair wages, and streamline visa pathways. What has changed New Visa: “Skills in Demand” (SID) replaces Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) / Subclass 482 As of 7 December 2024, the TSS visa (Subclass 482) was replaced by the Skills in Demand (SID) visa . The SID visa has multiple streams: Core Skills, Specialist Skills, and Labour Agreements. Reduced Work Experience Requirement For the SID visa, the required work experience has been lowered from two years full-time to one year (or equivalent part-time/casual), as long as it’s been obtained within the previous five years. Income / Salary Threshold Increases From 1 July 2025, several thresholds increased by ~4.6% in line with AWOTE (Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings). Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT) & Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT): new figure ~ AUD 76,515 (from AUD 73,150). Specialist Skills Income Threshold (SSIT): new minimum ~ AUD 141,210 (from AUD 135,000). Permanent Migration Program / Planning Levels Remain Steady The overall permanent migration intake for 2025-2026 is confirmed at 185,000 places, the same as the previous year. Within that, allocations for major skilled visa types (employer-sponsored, state-nominated, regional etc.) mostly stay similar. Visa Fee Increases & Other Changes Some visa application fees are increasing from 1 July 2025. Other procedural changes: more flexibility for visa holders in certain streams, adjustments in English language requirements (for some visa subclasses), etc. Northern Territory – DAMA Program Expanded The NT DAMA (Designated Area Migration Agreement) III program opened on 31 March 2025. It has an expanded occupation list, more nomination places, and streamlined processes until 2030. For example, in NT DAMA, nominations for overseas workers under Skills in Demand or Employer Sponsored Regional visas have increased (from 625 to 1,500 per year) and the occupation list has more occupations. English Language Test Adjustments As of 13 September 2025, English test requirements for the SID (Core Skills stream) have been relaxed in some components. PTE (Pearson Test of English) score requirements for Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking have new lower minima. More types of English tests are accepted (e.g. LanguageCert Academic, Michigan English Test (MET), CELPIP) for subclass 482/SID. What remains or what to watch out for Processing delays remain a concern. There are reports that SID/Core stream applications are not being processed as quickly as expected. The government had set targets (e.g., median processing times) but many applications are taking longer. Eligibility points and competition for permanent visas (like Skilled-Independent subclass 189, State-nominated subclass 190, Regional subclass 491) remain tight. Many occupations get minimum points, and invitations are limited. State nomination / regional visa quotas are still being managed, with some states closing nomination pathways temporarily or adjusting their criteria. Applicants should check state-by-state details. Implications for Applicants & Employers For Applicants: Make sure your salary offer meets the new thresholds (CSIT / SSIT / TSMIT), depending on stream. Offers below those new minimums will not qualify. If your work experience is under two years, the rules are more favorable now (down to one year for many streams). Ensure your documentation of part-time / casual / overseas work is strong. Choose the correct English tests, and make sure your scores meet the new (sometimes lower) requirements. Be mindful of state nomination requirements, regional quotas, and plan EOI (Expression of Interest) submissions ahead of invitation rounds. Watch processing times and factor in delays; apply early if possible. For Employers / Sponsors: Salary offers must comply with updated thresholds. If you are sponsoring someone, ensure you meet these benchmark incomes or exceed market salary (whichever is higher). Understand the SID visa’s streams, their requirements, and obligations. The employer role, nomination steps, Skilling Australia Fund (SAF) obligations etc. need compliance. For businesses in regions or under DAMA agreements (like Northern Territory), there may be more opportunities / flexibility. But also more competition. Monitor the changes in visa fees — these affect costs for both the sponsor and the visa applicant. The 2025 skilled migration updates in Australia reflect a tightening in income/salary thresholds, along with efforts to ensure the visa system continues to match labor market needs fairly. Replacing TSS with SID, reducing work-experience requirements, adjusting English test standards, and maintaining planning levels all show Government attempting to balance attracting skilled migrants with protecting local labour standards. If you're planning to apply (or sponsor someone), you’ll want to make sure your profile (salary, skills, work experience, English competency) is aligned with the new rules. The demand remains strong, but so does the competition. Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka  – the leading platform for news for Australians .