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Miners welcome ‘sound and considered’ 457 changes

THE resource industry has welcomed announced amendments to Australia’s 457 visa program that take a ‘sound and considered approach’ to improving its accessibility and operation, including the adoption of several of the key recommendations advocated by national employer group AREEA.

Assistant Minister for Immigration & Border Protection, Michaelia Cash, on 18 March 2015 announced the government would adopt the bulk of recommendations made by the 457 visa integrity review panel, which received 189 submissions from businesses, unions, industry bodies and academics.

The changes, which will be made via a combination of legislation and regulations, some of which will take place almost immediately, are set to deliver a more streamlined process for employers to access overseas skills where genuine shortages exist in the domestic labour market, while at the same time taking a tougher stance against exploitation and abuse.

“We will reduce the regulatory burden for those businesses with a proven track record by streamlining sponsorship requirements,” Assistant Minister Cash said.

“The government will ensure businesses that utilise the 457 program appropriately will incur less regulation and cost, without compromising on the necessary safeguards that underpin the scheme.”

The amendments will strengthen efforts to identify and prosecute the minority which misuses the system.

“The government will also introduce a new penalty making it unlawful for sponsors to receive payment in return for sponsoring a worker for a 457 visa,” Assistant Minister Cash said.

“The Department of Immigration and Border Protection will work collaboratively with the Australian Taxation Office to cross check records to ensure that workers on 457 visas are receiving their nominated salary and are not undercutting Australian workers.”

As a key submitting party to the review, AREEA welcomed the changes as encouraging for the mining, oil and gas sectors.

“Skilled migrants comprise a very small, yet very important part of the resource industry, and during the recent period of increased resources investment and construction, 457 visa holders brought new global skills to Australia which assisted our industry in meeting unprecedented skills demands,” AREEA executive director Scott Barklamb said.

“Despite shrill and overstated claims by some unions and the former ALP government, the 457 Visa Review Panel found no evidence to suggest unlawful or exploitative misuse of Australia’s skilled migration programmes beyond a tiny minority.

“AREEA’s long-held position is that identifying and prosecuting this small minority is a far more responsible, mature and effective approach than shifting the goal posts for everyone.

“We welcome the government’s intention to punish those found to be doing the wrong thing, while recognising the majority of employers who use temporary skilled migration programs responsibly.”

On the specific changes announced, Mr Barklamb said:

  • Streamlined processing for 457 visas and labour agreements:“AREEA welcomes the government providing reliable and proven responsible users of the 457 programme with more flexibility, less red tape and reduced costs.
  • English language testing:“The government’s minor changes to how English language competencies are tested provides a more realistic and practical test than the current system.”
  • Market salary threshold:“Lowering the market salary comparison threshold from $250k to $180k reflects AREEA’s advice that this should be viewed as a safeguard for lower income jobs only.” For those earning above the threshold of $180k, their employer sponsors will not have to perform an exhaustive comparison with an Australian worker.

While supporting the vast majority of amendments proposed to the 457 visa program, Mr Barklamb voiced concern that labour market testing laws introduced under the former Labor government were to be retained, and that the proposed new training levy would punish those already significantly contributing to training.

“AREEA is disappointed that the government is not adopting the review panel’s recommendation to remove the ALP’s labour market testing provisions, which create additional paperwork with no practical benefit or justification,” he said.

“AREEA also has concerns with the government’s adoption of the Review Panel’s proposed new ‘per visa holder levy’. This would replace the existing requirement for employers who use 457 visas to spend at least 1% or 2% of annual payroll on training Australians,” he said.

“The current system works well in balancing 457 visa use with appropriate training for local workers. A ‘per visa’ levy rather than an annual contribution risks penalising those employers who invest heavily in training and apprenticeship programs as part of their regular business model and will no longer be able to offset existing training expenditure.”

With the government stating it is open to consultation on the training changes, Mr Barklamb assured resource employers that AREEA will be ‘front and centre’ in representing their views during further discussions.

To read AREEA’s May 2014 submission to the 457 visa integrity review, click here.

For further migration policy updates, please contact AREEA’s senior workplace policy adviser at [email protected].

For specific migration advice, please contact AREEA’s manager of migration services, Jules Pedrosa at [email protected].

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