Editor's Blog

With the sc457 review underway, business groups have stepped up their campaign against increasing the income threshold of sc457 workers and have also made calls to abolish the ‘Labor-era labour market testing’ calling it a ‘needless and burdensome requirement’, according to a report in The Australian.

Australian Mines and Metals Associations (AMMA) has warned against increasing the income threshold for 457 skilled worker visas beyond inflation and argues that employers in regional areas should be able to hire skilled foreigners on salaries at a ¬discount to the threshold, so long as this was in line with Australian market rates for people in that -regional area.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (ACCI’s) employment, education and training director Jenny Lambert told The Australian that the threshold should stay at its current level, though there were good arguments for indexation to inflation. Ms Lambert however said that, for regional areas, there was an argument for a discount because of the difference in the metropolitan and regional labour markets.

The case-officer wasn’t impressed with the applicants written submissions and refused his visa application as Marketing Specialist, but Michael Saturnino’s flawless presentation at the Tribunal convinced the member he is a worthy marketing specialist, in deed.

Having to market himself as an "Advertising and Marketing Professional ANZSCO Group 2251", Michael Saturnino, laid out his circumstances candidly at a recent AATA hearing. He said he had not completed secondary school but had instead started to work and learnt his trade as a stonemason and after this he moved to a bigger role within his employer’s company in Italy, undertaking many tasks, only some of which involved marketing and promoting the company.

This lack of formal qualifications and his ‘varied experience’ had led the case-officer to refuse the visa application. Mr Saturnino had apparently provided differing descriptions of his previous employment in Italy. He however explained to the Member that the company for which he worked was a small company and did not specify staff roles in a narrow way because everyone was required to ‘do a bit of everything’.

Last year a record 580 people had their visas cancelled on character grounds, according to figures released by the department of immigration. The number of cancellations have been steadily rising because Immigration Minister Peter Dutton now has greater powers to cancel visas and has been using them to deport more non-citizens.

While there are various elements in the Minister’s section 501 broad cancellation powers, most decisions seem to be based on whether there is a cumulative term of imprisonment of 12 months. Therefore, all previous prison terms for different offenses are added together to determine if the visa should be cancelled.

Various cases have emerged in the media over the last year of non-citizens, who have families here and lived here most of the lives, being deported for a range of offenses including driving without a license and road rage. Under the new laws, the minister no longer looks at family ties or length of residency when making the cancellation decision.

The new Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462) arrangements between Australia and the Slovak Republic and Australia and Slovenia commenced on 1 January 2016. 

These arrangements allow up to 200 young adults from the Slovak Republic and up to 200 young adults from Slovenia each year to enjoy an extended holiday of up to 12 months in Australia, during which time they can undertake short term work and study.  The arrangements also offer reciprocal opportunities for an equivalent number of young Australians to visit the Slovak Republic or Slovenia each year.

Under the program young people aged between 18-30 years may apply to travel to each other’s countries for one year to undertake short-term work and study.

Currently, there is no tax payable on the first $18,200 working holiday visa makers earn. But from July 1 2016, such visa holders will have to pay tax on every dollar they earn. Farmers who say up to 50 per cent of their seasonal workforce is made up of such visa holders are planning a major lobby against this planned change.

Queensland's peak horticulture lobby groups. Growcom, the Queensland Farmers Federation and Cotton Australia are planning to launch an ‘intensive lobbying campaign’ to highlight the severe impact of the measures on the agricultural sector, which fears an exodus of seasonal farm labour.

"It's very simple. It will deter backpackers from coming and working on our farms," Growcom chief executive officer Pat Hannan recently told ABC Rural Radio.