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457 scheme: review announced
Assistant Immigration Minister Michaelia Cash is set to announce an inquiry into the sc457 visa scheme, with a pledge to ensure the integrity of the program while scrapping any unnecessary red tape that holds business back, reports the Australian.
According to DIBP statistics, the number of 457 visa applications lodged in the year to December 31 fell 37.9 per cent to 23,420 compared to the previous year. Analysts put it largely to the previous government’s election tactics which tightened rules in order to appease union complaints about the scheme, which allows employers to bring in temporary workers from overseas.
The Australian however reports, “Employers will gain a new chance to scale back Labor's controversial limits on skilled worker visas when the Abbott government moves today to reignite a political row over the 457 visa program.”
The government is expected to name an expert panel to investigate competing claims that the 457 visa program is beset by rorts that punish workers and rules that hobble employers.
The report states that leading the review will be Australian National University professor Peter McDonald, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry policy director Jenny Lambert, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu partner John Azarias and immigration lawyer Katie Malyon. The terms of reference to be issued today highlight the importance of the program to employers that experience skill shortages and the potential of the workers to boost the economy.
The review will be asked to examine non-compliance by employers, the costs to employers, the sanctions on rorts and the scope for deregulation while maintaining the integrity in the scheme.
Senator Cash is expected to commit to "evidence-based productivity reform" as part of the announcement.
There were 90,780 workers in Australia under the scheme at the end of last year, up 8.3 per cent on the previous year.
Comments
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Tuesday, 25 February 2014Liana
Your office and Chris's have done significant contributions to the cause (i.e. immigration issues). I hope we MRAs appreciate your efforts.
I cannot agree with you more. The Opposition tend to look for ghosts behind the lockers in order to scare Australians, and pacify the unions! In my early days in Australia, I experienced first hand discrimination from the unions. I was union-barred because at the time I had a university degree - and in the words of the union, "I would disadvantage the union members if I was given a union card." While I support the union's endeavours to promote the welfare of the workers, at times they become self-serving. Dare we presume that the Department knows better what the employer needs ? Labour testing is not necessary as employers know what skills they require. As Robert says, the employers can tailor their needs to suit labour tests, so where is the advantage? -
Tuesday, 25 February 2014
Market testing has always been "shamful" in that the duties of the position and prerequisites that are required are always tailored to favour the nominated overseas worker. This is not to say that the position, the need for an employee or the employer's integrity is questionable but simply demonstrates that when rules are written in black and white with no common sense waiver provisions, you will always have circumstances where specifics are applied to satisfy those rules. Many businesses are now in the new "market testing profession" and offer formulated methodologies to ensure the criteria are met. This increases costs to employers and creates markets for opportunists to exploit not dissimilar to the people smuggling trade, and pink batts fiasco. Did/does the 4 month testing time frame for market testing apply now?
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Tuesday, 25 February 2014
Majority of companies are regulation-compliant, in my experience. However, the small minority who rort the system gives the 457 visa a bad name. Why would employers want to employ overseas employees if these skills are available locally. 457 sponsors have to face additional requirements , audits and costs to import workers. Most overseas workers work in areas isolated from the rest of the country (regional areas); exposed to continuous hard work usually in the heat of the sun. Most young Australians, union members or not, do not aspire for this type of work, no matter what incentives are offered. 457 visas are good for employers; it must be good also for the nation's wealth. Do not break something that works!
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Thursday, 05 June 2014
Considering the number of unemployed local accounting, IT, nursing graduates, and building workers, why are these still on the 457 import list? These should be removed from the list of jobs, along with many others. If there was enforced advertising of positions, then these jobs could easily be filled locally, though even then the "qualifications" are tailored to select the cheaper 457.
The answer is to reduce wages, as a 10 year experienced overseas worker is very happy to work at a new graduate rate, when the source country (e.g. Ireland/Europe) has already destroyed employment, or the wages are double (e.g. India).
And thats before the rorts (e.g. building workers paid one salary for 2, etc). -
Thursday, 05 June 2014
There is already a necessity to advertise positions- it's called market testing. Why does the above submitter believe that 457 workers are cheaper? TSMIT [search DIBP website] ensures this is not the case and so a lowering of wages will achieve nothing. Does the above writer have evidence of 1 salary paid for 2 for building workers as I have never heard of such a claim in any media source? Back it up with evidence unless you feel the right to propagate [previously unheard] rumours. The reason many overseas nurses are sponsored for 457 visas is that they will do the shifts that locals refuse to do.
Immigration blog
On the 18/11/2013 some of you may remember that I sent the following email to Brooke Thomas (Chief of Staff to Hon Senator Cash) and Michaelia Cash, as follows:
Dear Michaelia and Brooke
On 18th October 2013, Annabel Hepworth wrote in The Australian newspaper that the Coalition had vowed to remove "union red tape" on 457 visas as business steps up its demands for the turn-around of Labor's baseless stomping on the scheme designed to bring overseas skilled workers to Australia. Annabel Hepworth wrote:
In a closed-door speech yesterday, Australian Mines and Metals Association chief executive Steve Knott advocated the dumping of Labor's "pre-election, last-minute, politically driven, ill-considered, unnecessary and cumbersome" labour market testing requirements for 457 visas.
The testing requirements were introduced by the Rudd government amid claims of "widespread employer rorting" and require companies to demonstrate that they have tried for four months to recruit Australians before nominating a foreign worker for a 457 visa.
The Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Scott Morrison, said last night: "We strongly opposed these measures in opposition and will be consulting on how best to cut union red tape on 457s, while maintaining legitimate protections that support the integrity of the scheme".
Now Labour Market Testing for 457 visas is set to become mandatory from 23 November 2013.
Migration Agent members have asked that Migration Alliance makes contact with your office to request that the Minister revoke the decision to impose Labour Market Testing for 457 visas from 23 November 2013.
Migration Alliance sees the imposition of Labour Market Testing as a retrograde step, that it falls in line with the union-driven agenda, and makes obtaining 457 visas more difficult for Australian employers and employees. The processing times for 457 visas will be delayed and put employers off the process. Quality candidates will drop off and sek employment elsewhere. Australia is not the only country in the world which needs skills. Foreign skilled candidates are mobile and willing to go where the work takes them. That could be Canada, USA, the UK or Australia. Australia needs skills injected into the economy and the benefits that overseas skilled labour brings to the nation. Increased employment, hiring of support personnel etc. It simply doesn't make sense to increase the burden on achieving this.
Australia is supposed to be 'open for business'. Stifling the process by forcing Labour Market Testing, in our view, did not work in the past and will not work in the future. We view it as a paper-shuffling exercise only. There are always reasons why employers 'don't choose' a local candidate and prefer the overseas applicant.
Members of MA would like Scott Morrison MP to follow through on his statements on 'how to best cut union red tape on 457s'. Thank you for your time in reading this submission.
Please add this submission to the agenda as item number two for our meeting on Wednesday morning this week. Item one on the agenda is English Testing of currently registered RMAs from 1 Jan 2014.
Both Christopher Levingston and I will be seeing you at 9am on Wednesday morning this week, APH. Thank you for the opportunity to meet with you.
Best regards,
Liana J Allan
Treasurer
Migration Alliance