In a move to make Australia more attractive to the media and entertainment industry and encourage them to bring productions to Australia, the Government is looking to remove most of the red-tape around Temporary Work (Entertainment) visa (Subclass 420) which is the visa issued to performers, actors, entertainers and film crews.

The proposals virtually suggest that credible applicants should be able to just walk-in to Australia to do their work as it notes that currently, “the Subclass 420 Regulations are cumbersome and at times restrictive”.

Sharp cost increases are slated for these privileges by the discussion paper on the review which in summary is considering the following:

• Remove the Sponsorship and Nomination requirement;
• Remove the requirement for certification from the Arts Minister Requirements, which is the grant of the Arts Certificate;
• Remove the requirement by the sponsor to demonstrate that more Australians than foreigners would be employed in the project ie Net Employment Benefit (NEB);
• Remove the need for Union consultation;

Should these options be found to be excessive in the consultation process, then alternatives include the consideration of easing up on the current requirements instead of completely removing them. But how that will remove the administrative burden, is yet to be seen.

The sc400 is considered a low-risk visa with the discussion paper on the review stating “the existing regulatory requirement for sponsorship and nomination seems somewhat excessive for this low risk cohort who is seeking entry for such short periods of stay.”

Over half of these visas are granted to applicants from the United States of America and the United Kingdom. During the 2013-2014 financial year, more than 90 per cent of Subclass 420 visas holders stayed in Australia less than 12 weeks (over 80 per cent of these stayed less than 27 days).

The Subclass 420 review is being undertaken jointly by the Ministry for the Arts, Attorney-General’s Department and the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP).The Discussion Paper on Review of the Temporary Work (Entertainment) visa (Subclass 420) states that submissions need to be provided by 23 February 2015 to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance is opposing the changes on the basis that it may stifle the development of emerging local talent with a flood of skilled foreign talent.

"Any attempts to dismantle industry protections that have created an incredible pool of talent that includes the likes of Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Chris Hemsworth and Joel Edgerton will be fiercely resisted by MEAA and our members," the director of the MEAA's actors' equity section, Zoe Angus said in an interview with The Australian.