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Immigration Daily News New sc457 inquiry slammed as a waste of time and resources
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New sc457 inquiry slammed as a waste of time and resources
Labour and the Greens have initiated a broader Senate inquiry to investigate the use of temporary working visas and the reported abuse and exploitation of foreign workers, just days after the conclusion of a similar inquiry commissioned by the federal government, according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald.
The new inquiry follows just days after Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Michaelia Cash, announced that the government will take-up most of the recommendations of an enquiry concluded last month on the 457 visa program.
The new inquiry is expected to have broader terms of reference. ACTU president Ged Kearney said the inquiry would also look at whether employers are genuinely trying to hire Australian workers first. "Australia's migration program should not be at the beck and call of big business" he said.
Greens deputy leader and workplace relations spokesperson Adam Bandt said that "with rising unemployment and a mining investment boom coming off the boil, now is the time to ask whether the current working visa system strikes the right balance".
The Australian Industry Group said the new inquiry was "a waste of Senate time and resources
The chief executive of the Australian Industry Group, Innes Willox, last year's review has already thoroughly examined much of the ground to be covered in the proposed Senate inquiry.
"It found no evidence to back the claims made of widespread rorting of the program and made numerous suggestions for policy changes which have been adopted by the government and that address many of the areas of concern to the Senate," he said.
When she released the findings of the government-commissioned inquiry earlier this month, Ms Cash said the government would introduce a penalty making it unlawful for sponsors to receive a payment in return for their sponsorship of workers on 457 visas.
She said the Department of Immigration and Border Protection would also work with the Australian Taxation Office to ensure workers on 457 visas are receiving their nominated salary and are not undercutting Australian workers.
Ms Cash said on Tuesday the Senate inquiry was politically motivated by people who are "fundamentally opposed to the 457 skilled migration program".
"This was a comprehensive inquiry that consulted extensively across Australia, meeting over 140 stakeholders face-to-face and considering in excess of 189 written submissions, including from businesses, unions, industry bodies and academics.
Comments
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Thursday, 26 March 2015The ATO/DIBP connection is the deterrent tick for people to think twice, because often some irregular stuff may happen at the very beginning until everything corrects itself OR is legally corrected with a stick and a possible sancion...but of course it takes ages...
In any case, I am sick an tired of having the program, which is likely to be the most reviewed program that I can ever remember (but I could be wrong...pls advice) and it is a political football - on the other hand, small and medium sized businesses are a significant part of our economy but we focus on those large companies who are the target of unions and the like ad everyone goes down and drowns with it.
NO program is excempt from corruption, from non-commpliance (innocent or otherwise) but no-one is focussing on the benefits to all of those businesses who are doing the right thing, who are progressing and growing their business base, who are traiing australians, who are increasing their staff numbers and who are benefiting from the fact that we don't seem to have a static or growing (but rather shrinking) pool of people with the neceesary skills in the short term. Demonising 457 sponsors and their workers is really doing Australia a disservice, but it seems that in this volatile political climate anything goes, mostly the focus on the 'us (good) and them' (bad) mentality, the likes we haven't seen in Australia for a long while. I just want things to work as all of us have a stake in making it so. the alternative is a continuing tweeking of the program or programs which only serve to confuse and endanger the industry and Australia in the long term.
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"She said the Department of Immigration and Border Protection would also work with the Australian Taxation Office to ensure workers on 457 visas are receiving their nominated salary..."
This is virtually impossible in the case of workers who are actually in place (working in their employment) for 3 years or less. There are too many variables and lag times. The old fashioned visit to the premises by the department is the only effective manner in which 457 salaries can be checked. The departmental computer-to-computer approach suggested in the drafting stage of the legislation does not reveal anything soon enough for a short term employee's records to be uncovered as out of line with the regulations. The department is short of staff and it is unlikely that anything other than dobbing employers in will work with short-term employment contracts.