Australian Immigration Daily News

Australian Government is taking the initiative to strengthen the relationship with our Pacific Island neighbours.  An arrangement to commence on 1 July will extend eligibility criteria for subclass 403 visa (Temporary Work International Relations).

The Migration Amendment (Pacific Labour Scheme) Regulations 2018 (the Regulations) aims to implement initiatives promoting Australia’s international policy in relation to employment opportunities and pathways for Pacific Island Countries (PICs) by making changes to Subclass 403 Temporary Work (International Relations) visa (‘Subclass 403’) in order to:

• introduce a new Pacific Labour Scheme (PLS) stream;
• provide for applicants, subject to conditions, to be granted a multi-year, multi-entry visa in the Seasonal Workers Program (SWP) stream; and
• strengthen integrity measures in the PLS and SWP streams by introducing a new condition that allows the visa holder, under limited circumstances, to change their sponsor.

At present, Subclass 403 visa allows applicants to come to Australia on a temporary basis:

• in relation to a bilateral agreement (Government Agreement stream);
• to represent a foreign government or to teach a foreign language in an Australian school (Foreign Government Agency stream);
• to do domestic work for a diplomat (Domestic Worker stream);
• as a person with statutory privileges and immunities (Privileges and Immunities stream); or
• to participate in the program of seasonal work (Seasonal Worker Program stream)

To qualify for this visa, an applicant will need to meet various criteria depending on the chosen stream:

• be engaged under a relevant bilateral agreement (Government Agreement stream);
• represent a foreign government agency or be employed as a foreign language teacher by a foreign government (Foreign Government Agency stream);
• have privileges and immunities under a relevant act (Privileges and Immunities stream);
• be a domestic worker for a subclass 995 visa holder (Domestic Worker stream);
• be a resident of the Pacific Islands (Seasonal Worker Program stream);
• meet additional requirements of the relevant stream

To promote Australia’s relations with neighbouring pacific island countries, the amendments expand and support initiatives to increase labour mobility pathways within Subclass 403 by introduction of the PLS Stream in order to provide stream to provide a temporary visa pathway for participants in the scheme to work in Australia for up to three years and allow participants in the Seasonal Worker Program (‘Seasonal Workers’) stream and subject to conditions, to be granted a multi-year, multi-entry visa, for up to three years.                                                                                                                                        

As part of the new PLS stream, applicants will need to satisfy the following criteria:

• satisfy Public Interest Criterion (PIC) 4005.  This generally means that the applicant will be required to verify that they are free from tuberculosis, and are free from a disease or condition that is a threat/major cost to public health in Australia or a danger to the Australian community.  These requirements vary depending on the applicant’s country of residence and the type of work they will be performing in Australia; and
• demonstrate that they have adequate health insurance that provides an equivalent level of cover to Australia’s Medicare system.  One of the conditions related to the grant of the visa will be that workers maintain this health insurance for their period of stay in Australia.

It is expected that the countries eligible for the programme will be expanded to additional PICs based on need and impact.  The restriction of the PLS by country and age is a part of the Australian Government’s legitimate objective of improving the economic resilience of the Pacific region by increasing opportunities for labour mobility to satisfy unmet demand in our labour market, investing in skills, and helping countries to capture growth potential in sectors such as tourism. 

In order to lawfully enter and work in Australia, participating employees must apply for a Subclass 403 visa in the Pacific Labour stream and must specify in their application a sponsor who is or has an active application to be an approved temporary activities sponsor.  The applicant must satisfy the primary criteria in the Pacific Labour stream for the grant of the visa as introduced by these Regulations.

Once the visa is granted, workers will be subject to new Condition 8577.  The purpose of Condition 8577 is to permit the visa holder, upon receiving approval in writing from the Secretary of the Department, to change their approved temporary activities sponsor.  However, condition 8577 does replicate some of the requirements of condition 8107, specifically that the visa holder:

• must not cease to work for the sponsor in relation to whom the visa was granted; and
• is not permitted to work for any other person or to be self-employed during their stay in Australia.

Source: https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2018L00829