Editor's Blog

A senate committee report entitled, “National Disgrace: The Exploitation of Temporary Work Visa Holders” has effectively recommended an overhaul of the sc457 visa programme proposing some 33 changes.

During the senate hearings, senators were repeatedly told labour hire companies used the threat of deportation to deter exploited workers from complaining about their pay or conditions, according to a report on the ABC.

Several recommendations seek to address this, including ensuring those who approach the Department of Immigration with complaints are dealt with in a 'victim-centric' manner and given a safe space to voice their complaints.

The other changes recommended by the senate committee include the following:

• The Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) be indexed to average fulltime weekly ordinary time earnings (AWOTE) as at 1 July 2015 and that indexation occur each financial year. Currently the AWOTE is about $1500 per week or $78,000 per year and increased about 1.6 per cent over the previous year, according to the ABS statistics.
• The current exemptions on labour market testing for ANZSCO skill levels 1 and 2 be removed and that labour market testing applies to all positions nominated by approved sponsors under labour agreements and Designated Area Migration Agreements.
• Current training benchmarks be replaced with a training levy paid per 457 visa holder employed in the business. The committee recommends that the levy be set at up to $4000 per 457 visa worker.
• A number of the committee's recommendations centre on reforming the 457 visa by ensuring local workers are given the same or more weight in job applications.
• Make employers hire an Australian graduate for each professional 457 worker they sponsor, and require employers sponsoring a trades person on a 457 to demonstrate a quarter of their workforce is Australian.

The report also recommended the overhaul of the Ministerial Advisory Council on Skilled Migration (MACSM), making it more independent and better funded to provide "objective evidence-based advice to government on matters pertaining to skills shortages, training needs, workforce capacity and planning, and labour migration (including Designated Area Migration Agreements and the full range of temporary visa programs with associated work rights)."

Follow this link for the full report: http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Education_and_Employment/temporary_work_visa/Report