Labour agreement timeframes getting faster

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Created on Monday, 15 October 2012 16:11

Written by Editorial staff

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship has noted that timeframes are getting faster when it comes to the approval process for labour agreements, which are growing increasingly popular.

The turnaround time for labour agreements is currently sitting at approximately six months - a massive turnaround from the 11-month average negotiation process recorded two years ago.

According to a recent post on the DIAC's Migration Blog, even quicker processing times could now be on the horizon thanks to a newly-introduced information pack, which can help organisations and migration agents preparing labour agreement applications get through the process more easily.

The pack is intended to help applicants prepare more relevant and appropriate submissions to the DIAC, and includes a number of important resources, such as templates, to assist in this process.

" This additional resource for employers should lead to better quality submissions and supporting information, which will mean it is easier and faster for us to assess," wrote DIAC blogger Brooke on October 3.

In the 12 months between September 1, 2011 and September 1, 2012, 103 formal requests were made to the DIAC for labour agreements - 75 of which were approved. A further 14 were withdrawn, and a total of five were declined.

But the popularity of labour agreements has resulted in a "significant backlog" of work at the DIAC, the blog revealed, which means that the timeframe between a submission being made and its assignment to a case manager is between six and eight weeks.

Labour agreements are flexible immigration solutions that allow employers to hire specialist workers from overseas who may not be eligible for other migration visas to come to Australia - such as semi-skilled labourers.

These can be complicated, as they represent a negotiated contract between the employer and DIAC, and usually involve work being carried out in niche occupations and remote areas.

Migration agents are an important resource for businesses interested in negotiating a labour agreement, as a number of specific requirements need to be met - and supported by evidence - before this type of agreement can go ahead.

The DIAC's latest labour agreement information packs cover standard, on-hire and meat industry labour agreements, each of which are available as PDF and Word documents and can be found on the DIAC's Migration Blog.