What are the 457 reforms that we can expect?
The TSS visa programme will be comprised of:
- a Short-Term stream of up to two years with no ability to apply for permanent residence, and
- a Medium-Term stream of up to four years with an ability to apply for permanent residence.
We have underlined the main changes to the new visa for your convenience.
Key reforms include:
- new occupation lists – available upon request. The list from 19 April will no longer be eligible to apply for a 457 visa at Attachment A
- a requirement for visa applicants to have at least two years’ work experience in their skilled occupation
- a minimum market salary rate
- mandatory labour market testing, unless an international obligation applies
- capacity for only one onshore visa renewal under the Short-Term stream o capacity for visa renewal onshore and a permanent residence pathway after three years under the Medium-Term stream
- a non-discriminatory workforce test to ensure employers are not actively discriminating against Australian workers
- strengthened requirement for employers to contribute to training Australian workers
- the Department of Immigration and Border Protection will collect Tax File Numbers and data will be matched with the Australian Tax Office’s records, and
- mandatory penal clearance certificates to be provided.
What are the ENS reforms that we can expect ?
Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) criteria is changing as well :
- Tightening eligibility requirements for employer sponsored permanent skilled visas, including but not limited to:
- New occupation list – available upon request. The list from 19 April will no longer be eligible to apply for a 186 visa at Attachment A
- tightened English language requirements
- a requirement for visa applicants to have at least three years’ work experience
- applicants must be under the maximum age requirement of 45 at the time of application
- the permanent residence eligibility period will be extended from two to three years
- strengthened requirement for employers to contribute to training Australian workers, and
- employers must pay the Australian market salary rate and meet the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (tsmit currently $53,900 pa).
- Concessions for regional Australia will continue to be available:
- Employers in regional Australia will continue to have access to occupations under the temporary and permanent visas, to reflect their skills needs.
- Existing permanent visa concessions for regional Australia, such as waiving the nomination fee and providing age exemptions for certain occupations, will be retained. Consideration will be given to expanding the occupations in regional Australia that are exempt from the age requirement.
The implementation of these reforms will begin immediately and will be completed in March 2018.
Establishment of a new training fund.
The Prime Minister further announced that “To help train Australians to fill skills gaps we’ll also establish a new training fund. I’ll have more to say about all this in coming days and weeks, but our reforms will have a simple focus: Australian jobs and Australian values.”
What does this mean for HR Managers ?
We have known for some time that the Government was going to do away with the current Training Benchmarks as they are seen to be cumbersome and not as transparent as it was intended so the establishment of a new training fund is of no surprise.
The abolition of the 457 program does not mean that the Government is doing away with temporary skilled visas. The 457 program has been a political football for all political parties for several years and has been the centre of several Parliamentary Enquiries as well as many changes over the last many years.
There will be a replacement visa program for the 457 visas with new criteria. We have not been advised yet of the specific details of this new criteria but as always, Inhouse Mobility will keep you up to date with how and what the 457 visa will be replaced with.