Alternatives being sought by government after plans for new Australian work visa dropped

The federal government of Australia has gotten rid of plans to allow Australian businesses to recruit workers from overseas for a period of up to twelve months without the need to get a subclass 457 visa. The decision comes as the government thinks of new ideas for the skilled migration visas to be overhauled so that the competitiveness in the country’s global talent market can be given the much needed boost it deserves.

The reforms from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection are now aimed at what it describes as a new and simplified system which provides more relaxed visa requirements, so that the process of applying for a visa is improved, therefore reducing the overlap of visa pathways.

The Short-Term Mobility Visa

A controversial proposal that is called as the short-term mobility visa that was given as a suggestion by Australian’s Immigration Department back in December of 2014, is understood to finally now be ‘off the table.’ Several unions have shown their disapproval to the said visa, saying that workers will no longer be protected, as employers will be given freedom to get around some requirements such as labour market testing and English language proficiency.

The short-term mobility visa was welcomed by business groups as a way to avoid delays and difficulties in successfully getting visas. The officials from the immigration department have turned their attention to making reforms and making the process of obtaining a visa much more simple for applicants and their sponsors.

”The Immigration Department has done a ‘significant’ amount of consultation on developing options to reform the skilled visa system to ensure that it is best placed to support Australia’s economic future,” said the minister of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, Mr Peter Dutton.

”The government understands that the current skilled migration and temporary activity visa programs are difficult to navigate,” Mr Dutton continued on to say. ”We are committed to smarter regulation in this area, improving integrity in our visa programs and increasing the contribution of skilled migration to Australia’s productivity and economy.”

The Productivity Commission Inquiry into Immigration

During an inquiry of the Productivity Commission into migration, the Commission was informed by the Immigration Department that it was in the middle of working on ways to give the skilled migration and the temporary activity visas an overhaul. These overhauls are ‘expected to improve the competitiveness and the ability of Australia to attract migrants who are highly skilled.’

The proposed new structure of the immigration department is going to include entrepreneurs having a much easier access to visas. This keeps with the promise the Prime Minister of Australia, Mr Malcolm Turnbul, of an ‘innovation boom’ through a AU$ 1 billion blueprint that is especially made to attract highly skilled workers to make the move and immigrate to the country.

”Collectively, these reforms will increase the attractiveness of each visa within the framework, which will in turn enhance Australia’s ability to attract highly-skilled migrants,” said the Immigration Department in a written statement addressed to the Productivity Commission.

Implementation of Immigration Reforms to Happen in July of 2016

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection is expecting for the implementation of the reforms to be done in July of this year. It will be done in 3 stages. The review originally started in September of 2014. This included a proposal to give permission to businesses in Australia to hire specialist foreign workers and allow them to work in the country for a period of up to 12 months, without them needing to apply for a 457 visa. ”No final decisions have been made concerning the visa structure and the settings that would be rolled out,” said the minister of the Department of Immigration.

The immigration system of Australia is progressive and is aimed at lowering down its problems regarding skills shortages. The 457 work visa, a type of temporary work visa, gives permission for overseas workers to be sponsored by both Australian employers and overseas employers. They have the option to sponsor a skilled worker under the subclass 457 visa for any period of time with a maximum of 4 years. As such, the members of the family of the sponsored skilled worker can also be brought into the country and also given permission to work as well as study while they are in the country.

Source: www.workpermit.com