Australian jobs and Australian values override and cancel the 457 Visa
The government has announced that it will abolish 457 visas for skilled foreign workers and replace them with a new visa program.
Anyone now in Australia on a 457 visa will not be affected by the new arrangements.
Temporary work visas, otherwise known as 457 visas, allowed skilled workers to come to Australia and be sponsored by an approved business for up to four years if the business could not find an Australian citizen or permanent resident to do the job.
The program will be replaced by two new visas; a two-year skilled work visa which will require previous work experience and a four-year visa which will require a high level of English proficiency and a criminal history check.
Mr Turnbull said: “Australian workers must have priority for Australian jobs” and “We will no longer allow 457 visas to be passports to jobs that could and should go to Australians.“
The list of occupations that qualify for the new replacement visas, 2 and 4 year options, will be reduced substantially from its current number of 650.
The new four-year visa program will be reduced to just 183 classifications requiring higher skilled workers.
Some of the new requirements will be Two years work experience for both visas, and mandatory labour market testing.
Cost of Replacement Visa for the 457
Applications fees of $1,150 for two-year visa and $2,400 for four-year visas will apply.
From March 2018, the 457 visa will be abolished and replaced with the TSS visa. The TSS visa will be comprised of a Short-Term stream of up to two years, and a Medium-Term stream of up to four years.
The Short-Term stream is designed for Australian businesses to fill skill gaps with foreign workers on a temporary basis, where a suitably skilled Australian worker cannot be sourced.
The Medium-Term stream will allow employers to source foreign workers to address shortages in a narrower range of high skill and critical need occupations, where a suitably skilled Australian worker cannot be sourced.
The Short-Term stream will include the following criteria:
Renewal: Capacity for visa renewal onshore once only.
Occupations:
For non-regional Australia, the STSOL will apply.
For regional Australia, the STSOL will apply, with additional occupations available to support regional employers.
English language requirements: A requirement of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) (or equivalent test) score of 5, with a minimum of 4.5 in each test component.
Tuesday, 18 April 2017 – Media Release
Joint media release with the Hon. Malcolm Turnbull MP, Prime Minister – Putting Australian workers first
The Turnbull Government will safeguard Australian jobs by abolishing the Subclass 457 Visa for foreign workers and creating a new temporary visa restricted to critical skills shortages.
This will ensure Australian workers are given the absolute first priority for jobs, while businesses will be able to temporarily access the critical skills they need to grow if skilled Australians workers are not available.
The Subclass 457 Visa will be abolished and replaced with the Temporary Skill Shortage Visa. The new visa will include mandatory criminal checks and tighter English language requirements.
The new Temporary Skill Shortage Visa programme will comprise two streams – Short Term and Medium Term – and will be underpinned by more focused occupation lists that are responsive to genuine skill needs and regional variations across Australia.
Short term visas will be issued for two years, while medium term visas will be issued only for more critical skills shortages and for up to four years.
Both streams will include mandatory labour market testing with limited exemptions; a new non-discriminatory workforce test; mandatory criminal history checks; a market salary rate assessment and a new two-year work experience requirement.
Additionally there will be tightened English language requirements for the Medium Term Stream.
The new visa will also include a strengthened training obligation for employers sponsoring foreign skilled workers to provide enhanced training outcomes for Australians in high-need industries and occupations.
These changes will give Australian job seekers more opportunity to find work while finding the right balance so businesses can prosper by acquiring the expertise they need.
Migration is an integral part of the Australian story and its success has helped us become the world’s most successful multicultural nation.
There is no doubt foreign workers have played a significant role in the remarkable economic growth of the nation.
More than 100,000 workers from 30 countries helped build the Snowy Hydro Scheme while John Howard’s decision to focus our permanent migration programme on bringing in skills has helped the nation enjoy more than two decades of continued economic growth.
This will continue but not at the expense of Australians finding work. Unlike Labor, the Turnbull government will always put Australian workers first.
Bill Shorten sold out Australian workers by allowing a record number of foreign workers into the country, many not filling critical skill shortages.
More than 110,000 foreign workers entered the country in 2013 under the then Labor government. Some were allowed to work in the fast food sector at the expense of young Australians who were looking for work.
That will not happen under this government. We are making it easier for Australians to find work and we have restored order to our borders so we can ensure foreign workers have an opportunity to arrive through the appropriate channels.
Implementation of the new visa will begin immediately, with full implementation to be completed by March 2018.
Full details on the new visa and an explanation of transitionary arrangements for current 457 visa holders and applicants is available on the Department’s website at http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Work/457-abolition-replacement
The Government will announce further measures to strengthen the integrity of Australia’s migration programme and visa systems in the near future.
URL: http://www.minister.border.gov.au/peterdutton/2017/Pages/putting-australian-workers-first.aspx
Last update: Tuesday, 18 April 2017