Free Call (Within Australia) 1800 449 858
[email protected]
Interstaff MigrationInterstaff MigrationInterstaff MigrationInterstaff Migration
Menu
  • Home
  • About
      • About Us
      • Why Interstaff?
      • Company History
      • Staff Profiles
      • Visa Agents
      • Immigration Agents
      • Visa Refusals and Appeals
    • Close
  • Businesses
      • Sponsorship
      • Temporary Work Visas
      • Permanent Work Visas
      • Complex Migration Issues
      • DAMA – Designated Area Migration Agreements
      • Supported Industry Sectors
    • Close
  • Individuals
      • Visa Extensions
      • Skilled Work Visas
      • Working Holiday Visas
      • Family & Partner Visas
      • Student Visas
      • Visitor Visas
      • Medical Treatment Visas
      • Complex Migration Issues
      • Visa Refusals and Appeals
      • Case Studies
    • Close
  • News and Info
      • Immigration News
      • Case Studies
      • Why Use a Migration Agent?
      • Visa Extensions
      • Australian Migration Services
    • Close
  • Contact Us
NextPrevious
new government new migration legislation Australia Interstaff

Skilled Migration Under a New Government

Uncategorized | 1 August, 2022 |

The Albanese Government has yet to reach 90 days in office and skilled migration and skills shortages have already emerged as key policy priorities. 

With Australia’s unemployment rate at historically low levels and a recent OECD report identifying Australia as having the second-worst labour shortage amongst developed nations, employers and other groups are calling upon the government to increase skilled migration numbers.

 

Why is migration a government priority?

 

Australia has a history of administering large migration programs. With one in three workers in Australia born overseas and one in five holding a temporary or permanent visa, the economy relies upon it. Skilled migrants have been found to have high workforce participation rates and stimulate economic growth.

While it is not possible to say with certainty how the Albanese government will adapt Australia’s migration program to meet the country’s skills and economic needs, it has confirmed migration will be a key topic at its Skills Summit in September 2022.

 

Skilled Migration Skills Summit topics - Interstaff

 

There are two pivotal changes that could be considered to improve Australia’s migration settings: amending the Subclass 482 streams and changing Labour Market Testing requirements.

 

Temporary Skills Shortage Visa | Removing the ‘Guest Worker’ Stream

 

When the Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) visa was introduced in 2018, its Short Term stream effectively created a ‘guest worker’ visa that removed the pathway to permanent residence. The Short Term stream allows for an initial two-year Subclass 482 visa with the possibility of one two-year extension onshore.

The bifurcated structure of the TSS visa is significantly different from its predecessor (the Subclass 457 visa) and it has resulted in two types of temporary visa holders: those who could access permanent residence and those who could not.  Short Term 482 visa holders were expected to return home at the end of their stay.

In late 2019, the introduction of Subclass 494 Regional Provisional visa went some way to ameliorating this situation by providing a permanent residence pathway for Short-Term 482 visa holders working in regional Australia. However, the administrative burden of applying (including a mandatory skills assessment) and the restriction of positions to regional Australia mean that the utility of this visa to assist in resolving Australia’s current labour shortage is limited.

Labour governments have historically favoured permanent residence pathways for skilled migrants and Prime Minister Albanese recently indicated that his government would consider permanent forms of migration alongside temporary migration:

“One of the things that we can consider, that I’ve spoken about, is — how is [it] that for some particular professions, that have been short of supply for such a long period of time, we continue to rely on temporary migration rather than more permanent forms?”

It will be interesting to see how the government tackles the structural problem created by the TSS program given Australia’s post-COVID-19 need for skills in a competitive global environment.

 

Labour Market Testing and Low Unemployment

 

Labour Market Testing (LMT) is the requirement to advertise jobs locally before offering a position to an international candidate. LMT applies to most skilled visas including the TSS, DAMA, and Labour Agreement programs.

In general, for Subclass 482 Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) visa, advertising on at least three national platforms, for a period of 4 weeks each is required. This includes mandatory advertising on the Commonwealth government’s Workforce Australia website (formerly Job Active) which is not regularly used by employers in Australia.

The result is that businesses that have already advertised extensively within Australia (for example on Seek, Indeed, or specialist industry platforms) must repeat a further four weeks of Workforce Australia advertising before a job can be offered to an international candidate.

Questions have been raised about the need for extensive LMT at a time of record low unemployment rates, especially in critical industries such as health, information technology, and engineering services. It is likely that the LMT requirements will be modified to reflect the labour market situation and to be better focused.

 

Interstaff | Migration Agents Australia

 

Interstaff is an Australian-owned and operated business providing strategic migration advice to businesses and individuals Australia-wide and internationally since 1988.

Should you need professional advice on your Visa or Migration requirements, we encourage you to call Interstaff’s Migration Agents on 08 9221 3388 (Perth) or 02 7200 2567 (Sydney) or 03 8319 0902 (Melbourne) or +61 8 9221 3388 (International).

You may also wish to connect with us on Facebook and LinkedIn or get in touch with us here.

 

Sources:

Interstaff’s Registered Migration Agents

SBS

Grattan Institute

ABC

ABS

National Skills Commission

No tags.

Related Post

  • Interstaff workers within the migration agency HQ in perth

    Support for women seeking to migrate

    Today women around the world are celebrating International Women’s Day. It’s a day where the world recognises improvements in women’s rights, while also acknowledging that unfortunately in many parts of the world, there are still many women experiencing violence or inequality. The Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection recognises… Read More »

  • 2016 Migration Professional Seminar poster countdown

    See Us at the Skilled Migrant Professionals Seminar

    Interstaff International are proud to be Perth’s official migration agency sponsoring the Skilled Migrant Professionals Seminar held at Kim Beazley Theatre, Murdoch University on Friday 18 March from 5pm to 8.30pm. The Skilled Migrant Professionals Seminar is designed to provide networking opportunities between skilled migrants and employers, recruitment agencies, career… Read More »

  • Celebrating Australia’s Irish Past

    Did you know up to one third of Australians are of Irish heritage? Irish settlement played a formative part in Australia’s social, political and cultural background. At Interstaff, several of our team members are of Irish descent, including our Managing Director, Sheila Woods and Registered Migration Agent, Elain Flynn. On… Read More »

  • Exploitation problem facing Australian immigration authorities

    Australia has a large number of undocumented workers – some estimates suggest that the number may exceed 100,000 people. Add to this the massive international student population and temporary work visa holders and you have a big problem. Sadly this leads to exploitation by unscrupulous employers. These sentiments were published… Read More »

  • IT Professionals in High Demand in Australia

    More than 85 percent of new jobs for information and computer technology (ICT) were occupied by international workers for the year 2015, according to a report made by the Australian Computer Society. It is stated in the report that hiring overseas workers is now made a top priority in order to… Read More »

  • Visa-free ‘migration bloc’ supported by most Australia, Canada, NZ, & UK citizens

    Nearly 4,000 individuals from these 4 Commonwealth countries — Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom – have taken part in a survey and the results show that most of them strongly agree to have a Union-style system (that is similar to Europe) which would enable free movement among… Read More »

  • Interstaff stall at the 2016 Skilled Migrants Professionals Seminar

    Networking is Key for Skilled Migrants

    Over 150 people attended the Skilled Migrants Professionals Seminar on Friday 18 March at Murdoch University to access valuable networking opportunities designed to help skilled migrants compete in the Australian job market. Interstaff Visa Coordinator, Allieu Sesay said, “Seminars like the Skilled Migrant Professionals Seminar are great because they provide… Read More »

  • Woman holding her mobile phone and coffee cup with Interstaff International logo

    Exclusive offer for our Facebook fans

    Interstaff International are offering 30% off their Initial Consultation Fee to its Facebook fans for a limited time only. Simply access our digital coupon and then follow the prompts to share our offer on Facebook in order to redeem 30% off your Initial Consultation Fee. We will then validate your coupon at… Read More »

NextPrevious

Get In Touch

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • Why Interstaff?
    • Company History
    • Staff Profiles
    • Visa Agents
    • Immigration Agents
    • Visa Refusals and Appeals
  • Businesses
    • Sponsorship
    • Temporary Work Visas
    • Permanent Work Visas
    • Complex Migration Issues
    • DAMA – Designated Area Migration Agreements
    • Supported Industry Sectors
  • Individuals
    • Visa Extensions
    • Skilled Work Visas
    • Working Holiday Visas
    • Family & Partner Visas
    • Student Visas
    • Visitor Visas
    • Medical Treatment Visas
    • Complex Migration Issues
    • Visa Refusals and Appeals
    • Case Studies
  • News and Info
    • Immigration News
    • Case Studies
    • Why Use a Migration Agent?
    • Visa Extensions
    • Australian Migration Services
  • Contact Us
Interstaff Migration

Free Call (within Australia): 1800 449 858
Email: [email protected]

Head Office: Level 1, 384 Rokeby Road, Subiaco W.A. 6008
Office Hours:
Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm (AWST).

Business Migration | Strategic Thinking.
© 2023 Interstaff.

Business Visas

  • Sponsorship
    • Standard Business Sponsorship
    • Labour Agreements
    • Training and Research Sponsor
    • Professional Development Sponsor
    • Entertainment Sponsor
    • Sponsorship Management Services
  • Temporary Work Visas
    • Employer Sponsored Work Visas
    • Short Stay Work Visas
    • Working Holiday Visas
  • Business Owner & Investor Visas
    • Business Owner Visa Stream
    • Investor Visa Stream
    • Significant Investor Visa Stream
    • Premium Investor Visa Stream
    • Permanent Residency As a Business Owner Or Investor
  • Complex Migration Issues
  • Permanent Work Visas
    • Employer Nomination Scheme
    • Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme
    • General Skilled Migration 
  • Supported Industry Sectors
    • Resources
    • Agriculture
    • Information Technology
    • Engineering & Construction
    • Trades
    • Health & Aged/Social Care
    • Restaurants & Hospitality
    • Education & Training
  • Business Migration FAQ's

Individual Visas

  • Skilled Work Visas
  • Working Holiday Visas
  • Family & Partner Visas
    • Partner Visas
    • Parent Visas
    • Child Visas
    • New Zealand Citizen Family Visa
    • Carer Visa Options
    • Remaining Relative Visa
  • Student Visas
  • Visitor Visas
  • Medical Treatment Visas
  • Complex Migration Issues
  • Individual Migration FAQ's
    • Boost Your IELTS Score
    • Settling In As A Skilled Migrant
    • Ask A Migration Agent 

Get in touch today

Contact Us

This content is not advice. It serves as a general overview of topics of interest. It is not exhaustive, and its accuracy is subject to change, therefore Interstaff is not responsible for the accuracy or timeliness of the information or any actions taken based on it. We recommend that you seek professional advice before making decisions or relying on the information provided – please enquire with our team of Registered Migration Agents for specialist advice so that your specific circumstances can be considered. 

Interstaff acknowledges that it is situated on Boorloo (Perth) - Whadjuk Noongar Country, and that Whadjuk Noongar people remain the spiritual and cultural custodians of their land, continuing to practise their values, languages, beliefs and knowledge. We pay our respects to Elders, past, present and emerging.

Copyright 2024 | Website & SEO by Start Digital