The replacement of the 457 Visa scheme with the Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) Subclass 482 Visa and broader changes in Australia’s migration arrangements have presented key challenges for Human Resource teams striving to attract and retain top overseas talent. The process to sponsor visa holders has become more complex, restrictive and costly with new labour market testing requirements, increasingly limited skilled occupation lists and additional costs associated with the Skilling Australians Fund.
Organisations must now reimagine:
- How to engage overseas skilled workers under Australia’s new migration framework without the certainty of a permanent stay
- How to attract top overseas talent while competing with global organisations operating under migration legislation in Canada, New Zealand and the UK
- How to evolve to support future labour needs for skills and experience not easily found locally
On 28 November 2018 at the HR Leadership Forum at Crown Towers, Perth, Interstaff’s Managing Director and Corporate Migration Specialist Sheila Woods, shared insights on the fundamental shifts in Australia’s migration landscape and the ways in which organisations should re-evaluate their workforce planning in consideration of Australian and global migration trends.
Slides from Sheila’s upcoming presentation are available here to the right. You can email them to yourself using the link in these slides or download them from Slideshare. You may also wish to read our presentation summary, which provides greater context to our slides.
In addition, to assist Human Resource teams with managing changes associated with the introduction of the TSS Subclass 482 Visa and remaining compliant with new migration legislation, we have developed several visa tools which you may find helpful below. If you have any questions on how the changes impact your business, please contact the Interstaff team on 08 9221 3388 or visas@interstaff.com
The TSS Visa Program
Since the Government announced the replacement of the 457 Visa with the TSS Visa on 18 April 2017, there have been several changes for both businesses and skilled visa holders. Here’s our summary of the changes.
TSS Visa Tool – Managing Impacts on Timing
In contrast to 2014/15 when Government processing for a 457 visa took a few weeks, current processing times for a TSS Visa have extended to 2 to 3 months. Under the new TSS Visa program, it is now mandatory to obtain police certificates and undertake more rigorous Labour Market Testing requirements, which can cause delays in the process. Here are our recommendations on how you can accelerate the process.
TSS Visa Tool – Mandatory Character Requirements
Under the TSS Visa program, it has now become mandatory to present evidence to meet strict character requirements in order to be granted a work visa. It is important that employers and their employees understand what is required and how character is assessed under the new program. Any past or current convictions may be likely to cause delays and could result in a visa refusal.
TSS Visa Tool | Permanent Residence Pathways
If your business sponsors skilled visa holders, it’s important to understand how recent changes impact your employees’ pathways to permanent residence. The TSS Visa program only provides a permanent residence pathway to those with an occupation on the Medium Term List and this depends on whether the person’s occupation remains on the list after 3 years with the same sponsor. Read why General Skilled Migration and the Subclass 186/187 Direct Entry Streams should be considered as permanent residence pathways for your employees to assist your business to more easily attract and retain global talent.
TSS Visa Tool – Sponsorship options
Standard Business Sponsorship provides your business a five year period in which it can sponsor skilled Subclass 482 visa holders as required. Eligible businesses may wish to apply for priority visa processing and other benefits by upgrading their Standard Business Sponsorship to Accredited status. Here’s our guide on what employers need to consider.
TSS Visa Tool | Standard Business Sponsorship and Accredited Sponsorship
General Skilled Migration as a Permanent Residence Option
The General Skilled Migration program may provide your employees a more certain permanent residence option without the risk of their occupation being removed from the Skilled Occupation List after waiting 4 years on a TSS Visa. Under the program, the Department of Home Affairs issues invitations to apply based on the number of points a person can accumulate for their age, skills, qualifications, experience and English skills. Read our insights to understand how invitation round trends could impact your employees’ ability to make an application.
Business and Work Visa Options
If you have a need to engage overseas visa holders for temporary or project requirements, there are several work visa options that may be available to your business in addition to the TSS Visa. Read our guide on some of the most commonly used temporary work visas.
Sponsorship Obligations
When sponsoring overseas visa holders, employers have mandatory obligations to notify the Department of Home Affairs of changes to their sponsorship details. Find out when you are required to notify the Department of changes in your business if you engage visa holders through Standard Business Sponsorship (SBS).
Interstaff | Business Migration
Since 1988, business migration has continued to be our niche and expertise. For 30 years, we’ve been helping businesses successfully engage skilled overseas workers for state and nation-wide projects. Our depth of experience enables us to assist your business and visa applicants with any complex migration issues that may arise.
You may also be interested in viewing our slides from Interstaff’s previous seminar, ‘Transitioning to the TSS Visa Program | Strategies for HR and Business Owners’ in May 2018. These slides provide more context on the nature of the skilled migration changes and the impact they have had on Human Resource teams and business owners.
You will see we have suggested particular strategies which may assist you to manage the changes. The slides can be viewed to the right and you can also download them from Slideshare.