457 visa banned, replaced with temporary skills visas to increase employment in Australia
A SURPRISE crackdown on foreign workers will “ensure that Australian jobs are filled by Australians wherever possible”, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says.
A SURPRISE crackdown on foreign workers will “ensure that Australian jobs are filled by Australians wherever possible”, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says.
The Government will replace the existing 457 visas with two new temporary skills visas with tougher criteria. Mr Turnbull used the announcement to denounce Labor as the “Olympic champions” of 457s, with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten the “gold medal award winner”.
The Government had earlier pointed out that they had slashed the number of 457s that were handed out under the former Labor Government.
About 14,000 applications were lodged in the year to September last year, with just 280 of those in South Australia.
In SA, doctors — mainly destined for regional areas — receive the most approvals. The highest number of applications are from the UK, followed by India, while nationally the highest number are from India.
Both Labor and the Liberal Party had indicated a tightening of the system; however, Mr Turnbull’s announcement was unexpected.
He insisted that Australia was “truly an immigration nation”.
“But we must ensure that the foundation of that success is maintained and the foundation is that our migration system is seen to work in the national interest; it’s seen to deliver for Australia. It’s seen to ensure that Australian jobs are filled by Australians wherever possible,” he said.
“We’re bringing the 457 visa class to an end. It’s lost its credibility.”
Under the replacement system, there will be a Temporary Skills Shortage Visa with two streams, a two-year short-term stream and four-year medium-term stream.
The number of jobs applicable under both streams will be drastically cut, the vacancy must be market tested, applicants must have work experience and tougher English tests will apply. It will be harder to get permanent residency.
Migration agent jobs are on the list to be cut. Other positions include goat farmers, actors, geophysicists, magistrates and blacksmiths.
Businesses welcomed the move as restoring public confidence in a system plagued with accusations of rorting. The Business Council of Australia said businesses preferred to hire Australians wherever possible and that the Government should also look at incentives to encourage Australians to take regional jobs.
The National Rural Health Alliance warned that the Government needed to make sure people outside the cities were not left without care.
“I would urge the Government to be mindful of the need to ensure implementation does not impact negatively on the health needs of the seven million people living outside Australia’s major cities,” chief executive officer David Butt said.
Opposition immigration spokesman Shayne Neumann called the announcement “cheap talk”.
“This is about (Mr Turnbull) saving his own job and nothing else,” he said.
Senate crossbench powerbroker Nick Xenophon said the “devil was in the detail” and that governments would still have to tackle skills shortages, and should encourage business migrants to move to SA.