Bill Shorten unveils visa measures including raising the minimum wage for skilled migrants

Australian companies would be forced to raise the minimum wage for skilled migrants under a Labor government to ensure foreign workers aren’t used as a cheap replacement for locals.

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Australian companies would be forced to raise the minimum wage for skilled migrants under a Labor government to ensure foreign workers aren’t used as a cheap replacement for locals.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will today unveil a suite of new measures under a 457-style visa crackdown on the exploitation of overseas workers to stop the local wages and conditions being undermined.

Mr Shorten will today announce that if Labor wins the May 18 poll, it will overhaul the skilled worker visa system so it is no longer cheaper to pay an overseas worker.

Central to the policy is lifting the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold to $65,000 with annual indexing – the lowest wage that a worker can be paid under a 457-style visa.

The threshold was frozen at $53,900 in July 2013 under the Rudd government and has remained at that level during the past two Coalition terms in office. Mr Shorten will also promise to close loopholes which allow employers to artificially inflate salaries in order to meet the threshold – such as providing substandard accommodation and inflated or excessive overtime hours.

Bill and Chloe Shorten during a visit to the Skyrail in Cairns, Queensland, this weekend. Picture: AAP / Kym Smith

The crackdown will also examine how best to close loopholes that allow some temporary visa workers to be paid less than awards or enterprise agreements.

“When businesses use overseas workers as a cheap replacement for local workers it contributes to wage stagnation,” Mr Shorten said. “This will ensure employers are not using overseas workers as a cheap replacement for local workers, protecting Australian wages from being undercut.” Labor also pledged cheaper and easier access to visas for parents of migrant Australians if the party wins office.

Mr Shorten said the Long Stay Parent visas would remove the current 15,000-place cap on temporary parent visas and allow families to bring both sets of parents to Australia, instead of just one per household under current laws.

The cost will also be reduced, from $5000 for a three-year temporary sponsored parent visa to $1250, and from $10,000 for a five-year visa to $2500.