Push to change visa system to attract more skilled overseas workers to SA – and rebuild economy after COVID

SA wants drastic changes to Australia’s visa system to fill thousands of jobs post-COVID by attracting overseas workers here – instead of Sydney.

New incentives for skilled foreign workers to live in Adelaide instead of Sydney or Melbourne would be launched under a State Government proposal to overhaul Australia’s visa system to boost the economy after COVID-19.

Under the plan, skilled migrants would get quicker or easier pathways to permanent residency in Australia if they opted to live and work in regional areas or cities other than Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.

Fees and red tape would be slashed for businesses wanting to hire skilled migrants, and more occupations would be added to the list eligible for visas.

The State Government has also flagged it wants skilled migrants with provisional visas to be a priority group able to come to Australia without requiring a travel exemption when Australia begins a “transitional and targeted” opening of its international border.

In a written submission to the Federal Government’s inquiry into skilled migration, the Marshall Government has backed migration levels of “at least” 160,000 a year but calls for an overhaul of Australia’s visa system so it’s “fit for purpose to rebuild the nation’s post-pandemic economy and population”.

WSB Distributors manager Debra Wehrmann with diesel technicians Darius Aviles and Tatenda Katonda in Clare. Read her story below. Picture: The Advertiser / Morgan Sette

Innovation and Skills Minister David Pisoni said SA was working with the Commonwealth to plug skills gaps.

“Industries in regional SA have long faced challenges in attracting and retaining skilled workers, which has cost millions in lost production, and these difficulties have been exacerbated by the pandemic,” Mr Pisoni said. 

He said SA supported a review of the regional employer-sponsored visas “with the aim of reducing the barriers around eligibility, risks, costs, and timeframes, which currently limit the effectiveness of these visas in assisting regional employers to address skills needs”.

The state currently has a record 19,300 job vacancies but its 6.3 per cent unemployment rate is the highest in the nation. 

The State Government’s submission calls for review of “excessive” mandatory skills assessments, work experience and qualification requirements, which are barries to businesses finding skilled workers.

It says labour-market testing should only be required every six months, instead of four months, or every 12 months for regional areas with “persistent, long-term” skills shortages.

Fees for businesses should also only be paid when a visa is granted, instead of upfront, and should be lower for regional businesses. 

The State Government also warned “extremely lengthy” wait times for foreign workers to get national security clearances was a problem for the naval shipbuilding sector.

It also calls for Australia to investigate visa models like New Zealand’s Global Impact Visas to attract more entrepreneurs and start-ups. 

The Committee for Adelaide told the inquiry Australia’s visa program needed to offer incentives and “opportunities that are hard to overlook” to attract overseas talent, and should encourage skilled migrants to head to areas other than the big east coast cities.

It called for the government to consider different migration caps by region and to allow states like SA to negotiate for more skilled migrants, and states under pressure from population growth to limit their intake. 

“We are concerned about the lack of population growth in South Australia and that there are

businesses across the state which would like to grow but cannot find the people they need locally,” the committee said.

“This has become even more severe due to the global pandemic.”

The Federal Government launched its inquiry in February to identify changes to ensure Australia’s migration program was “internationally competitive in a post-COVID context”. 

‘Damn frustrating’: Help us find workers

WSB Distributors is one of the South Australian companies struggling to find workers in Australia or overseas under Australia’s current visa system. 

The family-owned agricultural and industrial machinery business is on track to open its fifth branch in SA but is crying out for staff.

Manager Debra Wehrmann said the company had tried to hire six experienced staff from Zimbabwe, including two living in New Zealand, but applications cost almost $4000 upfront, had taken months to process, and one was knocked back with no explanation.

She said the process and lack of feedback had been “so damn frustrating”.

WSB Distributors manager Debra Wehrmann with diesel technicians Darius Aviles and Tatenda Katonda in Clare. Picture: The Advertiser / Morgan Sette

It would cost more to appeal the rejected application, and the company was not guaranteed to get any money back, she said.

WSB Distributors, which has 10 apprentices working for the company, is advertising for more local workers but has only received a handful of applications compared with the 30 or so it used to receive for a single job.

SA’s Motor Trade Association has told the Federal Government’s inquiry that diesel mechanics, panel beaters, parts fitters and other jobs in the sector should not have been taken off the eligible occupations list for skilled migration during COVID-19 as the industry was struggling to find workers. 

“In circumstances where there is no one to do the work, industry believes that addressing skills shortages through skilled migration works in harmony with growing the local labour market, via apprenticeship,” the MTA’s submission says.