Immigration set to fall sharply under federal government 457 visa crackdown: report

IMMIGRATION is set to fall sharply under the federal government’s crackdown on skilled visas, according to a new report.

IMMIGRATION is set to fall sharply under the federal government’s crackdown on skilled visas.

The Australian Population Research Institute’s Bob Birrell said the Coalition’s reforms after abolishing the controversial 457 visa were a “game-changer”.

Australia brings in about 200,000 migrants every year but Dr Birrell, in a detailed analysis of the changes, believed this would fall by tens of thousands due to much tougher rules on employers sponsoring foreign workers.

Employers from March would no longer be able to employ workers temporarily on 457 visas, and keep those employees longer on employer-sponsored visas for permanent residence.

Fewer skilled foreign workers are expected under the changes. Picture: iStock

This visa system was crucial for companies during the resources boom between 2003 and 2012 to fill skilled vacancies, especially in the mining industries.

Instead, tougher rules would apply to fewer occupations, and employers would face training levies and wage checks. Workers would go through new two or four-year contract streams.

The changes were criticised at the time as being window-dressing, but Dr Birrell said the reforms were tough and that the numbers of skilled migrants coming into Australia would fall dramatically. “The business community has had a free run for over a decade and they’ve been able to bring in or sponsor as many workers as they wanted,’’ he said.

“These new rules are going to change things. It will make it tougher and will give some disincentives.’’

Workers would need two years’ relevant experience which would significantly slow the intake, he said.

“The business community doesn’t realise that the number of migrants they can sponsor for permanent entry will shrink to about a third than the present level (of 48,250).’’

Dr Birrell said the package also contained symbolic political changes such as pushing up English language standards for entry and using company tax records to conduct salary checks on workers employed under the new scheme.

“The reset puts an axe to the two pillars of past immigration policy of encouraging employers to recruit as many skilled temporary foreign workers as they want and then facilitating their transition to permanent residence via ENS sponsorship,” he said.

The report, The Coalition’s 457 Visa Rest: Tougher Than You Think, will be released by the institute today.

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@JMasanauskas