New visas boost for resources
IN March 2018, the replacement of the 457 Visa with the Temporary Skills Shortage ( TSS) Subclass 482 Visa marked a shift in Australia’s migration program.
Employers have had to respond and adapt to a more complex, restrictive and costly legislative framework to sponsor overseas workers.
This year, the Government formalised further restrictions to Australia’s migration program by reducing the permanent migration intake by 30,000 people per year.
The revised migration planning levels reflect a policy shift towards encouraging migrants to live and work in regional areas.
Australia’s permanent migration intake is now set at 160,000 places per year for the next four years, with 23,000 of those placements becoming available for new Regional Skilled Visas commencing in November – including a new employer sponsored regional visa.
Compared to the TSS 482 Visa program, the new Subclass 494 Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional ( SESR) Visa will enable employers to sponsor workers under a broader list of eligible occupations, with priority visa processing and a pathway to permanent residence after an applicant has lived and worked regionally for three years.
Despite this flexibility, the visa process will be complex, and both employers and visa applicants will need to provide substantial evidence to satisfy application requirements.
The new 494 visa
The new 494 provisional visa will commence on November 16, 2019 and replace the current 187 Visa. According to Interstaff managing director Sheila Woods, the new regional 494 visa can offer skilled overseas workers a more certain pathway to permanent residence ( PR) as applicants generally only need to satisfy two conditions: that the candidate lives and works in a regional area under an eligible occupation for three years.
Overseas employees on a 494 visa may be eligible for permanent residence through the 191 visa from November 2022, whether or not their occupation remains on the list of eligible occupations for skilled migration, which is a current risk in the 187 and 186 visa programs.
In some cases, the 494 visa can also provide a pathway to permanent residence for applicants who currently have limited options to stay. “If your business employs Subclass 457 or 482 Visa holders in regional areas, it could consider the 494 visa as an alternative method of securing permanent residence where it is otherwise not available – especially for 482 Short Term Stream visa holders,” Ms Woods said.
“In our experience, most skilled migrants want to stay – so a pathway to permanent residence is a great incentive for migrants and can help your business attract and retain global talent.”
Complexities in the application process
Ms Woods said the introduction of the provisional regional visa will require employers and visa applicants to provide substantial evidence for a valid application – as it will be assessed with similar rigour as visas for permanent residence.
There’s a level of complexity involved in sponsoring under the new visa and Ms Woods notes employers will be required to obtain support from a regional certifying body.
“There are skills assessments, English and health and character assessments to satisfy rigorous visa requirements and reviews by the Department of Home Affairs, as if for permanent residence,” she said.
“It also requires employers to have a lot of visa knowledge, making it more difficult and time consuming than ever for businesses to navigate the migration process.”
As with the 482 Visa program, labour market testing will also be required to show how employers have difficulty in finding suitably skilled candidates locally. Ms Woods said this has come down to a very rigid approach to assess whether or not sufficient advertising in the local market has been undertaken. The particular requirements for the 494 are expected in late October.
“Employers in the resources sector can directly benefit from the regional visa changes in November, but as we’ve seen with legislative changes in the past, one barrier to making use of the available visa programs can be a lack of understanding about what the changes really mean for businesses,” Ms Woods said.
According to Ms Woods, employers generally enquire about sponsorship compliance and eligibility for new visas as recent changes have made skilled visa processes more complex.
“Not knowing how visa changes impact a business’ specific labour needs can make it difficult to predict requirements for project timelines and workforce planning,” she said.
“Employers need to be aware of how complexities in the new application process, such as requirements for skills assessments, will impact the level of preparation required to submit a valid regional visa application – and consequently the timeframes needed for this.”
As Government fees become more costly, businesses also face a greater financial risk if a visa is rejected.
“This can be a good reason to seek advice as the process now demands employers to have a greater understanding of work visa requirements.”
Benefits to the resources sector
Once the visa changes commence in November, businesses will have greater flexibility to sponsor skilled migrants, particularly in the resource sector in regional areas.
The introduction of the 494 visa will widen the availability of regional skilled visas to employers across a broader area of Australia ( the classification of eligible ‘ regional areas’ for visa and migration purposes will change to include all of Australia except Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast) and employers will be able to sponsor overseas workers under 450 more occupations than for non-regional employer-sponsored visas.
“Resource-based businesses may wish to consider using the new regional visas to meet labour shortages,” Ms Woods said.
“The extended list of occupations available for skilled migration will assist employers across a broad range of industries, including mining, oil and gas.”
Employers will also have access to priority Government visa processing to more quickly secure overseas workers for regional operations - which can be crucial to meeting project timelines.
“The new regional visa will help employers both attract and retain global talent for technical roles that may be difficult to fill locally – because migrants will have an incentive to stay working with their employer for three years to become eligible for permanent residence.”
The new visa also provides a more cost-effective way to secure permanent residence for employees (after they have worked regionally for three years) as the employer can save up to $5000 per visa applicant for the National Training Contribution Charge (NTCC) fees – Government fees that usually apply when sponsoring a visa holder for permanent residence.
New Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMA’s)
As part of the Government’s focus on regional migration, Designated Area Migration Agreements ( DAMA) are being fast- tracked across Australia.
DAMA’s allow employers a five- year period to sponsor overseas workers with agreed concessions for skill level, occupations and salary levels.
“For example, the recent agreement put in place for the Goldfields region includes semi- skilled occupations such as driller, driller’s assistant, truck drivers, trade and professional occupations,” Ms Woods said.
Other DAMA’s have been established in resource- based locations such as Adelaide and regional South Australia and more are being established across the country.
“I would encourage businesses to enquire about their visa and sponsorship options for clarity and assurance on how the changes impact their specific labour requirements,” she said.
Interstaff is an established business migration consultancy specialising in skilled migration matters for the resource industry and operating for the past 30 years.
“We have witnessed many visa changes over this time and their impact on the industry’s labour options,” Ms Woods said.
“HR professionals and project/ site managers are invited to attend our free Q& A Series to find out more about how the regional skilled visas can aid their workforce planning.”
To register for the Regional Visa Q& A Series visit: www. interstaff. com. au/ register