Month: March 2013

457 Visa Monitoring

Posted by Rebecca Berkovic on

In a joint media statement released today (18 March 2013) the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Brendan O’Connor, and the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Bill Shorten, announced new inspection powers for the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) in relation to 457 business sponsors.

Implication for 457 Business Sponsors

The Federal Government has extended monitoring of 457 Business Sponsors which will be able to be undertaken not just by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) but also by the FWO. The Federal Government has given powers to the FWO to:

  • Monitor 457 business sponsors and enforce compliance with 457 visa conditions;
  • Investigate whether 457 visa holders are employed in their nominated occupation and that their actual role matches that stated in their job title and description; and
  • Examine whether 457 visa holders are receiving market salary rates specified in their approved visa.

The Federal Government has stated in its media release that the FWO has over 300 inspectors investigating complaints in Australian workplaces and inspectors will now be vested with the power to investigate 457 business sponsors.

Powers of the FWO

As well as investigative and monitoring powers, FWO staff will be able to refer any “suspicious activity” to the DIAC investigation team. DIAC will then be responsible for undertaking a more thorough examination of the reported compliance issues.

What Should 457 Business Sponsors Do?

The vested monitoring powers of 457 Business Sponsors in the FWO are part of the Federal Government’s recent focus on ensuring that employers are not abusing the subclass 457 visa program. Employers should ensure that their 457 visa holder employees are working in their nominated occupation, are undertaking the role stipulated in the position description provided to DIAC and ensure that they are paid the market salary rate stated in their visa.

 

Disclaimer:

The information on this website is intended only to provide a summary and general overview on relevant matters. It is not intended to be comprehensive nor does it constitute legal advice. You are advised to seek legal or other professional advice before acting or relying on any of the content contained in this website.

Visitor Visa Reform

Posted by Rebecca Berkovic on

The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Brendan O’Connor, has announced that the upcoming “Simpler visas” reform of Visitor visas will be introduced on 23 March 2013. The Changes are part of the Australian Federal Government’s intention to reduce the number of visa subclasses in existence in order to simplify the Australian migration program.

Proposed Changes

From 23 March 2013 the Federal Government intends to introduce the following changes to Visitor and Medical Treatment visas:

  • Reduction in the number of Visitor visa subclasses from nine to five; and
  • Introduction of the following Visitor visa subclasses:
    • Temporary Work (Short Stay Activity) (subclass 400) visa;
    • Visitor (subclass 600) visa;
    • Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601) visa;
    • Medical Treatment (subclass 602) visa; and
    • eVisitor (subclass 651) visa.

The new Visitor visa subclasses will replace the current nine Visitor visas in existence. Transitional arrangements will apply in that people holding the current Visitor visas will continue to hold those visas until they expire.

Relevance for Employers

Employers should be aware that after 23 March 2013, the relevant short-term work visas that overseas employees need to apply for are:

  • The Temporary Work (Short Stay Activity) (subclass 400) visa which will enable workers to participate in short-term, non-ongoing, highly specialised work where the skill required is not available in Australia; and
  • The Visitor (subclass 600) visa which allows visa holders to visit Australia for tourism or business purposes, including attending conferences, negotiations or an exploratory business visit.

The new Temporary Work (Short Stay Activity) (subclass 400) visa and Visitor (subclass 600) visa will replace the existing Electronic Travel Authorities and Business (Short Stay) (subclass 456) visas.

The changes are intended to create a clearer separation between work and business visitor activities.

How should employers proceed?

Employers need to make sure that when applying for short-term business visas for employees after 23 March 2013, that they select the correct visa type from the new Visitor visa subclasses. Employers should be aware that revised requirements and visa criteria will apply to each new visa subclass.

 

Disclaimer:

The information on this website is intended only to provide a summary and general overview on relevant matters. It is not intended to be comprehensive nor does it constitute legal advice. You are advised to seek legal or other professional advice before acting or relying on any of the content contained in this website.