Occupations entirely removed from the list of eligible 457 visa skilled occupation on 19 April 2017 are listed below.

Actors, Dancers and Other Entertainers NEC
Aeroplane Pilot
Air Traffic Controller
Air Transport Professionals NEC
Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (Avionics)
Amusement Centre Manager
Antique Dealer
Apparel Cutter
Archaeologist
Archivist
Art Director (Film, Television or Stage)
Artistic Director
Auctioneer
Author
Bed and Breakfast Operator
Betting agency Manager
Biochemist
Biotechnologist
Blacksmith
Boarding Kennel or Cattery Operator
Broadcast Transmitter Operator
Building and Engineering Technicians NEC
Business Broker
Butcher or Smallgoods Maker
Call or Contact Centre Manager
Canvas Goods Fabricator
Caravan Park and Camping Ground Manager
Cinema or Theatre Manager
Clinical Coder
Clothing Patternmaker
Clothing Trades Workers NEC
Commissioned Defence Force Officer
Commissioned Fire Officer
Commissioned Police Officer
Communications Operator
Community Arts Worker
Composer
Conservation Officer
Construction Estimator
Conveyancer
Corporate Treasurer
Court Bailiff or Sheriff (Aus) / Court Collections Officer (NZ)
Deer Farmer
Defence Force Member – Other Ranks
Defence Force Senior Officer
Dental Hygienist
Dental Prosthetist
Dental Therapist
Detective
Director of Photography
Diver
Dog or Horse Racing Official
Drama Teacher (Private Tuition)
Dressmaker or Tailor
Driller
Driving Instructor
Education Reviewer
Electorate Officer
Electronic Engineering Draftsperson
Electronic Engineering Technician
Electroplater
Emergency Service Worker
Engineering Patternmaker
Engraver
Entertainer or Variety Artist
Environmental Health Officer
Exercise Physiologist
Film, Television, Radio and Stage Directors NEC
Financial Institution Branch Manager
Fire Fighter
Fire Protection Equipment Technician
First Aid Trainer
Fisheries Officer
Flight Attendant
Floor Finisher
Flying Instructor
Food Technologist
Funeral Director
Funeral Workers NEC
Futures Trader
Gallery or Museum Technician
Gas or Petroleum Operator
Geophysicist
Goat Farmer
Golfer
Graphic Pre-press Trades Worker
Gunsmith
Helicopter Pilot
Historian
Homoeopath
Horse Trainer
Human Resource Adviser
Hydrogeologist
Hydrographer
ICT Support and Test Engineers NEC
ICT Support Technicians NEC
Importer or Exporter
Insurance Investigator
Insurance Risk Surveyor
Intellectual Property Lawyer
Intelligence Officer
Interior Decorator
Jockey
Judge
Kennel Hand
Leather Goods Maker
Legal Executive
Liaison Officer
Licensed Club Manager
Life Scientist (General)
Life Scientists NEC
Light Technician
Magistrate
Maintenance Planner
Marine Surveyor
Marine Transport Professionals NEC
Market Research Analyst
Master Fisher
Mechanical Engineering Draftsperson
Media Producer (excluding Video)
Metal Casting Trades Worker
Metal Polisher
Metallurgist
Microbiologist
Migration Agent (Aus)
Mothercraft Nurse
Multimedia Designer
Music Director
Music Professionals NEC
Musical Instrument Maker or Repairer
Natural and Physical Science Professionals NEC
Nurse Researcher
Nurseryperson
Operating Theatre Technician
Optical Dispenser (Aus) / Dispensing Optician (NZ)
Optical Mechanic
Other Sports Official
Painter (Visual Arts)
Park Ranger
Parole or Probation Officer
Pathology Collector (Aus) / Phlebotomist (NZ)
Petroleum Engineer
Plastics Technician
Plumbing Inspector
Police Officer
Policy Analyst
Policy and Planning Manager
Potter or ceramic artist
Prison Officer
Procurement Manager
Production Manager (Manufacturing)
Public Relations Manager
Quarantine Officer
Radio Journalist
Radio Presenter
Railway Station Manager
Regional Education Manager
Research and Development Manager
Retail Buyer
Retirement Village Manager
Safety Inspector
Sail Maker
Sales Representative (Industrial Products)
Sales Representative (Medical and Pharmaceutical Products)
Saw Maker and Repairer
School Laboratory Technician
Screen Printer
Sculpter
Senior Non-commissioned Defence Force Member
Shearer
Shoemaker
Singer
Small Offset Printer
Sports Administrator
Sports Umpire
Stock and Station Agent
Surveying or Spatial Science Technician
Technicians and Trades Workers NEC
Telecommunications Cable Jointer
Telecommunications Technician
Television Equipment Operator
Television Presenter
Training and Development Professional
Translator
Travel Agency Manager
Travel Attendants NEC
Tribunal Member
Turf Grower
Vehicle Painter
Vocational Education Teacher (Non-Trades)
Vocational Education Teacher (Trades)
Web Developer
Wholesaler
Wood Turner
Wool Buyer
Wool Classer
Workplace Relations Advisor
Zookeeper

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.

Australian Temporary Work 457 Visa

The Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has just announced that the Temporary Work (Skilled)(subclass 457) visa program will be abolished. The Federal Government has already taken steps to abolish the 457 visa program in the fast-food industry in Australia.

The Federal Government will replace the subclass 457 visa with a separate short-term work visa program outlined below.

The Prime Minister stated that the new system would be “manifestly, rigorously, resolutely conducted in the national interest.”

Replacement Work Visas

The Federal Government announced that the subclass 457 visa is intended to be replaced by the Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa intended to come into effect in March 2018 which will contain two separate streams, being:

1. a two-year work visa (the “Short-Term” stream); and
2. a more specialised four-year work visa “targeted at higher skills” (the “Medium-Term” stream).

It was announced that the two-year work visa will not have a pathway to permanent residency as is the case for the subclass 457 visa.

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) has also published the primary elements of the TSS visas which include:

• new, more targeted occupation lists which better align with skill needs in the Australian labour market;
• a requirement for visa applicants to have at least two years’ work experience in their skilled occupation;
• a minimum market salary rate which ensures that overseas workers cannot be engaged to undercut Australian workers;
• mandatory labour market testing, unless an international obligation applies;
• capacity for only one onshore visa renewal under the Short-Term stream;
• capacity for visa renewal onshore and a permanent residence pathway after three years under the Medium-Term stream;
• the permanent residence eligibility period will be extended from two to three years;
• a non-discriminatory workforce test to ensure employers are not actively discriminating against Australian workers;
• strengthened requirement for employers to contribute to training Australian workers;
• the Department of Immigration and Border Protection will collect Tax File Numbers and data will be matched with the Australian Tax Office’s records; and
• mandatory penal clearance certificates to be provided.

A Reduction in Occupations for Work Visas

Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton announced that the current Consolidated Sponsored Occupation List which contains over 650 skilled occupations will be heavily reduced. This follows the Federal Government’s announcement last year that it would review the subclass 457 visa and the list of jobs skilled migrants could apply for under the visa.

The DIBP intends to condense occupation lists used for skilled migration visas, including the subclass 457 visa, from 19 April 2017.

Grandfathering Provisions

The Government has stated that current subclass 457 visa holders will not be affected by the changes and their visa will remain valid until its expiration.

We will keep our clients and contacts informed of the upcoming significant changes to the Australian work visa program and the subclass 457 visa.

For more information on Australian work visas, please feel free to contact the author by email at rebecca@hartmanlawyers.com.au or by telephone on +61 3 9021 0986 or +61 (0)423 701 747.

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.

The Australian Government introduced additional exemptions for Project Managers requiring skills assessments through VETASSESS when applying for a Temporary Work (Skilled)(subclass 457) visa.

Until 1 July 2013, it was much more straightforward to apply for a subclass 457 visa for a Project Manager. Previously the position of Project Manager could be nominated across a range of industries, from childcare centres to retail establishments.

However following a Discussion Paper by what was then the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) entitled ‘Strengthening the Integrity of the Subclass 457 Visa’ it was suggested that the occupations of ‘Program or Project Administrators’ as well as ‘Specialist Managers (Not Elsewhere Classified)’ were too broadly defined and applied, and therefore open to exploitation.

The Department of Immigration therefore decided to introduce skills assessments for applicants applying as Project Managers for subclass 457 visas to limit the situations where the occupation of ‘Program or Project Administrators’ or ‘Specialist Managers (Not Elsewhere Classified)’ could be selected.

Skills Assessments for Project Managers

Mandatory skills assessments for subclass 457 visa applicants applying for the nominated occupations of ‘Program or Project Administrators’ and ‘Specialist Managers (Not Elsewhere Classified)’ were introduced on 1 July 2013. Skills assessments for these occupations need to be applied for through the skills assessment authority of VETASESS.

The extra hurdle for Australian businesses needing to sponsor a Project Manager for a subclass 457 visa has led to increased delays. VETASSESS assessments can take up to three months to process, delaying and adding extra costs to applying for a subclass 457 visa for Project Managers.

Recent Amendments to the Australian 457 Visa

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) has taken into consideration the inconvenience of requiring mandatory skills assessments for Project Managers. On 23 March 2016, the DIBP advised that exemptions will now be implemented for ‘Program or Project Administrators’ and ‘Specialist Managers (Not Elsewhere Classified)’ applying for subclass 457 visas.

Exemptions may now apply in the following additional situations:

• where applicants are applying for a repeat 457 application and completed a VETASSESS skills assessment for their previous visa for the same occupation; or
• where applicants are nominated as intra-company transfers and employed in a similar occupation for the same company overseas.

The exemption of requiring a skills assessment for a subclass 457 visa applicant nominating the occupation of ‘Program or Project Administrators’ or ‘Specialist Managers (Not Elsewhere Classified)’ may also be applied at the discretion of a case officer where the visa applicant has significant qualifications and/or extensive work experience and:

1. the salary level is $180,000 or more; or
2. the sponsor is accredited.

If an exemption may apply, submissions will need to be made to the DIBP at the time of lodgement of the subclass 457 visa application.

For more information on applying for subclass 457 visas, please feel free to contact the author by email at rebecca@hartmanlawyers.com.au or by telephone on +61 3 9021 0986 or +61 (0)423 701 747.

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.