The Government revealed the 2017 Budget last night and further changes to the temporary and permanent work visa program are intended to be introduced in the form of an Australian work visa levy placed on businesses required to hire foreign employees.
The new Government levies will replace the current training requirements under the Temporary Work Skilled (subclass 457) visa program in which businesses are required to pay either 2% of payroll expenditure into an industry training fund or 1% of payroll expenditure on training Australian staff within the business. The training benchmarks must be met for each year of the sponsorship.
The newly proposed levies will at least provide better clarity to Australian businesses sponsoring overseas workers as to the amount required to be spent on training per year. However, the levies (outlined below) are much higher than the $400 for small businesses proposed in 2015 by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) in its ‘457 Integrity Review: Training Fund Contribution’ Discussion Paper published in 2015.
Which levies will be introduced?
Temporary Work Visas
- Businesses with a turnover of less than $10 million: A levy of $1,200 per overseas worker per year will be required when sponsoring under the upcoming Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa.
- Businesses with a turnover of more than $10 million: A levy of $1,800 per overseas worker per year will be required when sponsoring a worker for a TSS visa.
Permanent Work Visas
The Australian Government has declared that it will introduce a cumbersome levy to Australian businesses sponsoring overseas workers for permanent residency.
- Businesses with a turnover of less than $10 million: A levy of $3,000 per overseas worker sponsored for permanent residency will be required.
- Businesses with a turnover of more than $10 million: A levy of $5,000 per overseas worker sponsored for permanent residency will be required.
When will the levies be introduced?
The Australian Government has announced that the levies will be introduced to businesses sponsoring overseas workers from March 2018.
We are awaiting Government policy regarding transitional arrangements for businesses currently sponsoring overseas workers through the subclass 457 visa program.
The new levies are intended to fund the proposed ‘Skilling Australians Fund’ which will allocate resources to apprenticeships and traineeships across Australia.
For advice regarding Australian work visas, please feel free to contact our firm at info@hartmanlawyers.com.au or via our website: www.hartmanlawyers.com.au.
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