Select Legislative Instrument 2015 No. 34 by the Minister of Immigration and Border Protection amends the Migration Regulations 1994 in relation to work related conditions for English language test requirement, foreign air crew, character and cancellation, sponsorship obligation timeframes, medical examination requirements and legislative instrument for application requirements. You can view the entire explanatory statement here. English language test score at the time of invitation: allow an English language test score to be accepted for points tested skilled visas if the test was conducted three years before the applicant was invited to apply for the visa, rather than three years before the application was lodged. This ensures that English test scores do not become invalid between the invitation to apply for the visa and the application being lodged; Foreign crew on domestic flights: limit the number of domestic flights that foreign aircrew are permitted to work on while holding a Special Purpose visa. The amendments provide a limit of two connecting domestic flights for foreign air crew and one connecting domestic flight for positioning foreign air crew (persons forming crew on departure). This ensures that opportunities for Australian workers on domestic flights are protected; Lower English language test scores for 476 and 485 visas: enable lower English language test scores to be specified for the Skilled Recognised Graduate and Temporary Graduate visas so that these visas can be more responsive to Australia’s labour market requirements. The tests and scores will be specified in an instrument made by the Minister; Visa application form place of lodgement: provide that the visa application form, the place in which a visa application must be lodged and the manner in which a visa application must be made (for example by internet or paper) are specified in an instrument made by the Minister, rather than set out in the Migration Regulations. This enables these administrative details to be changed more rapidly, as required, to facilitate more efficient processing arrangements; Sponsorship requirements for 457 visas: extend the timeframes in which an approved sponsor must notify the Department of certain events relating to the sponsored person (for example, a change in work duties). The amendment extends the timeframe from 10 working days to 28 calendar days to ensure there is sufficient time to comply with the requirement. It also reduces confusion for businesses as it would align with other comparable reporting periods that must be met by business; Medical tests for 485 visa: repeal the requirement that an applicant for a Temporary Graduate visa must provide evidence of having made arrangements for medical examinations at the time of application for the visa. The amendment removes an unnecessary burden on applicants as many applicants may not be required to have a medical examination to meet the health requirement at the time of decision for the visa; Cancellation of visas: prescribe the time periods and the manner in which the Minister must make notifications in relation to visa cancellation or revocation of cancellation permitted under powers that were introduced in the Migration Amendment (Character and General Visa Cancellation) Act 2014 (sections 501BA and 501CA). The same time periods that apply to section 501 (refusal or cancellation on character grounds) apply in relation to these powers; and make technical or consequential amendments
The Migration and Education Alliance of Australia welcomes the Australian Government’s response to the recommendations made by an independent review into maintaining the integrity of the subclass 457 visa programme. The review chaired by Mr John Azarias was commissioned in 2014 and the panel was tasked with examining compliance within the 457 programme by sponsors of overseas workers to ensure that the scheme was being used as intended – to address skill shortages which cannot be met from the Australian labour market. The panel consulted widely across Australia – meeting with over 140 stakeholders and received 189 written submissions, including from businesses, unions, industry bodies, universities and academics. Senator Michaelia Cash said “This programme is of fundamental importance for Australia’s productivity going forward.” Key recommendations of the review comprise an increased focus on targeting employers who seek to misuse the programme, greater transparency around the department’s sanctions processes and proactive sharing of information between key government agencies. To give a perspective of how widespread this visa subclass actually is Minister Cash stated “The number of 457 visa holders in Australia is less than one percent of Australia’s workforce.” The Department of Immigration and Border Protection will work collaboratively with the Australian Taxation Office to cross check records to ensure that workers on 457 visas are receiving their nominated salary and are not undercutting Australian workers. “We will reduce the regulatory burden for those businesses with a proven track record by streamlining sponsorship requirements,” Minister Cash said. Steps will be taken to ensure businesses that utilise the 457 programme appropriately will incur less regulation and cost, without compromising on the necessary safeguards that underpin the scheme. “The Government will introduce a new penalty making it unlawful for sponsors to receive payment in return for sponsoring a worker for a 457 visa,” Minister Cash said. An important recommendation which is subject to further consultation is the proposal to replace the current training benchmark provisions which are complex, costly, and susceptible to misuse. The Government will also appoint a Ministerial Advisory Council on Skilled Migration (MACSM) with new terms of reference. The Council will be tasked with reviewing the list of occupations available for sponsorship under the 457 programme to ensure it is responsive to the genuine skill needs of employers, the labour market and the economy. Minister Cash said contrary to allegations the review did not find there was widespread rorting of the programme “The majority of the employers do the right thing.” Implementation of the review’s recommendations will be further rolled out throughout 2015. You can read more at the following link: Independent review of the 457 programme.
Training providers in Australia will soon be banned from offering what the government calls “miraculously” short diploma courses, and from offering students incentives to sign up, ABC News reported on Thursday. The ban will be applied under a new legislation ready to be introduced by the Federal Government. Announcing a range of measures to crack down on rogue and “dodgy” providers, Assistant Training Minister Simon Birmingham said he was “very concerned” that the Government’s vocational education loans scheme (VET FEE-HELP) was being abused. Training colleges will be banned from offering laptops, iPads, prizes and other inducements to attract students, and unscrupulous institutions fined and forced to refund their course fees. Quoting from Government figures, the report said that over 180,000 students had accessed the VET FEE-HELP scheme last year, taking out more than $1.6 billion in loans. The new legislative changes would prevent students from taking out billions in bad loans over the next decade, the Minister said.