Out with the old, in with the new.
The Australian workforce is supported by a huge number of skilled workers who have come from other countries and continued their careers in Australia. On March 18, though, the conditions of their entry became more stringent.
The Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457) – the visa most skilled workers have come to Australia on – is now called the Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) visa. It’s comprised of two streams: short-term and medium-term.
The short-term TSS visa allows applicants to stay for two years initially, with the potential to renew for another two years. Though this can only be done once. The medium-term TSS visa allows applicants to stay for four years, with the potential for renewal.
Here is the run down on who the changes affects and how.
Anyone who was not in possession of a 457 visa before April 18, 2017. If they applied for their 457 visa on or before this date, subject to their application being successful, they will not be affected by the changes.
Applicants must have two years’ experience in their chosen occupation in order to apply for the TSS visa.
Applicants must meet English language requirements – an overall IELTS (International English Language Testing System) score of 5.0 and a minimum of 5.0 in each test component.
There are two lists that delineate the status of all eligible TSS jobs: the STSOL (short-term skilled occupations list) and MLTSSL (medium and long-term strategic skills list). Unless their profession falls into the latter, there is no avenue for an overseas worker to come to Australia on a medium-term visa. Occupations are listed in a table that shows their status here.
Of the hospitality jobs that fall into either of these lists, chefs are the only workers that appear on the MLTSSL and so are eligible to apply for a medium-term TSS. Cooks, cafe and restaurant managers, bakers, and hospitality managers are all listed on the STSOL.
These lists are also subject to certain new caveats that further limit the worker in terms of the positions they are able to fill. For example, while bakers are still eligible, they cannot occupy roles in franchise or factory settings, or any in which they partially prepare the food they make. If they work with predominantly pre-prepared food products, they are also ineligible.
Similarly, chefs, cooks, and managers of cafes and restaurants are not eligible if the work is in a fast-food, fast-casual or limited-service restaurant. Where the food offering is considered limited, such as a bar with a small menu, this caveat also applies. A list of caveats can be found here.
This is no longer an option if the worker is on a short-term visa. Employees will be able to apply for renewal of their status for a further two years, but the conditions of their visa state that no application can be made for permanent residency. After four years they will be obliged to leave Australia permanently. However, if they are in the medium-term stream, they will be able to apply for permanent residency after three years, or renew their visa onshore.
This is set at $53,900 per annum and will be more tightly monitored than before. Businesses are required to declare the tax file numbers of their TSS workers, thereby allowing the Department of Home Affairs to verify that they are meeting the minimum salary requirement.
In order to meet its goal of not disadvantaging the Australian workforce, employers also have to undertake a workforce test. Few details of this are available, which suggests this may exist to dissuade rather than inhibit, but more details may be released in the coming months.
Subject to legislation passing, businesses may also be required to pay an annual fee for every TSS worker they employ. Currently the proposed fee is $1200 per year if a business makes less than $10 million per year, and $1800 thereafter. This is intended for a proposed Skilling Australia fund in order to give more Australians the skills they need to enter the workforce.
It’s important to triple check the status of a possible employee before refusing or engaging in sponsorship. All finer details can be seen on the TSS visa page here.
