457 Programme Management: recent and upcoming changes · 2017-06-15 · Phase 2: Changes to 457 visas, ENS and RSMS. 1 July 2017 Phase 3: Collection of Tax File Numbers (TFNs)

457 Programme Management:recent and upcoming changes

Department of Immigration and Border Protection

1. The 457 programme – who is who?

2. Snapshot of the current programme

3. Reforms overview

4. April changes

5. What’s new for 1 July?

– Framework changes

– System changes

6. March 2018 - new visa arrangements

7. What can agents do to assist?

8. Where can I get help?

Topics for discussion

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Department of Immigration and Border Protection 3

The 457 programme within the Department

Temporary Skilled Policy

457 Programme Management

(including Labour Agreements)

457 processing network

Sponsor Monitoring Unit

Immigration Compliance


457 Snapshot

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As at 30 April 2017 there were:

– 94,335 primary 457 visa holders in Australia

– 32,428 active 457 sponsors


457 Snapshot

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1/7/16 to

30/4/17Sponsorships Nominations

Visas

(Primary)

Lodged 14,444 56,656 45,087

Approved 12,235 47,648 39,379

Refused 1,692 5,222 2,011


457 Snapshot – processing times

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Global visa processing times 75% applications processed in:

457 visa applications 53 days


Government announcement

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On 18 April 2017, the Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP,

the Prime Minister of Australia,

and the Hon Peter Dutton MP,

the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection,

announced that the Government is abolishing the

Temporary Work (Skilled) (subclass 457) visa (457 visa)

and replacing it with a new Temporary Skill Shortage

(TSS) Visa.


Reforms overview - what

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• What: The Government also announced that it is implementing

reforms to strengthen the quality and integrity of:

o Australia’s temporary and permanent employer

sponsored skilled migration programmes.

• Visas affected by the reforms include:

o Temporary: Temporary Work (Skilled) (subclass 457) visa.

o Permanent: Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186)

(ENS) visa.

o The Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (subclass 187)

(RSMS) visa.


Reforms overview – why & when

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• Why: The reforms are intended to:

o Ensure that Australia’s skilled migration programmes

better meet Australia’s genuine labour market needs

o Increase the quality and economic contribution of skilled

migrants

o Address integrity concerns

• When: Implementation of the reforms commenced on

18 April 2017 and will be completed by March 2018

o The 457 will be abolished and replaced with the TSS visa

by March 2018.


Reforms overview - when

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Phase Implementation

date

Reforms announced. 18 April 2017

Phase 1: Changes to 457 visa and new skilled

occupations lists implemented.18 April 2017

Phase 2: Changes to 457 visas, ENS and RSMS. 1 July 2017

Phase 3: Collection of Tax File Numbers (TFNs)

for skilled migrants and publication of sponsor

sanction details commence.

By end December

2017

Phase 4: 457 visa abolished and replaced with

TSS visa. Changes to ENS and RSMS.March 2018


What changed as of 18 April 2017?

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• the Consolidated Sponsored Occupation List (CSOL) was replaced

with the new Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL) and Medium

and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL)

• 216 occupations were removed

• there are now 435 occupations eligible for the subclass 457 visa

programme

• 59 new caveats were applied to occupations that remain ‘on the list’

– these relate to work experience, regional location or are

occupation specific

• new visa validity periods apply

– maximum 2 year period available for occupations that are eligible

for the subclass 457 programme but are not on the new updated

MLTSSL


STSOL and MLTSSL

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• STSOL: is a more targeted occupations list better aligned to the

short to medium-term skills needs in the Australian labour market.

• The STSOL will be updated on 1 July 2017, and then at intervals of

at least every six months based on advice from the Department of

Employment (Employment).

• MLTSSL: This list contains occupations that have been assessed as

being of high value to the Australian economy and aligning to the

Government’s longer term training and workforce strategies.

• The MLTSSL will be updated annually based on advice from the

Department of Education and Training (DET) and the Department of

Employment (Employment).

• .


457 Agents News – 5 May 17

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What’s new for 457 as of 1 July?

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From 1 July 2017, further reforms will be implemented.

• The STSOL will be updated based on advice from Employment.

o Occupations could be added, removed or caveated.

• The MLTSSL will be updated based on outcomes from DET’s

2017-18 SOL review and advice from DoE.

• Why: To ensure that these lists better reflect labour market needs

and actual skills shortages.


What’s new for 457 as of 1 July?

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Other changes to sharpen the focus of the 457 programme include:

• English language requirements: The English language salary

exemption threshold will be removed (currently set at $96,400)

• Training benchmarks: Current policy settings will be made clearer

in an amended legislative instrument

• Character: Police certificates will be mandatory

• Why: To strengthen the quality and integrity of the 457 programme,

and to better align with the TSS visa.

There will also be a VAC increase (CPI)

HOT OFF THE PRESS:

Expansion of accreditation characteristics to other cohorts of sponsors

such as Trusted Traders


Goodbye eVisa, hello ePLUS

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From 1 July, all 457 programme applications will be lodged via the

Departments elodgement PLUS platform.

• While the kind of information collected will be predominantly the

same as it currently is, the ‘look and feel of the 457 application suite

will be different to what agents are used to and some new questions

will be introduced

• The ePLUS platform allows for questions to be much more targeted

and based on answers to previous questions than eVisa allows

• Dynamic document checklist functionality will be utilised

• ‘How to’ guides being developed

• Important: any ‘saved’ partially completed 457 applications in eVisa

will be lost when the new ePLUS forms are turned on – agents

should monitor the System maintenance and technical issues

page on the Department’s website for details closer to 1 July 2017


Sponsorship form

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Sponsorship form

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Sponsorship form

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Sponsorship form

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Sponsorship form

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Sponsorship form

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Sponsorship form

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Sponsorship form

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Sponsorship form

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Sponsorship form

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Sponsorship form

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Sponsorship form

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Sponsorship form

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Sponsorship form

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Sponsorship form

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Nomination form

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Nomination form

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Nomination form

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Nomination form

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Nomination form

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Nomination form

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Nomination form

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Nomination form

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Nomination form

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Nomination form

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Nomination form

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Nomination form

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Nomination form

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Visa application form

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What else is coming?

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By 31 December 2017, further reforms will be implemented, subject to

new legislation commencing.

• TFNs: DIBP will commence collecting TFNs for 457 visa holders

(and other employer sponsored migrants) to match with the

Australian Taxation Office’s data to ensure visa holders are not paid

less than their nominated salary.

• Publishing sanction details: DIBP will commence publishing

details about business sponsors that are sanctioned for not meeting

their obligations.

• Why: To better inform DIBP’s compliance and monitoring activities to

address potential exploitation of overseas workers.



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By March 2018, further reforms will be implemented, including the

abolition and replacement of the 457 visa.

New TSS - Not just a name change.



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Policy settings

• The TSS is a new visa and will take time to build and implement.

o Regulation and IT systems changes are required.

• Detailed policy settings for several TSS visa requirements will be

finalised through the implementation process.

• Stakeholders will be provided with further information on the TSS

visa’s requirements.



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• The 457 visa will be abolished and replaced with the TSS.

• The TSS will have two streams, including:

o A Short- term Stream – of up to two years.

o A Medium term Stream – of up to four years.



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• Short-term Stream will include the following criteria:

o Renewal: Capacity for visa renewal onshore once only.

o Occupations: The STSOL will apply, with additional

occupations available to support regional employers.

o English language requirements: A requirement of an IELTS

(or equivalent test) score of 5, with a minimum of 4.5 in each

test component.

o Genuine entry: A genuine temporary entrant requirement.



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• Medium-term Stream will include the following criteria:

o Renewal: Capacity for visa renewal onshore and a permanent

residence pathway after three years.

o Occupations: the MLTSSL will apply, with additional

occupations available to support regional employers.

o English language requirements: a requirement of a

minimum of IELTS 5 (or equivalent test) in each test

component.



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• Eligibility criteria for both streams will include:

o Work experience: At least two years’ relevant work

experience for the particular occupation.

o Labour market testing (LMT): Will be mandatory, unless an

international obligation applies.

o Market salary rate: Employers must pay the Australian

market salary rate and meet the Temporary Skilled Migration

Income Threshold requirements.



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o Character: Mandatory police certificates to be provided.

o Workforce: A non-discriminatory workforce test to ensure

employers are not actively discriminating against Australian

workers.

o Training requirement: Sponsors will be required to pay a

Skilling Australians Fund levy when lodging their nomination.

• Why: The TSS visa will better protect Australian jobs by ensuring that

overseas workers supplement the labour market, and does not

replace Australian workers.


Where do I get more information?

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• Further information about the reforms is available on the

Department’s website at www.border.gov.au.

o Dedicated webpage about the reforms

o Factsheets:

Reforms to Australia’s temporary employer sponsored

skilled migration programme – abolition and replacement of

the subclass 457 visa.

Reforms to Australia’s permanent employer sponsored

skilled migration programme.

http://www.border.gov.au/


Agents can help by…

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• lodging assessment ready applications

• providing clear advice/submissions

• providing independently verifiable and relevant evidence

• using contact channels correctly

• when attaching documents to ImmiAccount:

– choosing the right document type where available

– saving documents with a file name that reflects the

purpose of the document

– attaching high quality colour scans

– uploading documents to all relevant applications

– not emailing us to advise that you have attached

documents in ImmiAccount.


Where can I get help?

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My question relates to… Contact channel

A specific 457 application [email protected]

A complex policy query or

suggestion for improvement

Agents gatewayhttps://www.border.gov.au/Busi/Migr/Agen/Conta

cts/Enquiry-and-feedback

Problems with ImmiAccount

or an eVisa form

ImmiAccount Technical Support Form http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa/Immi/immiac

count-technical-support-form

mailto:[email protected]

https://www.border.gov.au/Busi/Migr/Agen/Contacts/Enquiry-and-feedback

http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa/Immi/immiaccount-technical-support-form


Time for questions and answers…

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Documents

457 Programme Management: recent and upcoming changes · 2017-06-15 · Phase 2: Changes to 457 visas, ENS and RSMS. 1 July 2017 Phase 3: Collection of Tax File Numbers (TFNs)