The Government is expected to announce new measures this week to ensure businesses are employing local workers before bringing in overseas staff, following a report provided to Immigration Minister Brendan O’Connor late last year claiming that employers discriminated in favour of overseas workers.
However, the report provided to the Minister late last year found little evidence that employers discriminated in favour of overseas workers and the Opposition’s immigration spokesman Scott Morrison told PM the report does not support the Minister’s claims.
“This report obtained by the Coalition under Freedom of Information demonstrates some fairly routine housekeeping changes to the 457 scheme,” Mr Morrison said.
“It certainly doesn’t anywhere justify the sort of inflammatory rhetoric and trash talking of schooled migration that the Prime Minister and Minister O’Connor have engaged in… nor does it in any way provide any evidentiary basis for the sort of claims they’ve made about 10,000 people rorting the system… [and] it just demonstrates, frankly, some fairly routine common-sense suggestions and these are matters that would quite normally be dealt with fairly uneventfully.”
Mr Morrison said the Government’s rhetoric about the scheme had been “unedifying and very unhelpful” and was not warranted by the report’s findings.
“We’re not opposed to common-sense reforms and house-keeping of this important program, but we’re just not going to buy in to this Government’s vilification and abuse of those who come on 457s and skilled migrants,” he said.
The WA Chamber of Commerce and Industry is also concerned a crackdown on visa conditions could cause delays and increased costs for employers and applicants.
The Chamber’s James Pearson says the Government should think carefully before making any widespread changes.
Mr Pearson says tightening the 457 visa scheme would make it more expensive and time consuming for employers to hire temporary workers.
“In a rapidly growing economy like Western Australia’s, that simply means that services won’t be delivered to the same level and projects might well be delayed or even threatened with their viability because the temporary skills that we can’t get locally won’t be available,” he said.
We remain concerned that the series of announcements around 457 visas, combined with offensive and repeated references by unions to the system being akin to slavery, is unfairly demonising employers and vilifying 457 visa holders.
Our experienced Registered Migration Agents at The Migration Place can assist you with a professionally prepared application and supporting evidence which will enhance your chances to secure a successful visa result.
We note that the migration rules change constantly, and the process is getting harder each year so we highlight the need to act quickly, and with assistance of a registered and experienced migration lawyer.
Zeke Bentley is the Principal of Irish Bentley Lawyers, and the Principal Registered Migration Agent of The Migration Place (a division of Irish Bentley Lawyers). Zeke Bentley is has been a solicitor since 1996 and a registered migration agent since 2002, and he is highly experienced in helping hundreds of families migrate to Australia from all around the world.
By engaging Zeke as your migration agent, you can take comfort that your application is being handled professionally and will therefore be processed as quickly as possible with maximum prospects of success.
If you believe that you may be affected by these changes, then please contact us immediately on (07) 3891 3333 or by email at mail@themigrationplace.com to discuss how we can assist you.