Pendragon Straight Talk: Episode Fourteen

 
TRANSCRIPT:
 
JOHN GLOVER: Hello and welcome to another Pendragon Straight Talk. This week’s going to be a really popular one, the question is how does the 457 visa changes affect new skilled people wanting to come to Australia, or those already here on a 457.
 
My immediate answer is don’t panic, it doesn’t really make a lot of difference – it’s a new name, similar rules.
 
The new name is the Temporary Skills Shortage, the TSS, and this TSS will be broken down into two streams, or lists of occupations, whichever way you want to look at it. The short term, which will give you a two year visa and a medium term which will give you a four year visa, so depending on what list your on will depend on what length of visa you can get to start with. They can be renewed as well for the same length of time.
 
The separate lists have not been issued yet, although a list of approximately 200 skills has been provided that have been removed from the existing 457 visa list, so that will affect a few people. If you are on an existing 457, then only when that finishes or you want to change sponsors will the new rules kick in.
 
If you are new and just looking to lodge, depending on what list you fall into, you will either get a two year visa or four year visa. There are some caveats around payroll, but that’s so similar to the market salary level system now that I don’t think there is a lot of difference.
 
On-hire companies, holding an on-hire agreement have not been affected by this at all, you are a completely different agreement at the moment, but obviously going forward the rules and the skill sets will creep into that as well.
 
So market salary levels are still the same, you’ve got to have a set amount of money you are paid that’s equivalent to an Australian.
 
If you are on one of the lists just like now you will be sponsored for either two or four years, however if you want to transfer to another company at the moment and you are on a 457 and you are not on the list, you are one of the 200 that has been removed, then that could give you an issue, or you will have to find another area to be sponsored under, or you may need to leave the country.
 
The most important thing I think, is more about the Permanent Residency from this point of view. Basically, if you are on the Short Term Stream list, then they are suggesting that you cannot get PR from that list, you will only be able to come in an work on that TSS system. Interesting to see how that works for Australia long term.
 
So, same sort of game, new rules, new name. I would suggest that you talk to your migration agent or your sponsoring entity to get further information. A couple of things that I would like to give you to just take away with you. One of them is at the moment there is only 95,000 457 Visa holders in the country, which is about 1% of the workforce, and I can’t believe any of them are flipping burgers because you’ve got to be paid a minimum amount of $60,000 roughly to get a 457 and to think of another little angle, we lose nearly as many skilled people overseas, Australian skilled people going to international jobs overseas as we do get internationals coming in or Australians returning back to Australia, the balance is about 200,000. So there is a 200,000 difference, so there may be 500,000 coming in, and 300,000 going out.
 
Anyway, I will leave you with that for this week, I hope that has helped you a little bit. As I said, talk to your sponsoring entity or a migration agent if you need further advice.
 
Thanks for listening, talk to you next week.