As the COVID-19 situation has evolved, many of us are now facing an uncertain future in relation to our employment, and being a Temporary Visa holder in Australia can add to this uncertainty. We at Pendragon have been inundated with questions from both the employers and visa holders.
We have listed below the top five questions we have been asked, along with the answers to help you through this uncertainty.
- Can the hours or salary for a primary Temporary Skill Worker (TSS) visa holder be reduced, or can they be offered a part-time role?
For most workers on TSS visas, their visa condition states they must remain in full-time employment and must continue to be paid at the level which was approved for the visa. The Department of Home Affairs has indicated there may be some flexibility around relaxing the rules with full-time employment, and businesses will be able to reduce the hours of a TSS visa holder without the person being in the breach of their visa condition.
- Can a TSS visa holder be placed on unpaid leave? If so, how long?
Given the unfortunate circumstances, businesses are able to place their TSS visa holders on unpaid leave for up to 3 months. Businesses are able to request for longer periods, however should seek permission from the Department of Home Affairs to their intentions to put them on unpaid leave. We can assist with this process.
If a TSS visa holder has been laid off due to COVID-19, however re-employed afterwards, their time already spent in Australia will still be counted towards their permanent residency skilled work experience requirements.
In terms of assistance from the government, there hasn’t been any confirmation yet that the TSS visa holder will receive payments such as unemployment/social security benefits from Centrelink. However, the government has suggested, if a company has a downturn of 30% in trade, this may trigger a $1,500 fortnightly payment for all employees that are affected, which may (or may not) include TSS holder if they are on company’s payroll. It is therefore important to keep up-to-date, and we will provide further clarification once the legislation is actually enacted which will provide clearer guidance.
- What happens when a TSS visa holder loses their job?
If you have lost your job, please contact our team to discuss your options. We may be able to come up with some alternative solutions based on your circumstances, such as transitioning you to a different visa type, or assisting you to transfer your sponsorship to another employer. Pendragon has an approved On-Hire Labour Agreement, and so we may be able to act as your surrogate employer as well.
As previously mentioned no word yet that TSS Visa Holders will directly receive any payments from the government however, we presume this may eventually change over the next few weeks…
- What happens if someone has an 8503 condition on their visa, however they are unable to leave the country?
The visa condition ‘8503 – No Further Stay’ prevents a visa holder from applying for another visa whilst in Australia to remain in the country. Home Affairs has advised that in the current circumstances they will be flexible with lifting the restrictions. The process requires an application for a waiver of the condition, and they are advising processing timeframes will take approximately 3 days, instead of their standard processing time frames of 4 weeks. We have already assisted some clients with these applications and had successful outcomes, so please don’t hesitate to reach us if you would like assistance or free advice.
- Can a TSS visa holder with family overseas bring their family to join them in Australia?
At this stage, only Australian Citizens, Permanent Residents and selected New Zealand citizens are able to enter Australia. For this reason, even if the family members who are currently overseas are already attached to the primary TSS visa holder as dependent, they are currently unable to enter Australia, unless they have successfully applied for the waiver. The current travel restrictions will remain in place for the foreseeable future, so unfortunately the family members will not be able to come to Australia until that changes.
On an addition note, The Department has also announced that TSS visa holders will be able to access up to $10,000 of their superannuation this financial year, however, we would recommend you consider financial advice before doing so.
We are checking for updates daily, and any advice provided from the Department will be circulated as a priority. So please keep visiting our LinkedIn, Facebook and website page to stay informed.
Alternatively, if you have any questions or want to know more about the above information please feel free to talk to us on 02 9407 8700 or reach us at [email protected]. We are here to help…!
