The Australian Department of Immigration has introduced a number of changes to the sponsorship regime for temporary workers in Australia on subclass 457 visas. These changes come into effect on 14 September 2009 and involve the following:

New criteria for approval as a business sponsor, including a training benchmark Complete revision of the sponsorship obligations of employers using the 457 program as well as sanctions for breach of obligations New list of approved occupations for 457 visas, along with new legislation for approval of nomination Introduction of market rate salary levels for 457 visas Removal of employers� obligation to pay health costs for new 457 visas, and requiring 457 holders to have private health insurance Changes to the 8107 work restriction on 457 visas and allowing 457 holders to "transfer" to a new sponsor without applying for a new 457 visa

Sponsorship Approval

The Department of Immigration is seeking to st reamline the approval process for employers seeking to sponsor employees under the 457 program. As a result, the requirements for approval as a business sponsor have been completely re-written.

Training Benchmark

Businesses have two options in meeting the training benchmark:

Payment to an industry training fund of at least 2% of payroll; or Expenditure of at least 1% of payroll on training of employees.

It was previously possible for a business to show that they were introducing or utilising in Australia new technology as an alternative to demonstrating training, but this no longer appears to be possible.

Benefit to Australia

The "benefit to Australia" requirement which previously applied to sponsorship approvals is no longer required. Employers previously needed to show that employment of a person on a 457 contributed to employment of Australians, trade in goods & services, competitiveness of an Au stralian business sector or links with international markets.

Employment of Local Labour and Non-Discriminatory Employment Practices

Employers are now required to provide an attestation that they have a strong record or demonstrated commitment to employing local labour and non-discriminatory employment practices. This presumably means that it may be more difficult for employers who have a large number of 457 holders to sponsor further applications. The emphasis on non-discriminatory employment practices might result in issues for employers preferentially hiring overseas nationals or paying lower salaries to overseas workers.

Nomination Requirements

The legislation for approval of 457 nominations has also been completely revised.

The occupation the employee is to work in must in general be on the list of approved occupations for 457 visas. The employer must now certify that the duties of the position match t he ASCO definition of the occupation and that the qualifications and experience of the applicant meet the skill level specified in the definition.

A revised 457 occupations list has been produced on 11 September 2009. A number of "not elsewhere classified" occupations have been eliminated. These are occupations where the tasks and duties are not specified by ASCO, and are considered "catch all" occupations. An attempt has been made to narrow the "not elsewhere classified" occupations still on the list by including definitions and a list of allowed specializations. This has also been done for butchers and project/program administrators.

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