A year since the death of the 457, here are employers opinions on the 482 TSS

18 Apr A year since the death of the 457, here are employers opinions on the 482 TSS

It is now one year on since the abolishment of the 457 and the introduction of the Temporary Skill Shortage (482) visa. For migrants, the change was detrimental, with the door closing on many PR pathways for migrants with the experience requirement raising from zero months (457 visa) to 24 months full time (482 visa). However for the employers (the sponsors), the experience competency increase was a welcomed change. Further to this, processing times have been FANTASTIC! Sometimes when lodging a 457 visa, employers would have to wait 9-12 months to get their employee (if offshore) started, enough time for the projects they were required for to fall over. It was impractical. Whereas now, I can lodge an application and get it approved within a week. The 482 processing times are sensational!

But enough about what I think, what do employers think? The Australian Human Resource Institute (AHRI) just published their research report into employer’s thoughts of the changes. Far and wide, the changes made by the Department are supported by employers, which was a large sample size of several hundred across metropolitan, regional, and remote employers. The 25-page report makes great toilet reading (seems most people do use their phone on the dunny, 75%, crazy hey!?!), but if pages of pie charts and statistics don’t float your boat then I’ve done you a favour and summarised the key findings below:

• Skilled migrants are important to Australian businesses, with 76% of employers surveyed having sponsored previously.
• 84% said that a skilled migrant scheme is required in Australia, with 75% reporting a benefit from the program.
• 08% of employers surveyed believe the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy is too high.
• Top regions for the surveyed employers are Asia (27%), UK and Ireland (24%), Europe (14%), USA (9%), India (7%), and Africa (6%). I can second that, having at least one 482 nominee client from each of those regions this year so far.
• 73% of employers surveyed report that sponsoring foreign workers hasn’t affected their capacity to recruit Australian’s into other roles.

There is a great quote included within the report which I feel is very relevant at the moment:

“Stop using [immigration] as a tool to get votes, understand that our country is built on immigration and that’s a good thing, not a bad thing” – anonymous employer.