Coalition Government set to open up the 457 Visa Program

The Minister for Immigration Mr Scott Morrison has made statements indicating the government’s intention to wind back some of the excessive labour market testing requirements on the 457 visa program introduced by the previous government.

In an article in The Australian, Annabel Hepworth writes:
In a closed-door speech yesterday, Australian Mines and Metals Association chief executive Steve Knott advocated the dumping of Labor’s “pre-election, last-minute, politically driven, ill-considered, unnecessary and cumbersome” labour market testing requirements for 457 visas.
The testing requirements were introduced by the Rudd government amid claims of “widespread employer rorting” and require companies to demonstrate that they have tried for four months to recruit Australians before nominating a foreign worker for a 457 visa.
The Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Scott Morrison, said last night: “We strongly opposed these measures in opposition and will be consulting on how best to cut union red tape on 457s, while maintaining legitimate protections that support the integrity of the scheme”
“The previous government made some wild and unsubstantiated claims about abuse of the scheme to ram their union-sponsored changes through the parliament. One of our first steps will be to put these claims to the test.”

Whilst no changes have been made to the migration laws as yet, this is good news for employers seeking to fill skill shortages using the temporary work visa program. Streamlining the process and removing labour market testing will make the process faster and less costly for Australian businesses.

If you require any assistance or advice in relation to obtaining a 457 visa, please contact us.