Pilot program to fix skilled visa problem

Just one week after Atlassian’s co-founder, Mike Cannon-Brookes, said that changes to the 457 visa system show that Australia is “closed for business”, the federal government has announced the pilot of a new visa scheme.

The ‘Global Talent Scheme’ will be available to established businesses with an annual turnover of more than $4 million.

Those businesses will be able to sponsor highly skilled and experienced individuals for positions with earnings above $180,000.

Such firms will have to demonstrate that:

• they prioritise the employment of Australians;
• there will be skills transfer to Australian workers as a result of the person being granted a visa.

Sponsoring businesses must also have a track record of hiring and training Australians.

The Global Talent Scheme will also be available to technology-based and STEM-related start-up businesses, as long as they are ‘recognised by a start-up authority and demonstrate that they prioritise the employment of Australians’.

If all the criteria are met, a four-year Temporary Skill Shortage visa will be issued, with the option for a permanent residence application available after three years.

In a statement to the recent Senate Committee Hearing on the Future of Work and Workers, Cannon-Brookes said that Australia must act urgently to ensure it becomes a primary manufacturer of technology, and lack of access to experienced global talent is the biggest factor constricting the growth of the local tech industry.

“To unlock the huge job-creating potential of tech companies in Australia, we need to change the way we think about skilled migration. The government should be helping local companies attract world-class employees. Not close the door in their face,” he said.

“We want to ensure that Australian businesses can access the best talent in the world, because this will underpin business growth, skills transfer and job creation,” said Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Alan Tudge.

“At all stages, Australians are prioritised for the jobs, but where the skills and experience are not available here, we want to be able to attract talent from overseas.

“This is part of the ongoing reforms to our skilled visa programs to ensure that Australians have priority for Australian jobs, but acknowledge that there are times when the skills are not available in the country.”

The pilot program will run for 12 months from 1 July 2018, with an industry advisory group providing ongoing guidance.

Image credit: ©iStockphoto.com/Thomas Maier

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