The Assistant Minister for Immigration, Senator the Hon. Michaelia Cash announced today the government’s response to the recommendations of the Independent review into the integrity of the subclass 457 program. The review was commissioned in 2014 with the task of examining compliance within the 457 program by sponsors of overseas workers.
Key recommendations of the review include an increased focus on targeting employers who seek to misuse the program, greater transparency around the department’s sanctions processes and proactive sharing of information between key government agencies.
The government will act on most of the recommendations. It is expected that a majority of the reforms will be implemented before the end of the 2015-16 program year.
Some of the key measures include:
- Tighten the monitoring regime for sponsors that pose high risks;
- Increase collaboration between the Australian Taxation Office and the Department of Immigration and Border Protection;
- Make information on 457 visa holders rights and obligations more readily available;
- Disclose information on sanctions as a means to deter employers from improper practices;
- Introduce a new penalty making it unlawful for sponsors to receive payment in return for sponsoring a 457 worker;
- Explore options to replace the current training benchmarks provisions;
- Establish Ministerial Advisory Council on Skilled Migration (MACSM) to advise the government on skilled migration issues;
- Amend the threshold for market salary exemption from $250,000 to $180,000
- Review the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold;
- Amend English language requirements to allow applicants to provide an average test score instead of minimum scores for each test components;
- Extend the sponsorship approval period for start-up businesses from 12 to 18 months; and for other businesses from 3 to 5 years;
- Investigate options to provide a streamlined processing system for low-risk sponsors.
More details here