Proposed Changes to the 457 Australian Visa

The Rudd Government has just put forward a proposal to soon empower special investigators to enter and search workplaces to ensure employers are not exploiting foreign workers. These changes would create similar powers for investigators to that of the authority that inspectors under the Workplace Relations Act currently have.

Immigration Minister Chris Evans on Monday released a discussion paper seeking stakeholder feedback on proposed reforms to the 457 temporary skilled migrant visa scheme.
Senator Evans said he planned to introduce a bill in September to amend the Migration Act to help prevent exploitation and ensure the wages and conditions of Australian workers are not undercut.

The discussion paper proposes new authority controls that will see specially appointed officers enabled to enter and search workplaces so that the officers may determine whether employers are complying with their sponsorship obligations or not.

Under the proposals, employers who provided false or misleading information would face penalties of up to 10 years imprisonment or a fine of up to $110,000. Such harsh fines are seen to ensure that employers follow the laws and policies that accompany the Australian 457 temporary skilled migration visa.

"The intention of the bill is to clarify sponsor obligations and provide further fair and transparent mechanisms for temporary workers from overseas." "The additional obligations set out in the discussion paper are simply options and should not be interpreted as a complete list of obligations which would otherwise be imposed." Senator Evans said.

The proposed legislation would also enable the immigration department to publish the names of employers found to be in breach of their obligations. Something that in turn would more or less ‘black list’ business from sponsoring migrant employees in the future.

A review of the 457 visa program is currently being completed and is due to be released to the relevant groups in October.