Australia tightens skilled-worker visa policy, to affect Indians

The 457 programme will be replaced by a new temporary skill shortage work visa by March 2018. It will have two streams.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull on a Metro in Delhi on April 10. PTI file

Australia on Tuesday announced changes to its employer-sponsored temporary skilled work visa programme designed to ensure that the country meets its skills needs. The move comes days after Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s visit to India. Indians are the biggest beneficiaries of the programme followed by the citizens from the UK and China. The Australian media reported that there were 95,757 workers in Australia on primary 457 visa programme as of September 30.

The programme allows businesses to employ foreign workers for up to four years in skilled jobs for which there is shortage of Australian workers. The move means a further shrinking of professional opportunities for Indian skilled professionals as the US is considering putting curbs on H1B visas. The UK too is turning more protectionist after Brexit. India reacted cautiously to the Australian move.

External affairs ministry spokesman Gopal Banglay said that India is examining consequences of the new policy in consultation with stakeholders. “This is also a matter we will be looking at in the context of CECA (Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement) negotiations.”

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The 457 programme will be replaced by a new temporary skill shortage work visa by March 2018. It will have two streams. A short-term stream will allow entry for up to two years. Another medium-term stream will provide for allowing entry for up to four years, similar to the 457 visa. The Australian High Commissioner to India Harinder Sidhu said the entry of skilled workers is vital to Australia’s economic growth and prosperity.

She added that the ongoing success requires constant calibration to ensure best outcomes for Australians and temporary skilled workers alike.

“India provides the highest number of temporary skilled workers to Australia of any country; eight out of the top 10 occupations for Indian 457 visa holders (December 2016) were IT professionals,” Sidhu said in a statement. “The occupation list for the four-year visa includes IT professionals, so there continues to be visa options for skilled Indian nationals.” Earlier, Turnbull said, “We are an immigration nation, but the fact remains: Australian workers must have priority for Australian jobs…” He said that Australia will adopt a new Australians-first approach to skilled migration.

“It is important businesses still gets access to the skills they need to grow and invest, so the 457 visa will be replaced by a new temporary visa, specifically designed to recruit the best and brightest in the national interest.’’

Shubhajit Roy

Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism ‘2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury’s special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban’s capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More

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