Legislative changes to replace the 457 Visa program with the Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) Visa will take place over a number of phases from 1 July, 1 November and March 2018. The changes will have considerable implications for businesses employing visa holders. In this presentation, business migration experts, Interstaff address: • Case examples and strategies on managing visa changes • How changes to sponsorship obligations will impact the way you manage 457 visa holders • How to prepare your business for the TSS Visa including business cost implications. Interstaff has three decades of experience in business migration and are trusted by a range of business clients from local businesses to multinational organisations across Australia and internationally.

2. • Context
• 457 Visa Changes
• New Temporary Skilled Shortage (TSS) Visa
• Case Examples
• Strategies
Agenda

3. Context: 457 Visas Immigration Department Statistics
• Increase in the number of nomination applications refused
• Increase in the number of visa applications being refused

4. Context: 457 Visas Immigration Department Statistics
Cancellation and refusal of visas on character grounds has increased significantly since 2014 demonstrating
the centrality of integrity in all applications

5. Context: 457 Visas - Fast forward to 2017
• Australian government announces the 457 visa program will be abolished
• A new program will be introduced to ‘better meets Australia’s genuine labour market needs’
• Concerns from industry including education, technology and start-up sectors

6. Context: 457 Visas – The challenge for businesses
“We are a small country and we need to be able to attract the best skills; it’s absolutely
hypocritical.” – Alison Watkins, Coca-Cola Amatil
“We have a misconceived view that we are somehow losing jobs. The reality [is that] some jobs
are too costly to develop here.” – Peter Coleman, Woodside Chief Executive
“We’ve got extremely talented people here [in Australia] and we have extremely smart people
coming out of universities. They just don’t have the experience we need.”
– Mike Cannon-Brookes, Atlassian
(Source: WA Today, 20 June 2017 and Radio National)

7. 457 Visa Changes
The Department of Immigration have announced a phased transition to the new visa regime:

8. April 2017
• Two new occupation lists
➢ Medium to Long Term Skills Shortage List (MLTSSL)
➢ Short Term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL)
• Caveats apply to 59 occupations on the lists, 216 occupations removed
• Visa Grant period changed to 2 years (STSOL) and 4 years (MLTSSL)
• The visa changes were applied retrospectively to those who had
undecided applications for 457 visas with the Department of Immigration
at 19 April 2017
• It is unclear whether 457 applicants or 457 visa holders at 19 April 2017
will have pathways to permanent residence – to be confirmed by the
Government
457 Visa Changes

9. July 2017
• Mandatory Police Certificates
• English language salary exemption to be removed
• Mandatory English language requirement introduced
• Expanding mandatory skills assessments
• Occupation lists may change again after further review
• ePLUS system introduced (currently eVisa) – new data collection process to address
caveats regarding turnover and workforce details
• Nomination applications will require Immigration identifiers for nominees (eg. Visa
application IDs)
• Policy for Training Benchmarks to be tightened
457 Visa Changes

10. November 2017
• Collection of Tax File Numbers (TFN) – cross matching with Australian Tax
Office.
• Department of Immigration to publish details of sanctioned Standard
Business Sponsors on its website
457 Visa Changes

11. March 2018
• TSS Visa Scheme replaces/‘abolishes’ the 457 visa scheme
• The TSS Visa will comprise of two distinct streams:
➢ Short Term Stream - 2 year visa
➢ Medium to Long Term Stream - 4 year visa
• Skilling Australians Fund to replace training benchmarks
• Mandatory Labour Market Testing
• Non-discriminatory workforce test
New TSS Visa

12. New TSS Visa
Short Term Stream Medium-Long Term Stream
STSOL – changing every 6 months MLTSSL – reviewed every 12 months
2 year visa 4 year visa
Renew onshore once only Renew onshore
English test: no less than 4.5, overall 5 in IELTS
(or equivalent)
English test: 5 in all bands of IELTS (or
equivalent)
Genuine Temporary Entrant Requirement Pathway to permanent residence after 3
years

13. Skilling Australians Fund
• Administered by Commonwealth Department of Education & Training in
partnership with the States and Territories
• Provide training for ‘high need industries and occupations’
• Small Business (turnover: less than $10m)
➢ TSS: $1,200 per visa per year
➢ 186/187: $3,000 per applicant
• Medium to Large Business (turnover: $10m or more)
➢ TSS: $1,800 per visa per year
➢ 186/187: $5,000 per applicant
• To be paid at the time of nomination application - not refundable in event
of visa refusal
New TSS Visa

14. • MLTSSL is a list of ‘critical’ skills needs
• Offers a pathway to permanent residence
On this list:
Chefs, Secondary Teacher, Neurologist, Software Engineer,
Surveyors, Fitters etc
Emily is a Civil Engineer in Dublin, married with 2 children
• Offered a job in a medium sized business based in Melbourne
• Emily wants the security of long term residence in Australia
• Her sponsor wants a permanent team member for the long term
• Civil Engineer is the MLTSSL
• Currently, 457 Government fees for Emily and her family are $2,980
Case Example – MLTSSL 4 year visa

15. Options for Emily and her sponsor from March 2018:
• TSS visa – 4 years with a transition path to PR after 3 years
➢ Costs: Training Levy: $ 7,200
Government fees: $ 6,330
TOTAL: $13,530
➢ 2 to 3 months
➢ Training Levy costs not recoverable from visa applicants
• 187/187 visas (Direct Entry Stream)
➢ Costs: Training Levy: $ 5,000
Government fees: $ 7,345
TOTAL: $12,345
➢ 9 to 12 months
➢ Training Levy costs not recoverable from visa applicants
Emily - Civil Engineer

16. Options for Emily and her sponsor from March 2018:
• 189 visa
➢ Costs - Government fees: $ 7,345
➢ By invitation only and points test
➢ Occupation on the MTLSSL only
➢ 9 to 12 months
• 190 visa
➢ Costs - Government fees: $ 7,345
➢ By invitation only and points test
➢ Occupation on the MTLSSL or STSOL (State or Territory Must
nominate)
➢ 9 to 12 months
Emily - Civil Engineer

17. • STSOL is a list of skilled occupations that will be changed every 6 months
• No PR for these occupations (from March 2018)
Occupations on this list:
Sales & Marketing Manager, Corporate General Manager, ICT
Managers, Mechanical Engineering Technician, Chemical Plant
Operator etc
Sergio is an experienced Managing Director from Spain with no
family members migrating with him
• Sergio has been offered a job with an Australian technology company as a
Managing Director (on the STSOL)
• He is 48 years of age
• Sergio reads and writes English but he is not a confident English speaker
• Currently, 457 government fees for Sergio are $1,390
Case Example – STSOL 2 year visa

18. Options for Sergio and his sponsor from March 2018:
• TSS visa – 2 years with NO transition path to PR
➢ Costs: Training Levy: $ 2,400
Government fees: $ 1,480
TOTAL: $3,880
➢ 2 to 3 months to obtain the TSS visa
➢ Training Levy costs not recoverable from visa applicants
• Mandatory English test
• The occupation ‘Managing Director’ is subject to a caveat requiring the
Australian business to show that it:
➢ employs 5 or more staff and
➢ has a turnover of more than AUD$1m
• No clear pathway to PR – applicants over 45 are subject to limited
exemptions from 1 July 2017 and applicants under the STSOL stream will
not have access to PR from March 2018
Sergio - Managing Director

19. Occupations removed from relevant skills list – no longer eligible for
the 457/TSS or PR visas
216 occupations were removed including:
Case example – Occupation Removed
Petroleum Engineer* Industrial Engineer Driller
Maintenance Planner Marine Transport
Professional
Ship’s Engineer
/Master/Officer
Sales Rep (Industrial
Products)
Engineering Technicians Petroleum or Gas Plant
Operator
Others, including marine occupations Ship’s Engineer, Master and Officer are not
available for the 457 program as a result of caveats
*Chemical, Materials, Electronic, Production or Plant Engineers also off the list

20. Marcel is an experienced Marine Engineer – he has worked all over
the world
• Marcel has been offered a job as a Marine Engineer by a Perth based
business
• His employer submitted a nomination application prior to the 19 April
changes and it was approved under the occupation Ship’s Engineer
• Marcel is now ready to lodge his visa application but his occupation has
been removed from the 457 visa occupation list
Marcel – Ship’s Engineer

21. Marcel is an experienced Marine Engineer – he has worked all over
the world
• Marcel has a degree in electrical and electronic engineering and a
significant amount of his duties will be to manage the power generation
system for the vessel/installation on which he works
• After careful consideration of the duties of Marcel’s role, his employer
submits a new nomination application for Marcel under the occupation
Electrical Engineer and Marcel submits his visa in line with that
nomination.
• Job descriptions/positions can sometimes fit into more than one
occupation classification – it is important to consider this as an option if it
is reasonable to have more than one classification for your positions
Marcel – Ship’s Engineer

22. • Processes
• Timelines for obtaining visas may extend with the new requirements – build this
into your onboarding process
• Police checks – we suggest asking candidates to provide police certificates or
asking candidates to complete the visa character declaration prior to submitting
visas and paying training levy contributions
• Consider other (non employer sponsored) options for PR or plan for a 3 year
transition to employer sponsored PR
• Procedures
• Understand your sponsorship obligations & schedule workshops to refresh your
knowledge annually or bi-annually - sanctioned sponsors be published from
November 2017
• Review and develop a strong understanding of all the declarations you make in
signing off nomination application forms and letters associated with your
applications
Strategy 1

23. • Workforce planning
• Identify and recruit as early as possible to allow for the widest range of
visa options
• Consider renewing 457 visas (if required) before March 2018
• Develop full migration strategy
• Consider visas outside of employer sponsored program where appropriate
• Consider the use of short term work visas where appropriate
• Consider benefits eg, more cost-effective options available
• Review job descriptions
• Determine the range of occupation classifications that are suitable.
Strategy 2 – Plan

24. Strategy 3 - Budget
• Conduct a cost forecast based on your current 457 visa holders/applicants using the
new TSS costs to get an understanding of the costs to your business
• Consider sharing costs, where possible, the visa application fees with visa applicants
• Budget for risk
• Training levy fees will effectively be non-refundable or only refundable in very
limited circumstances
• No visa guarantee – ensure your business understands the cost risk where health,
character or other issues are present

25. Thank you
For additional resources or to have a discussion on the work visa
options available to you, please get in touch with our registered
migration agents at visas@interstaff.com
About Interstaff
Established in 1988, Interstaff has three decades of experience in
business migration. Based in Perth, Western Australia, we specialise in
strategic solutions and are trusted by a range of business clients from
local businesses to multinational organisations across Australia
and internationally.
Connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
www.interstaff.com