At the Jobs and Skills Summit 2022, the Government committed to introducing a package of reforms to address migrant worker exploitation in Australia. The following changes form a critical part of this package.
The TSMIT had been frozen at $53,900 since mid-2013 for approximately 10 years. To restore the threshold to approximately where it would have been had it been indexed annually, the TSMIT was then increased to $70,000 on 1 July 2023. The Government is committed to continue to index this amount annually. As a result, the TSMIT has been increased to $73,500 on 1 July 2024.
One of the visa conditions of the Subclass 482 (Temporary Skill Shortage) visa and the Subclass 494 (Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional)) visa is that the visa holders must not cease to work outside of their nominated sponsor for more than 60 consecutive days. Effective 1 July 2024, the period of 60 consecutive days has increased to a maximum period of 180 consecutive days and up to a maximum of 365 days over the visa grant period.
This is done with an aim to reduce the dependency of visa holders on their nominated employer to maintain their lawful status in Australia. With the previous visa condition of only a short period of 60 consecutive days to find a new nominated sponsor, visa holders are more hesitant to leave their employment despite any unfavourable workplace conditions that they may be subject to. This change addresses the existing power imbalance between the nominated sponsor and the visa holder. It will provide visa holders with confidence to raise workplace issues, leave exploitation and support investigations into employer conduct.
In the same light, amendments have been made to increase the maximum penalties and include new employer sanctions, in relation to current work-related and employer-sponsored related breaches. Further amendments have been made to include workplace exploitation as one of the matters that the Minister must have regard to when considering cancellation of temporary visas for breach of a visa condition. This is the Government’s continued efforts to reduce the exploitation of temporary migrant workers in Australia and strengthen the protections available to visa holders to give them confidence to report any workplace exploitation matters.
END OF BUSINESS INNOVATION AND INVESTMENT PROGRAMME (‘BIIP’)
Effective 1 July 2024, the BIIP has been ceased, due to it delivering poor economic outcomes for Australia. Studies have shown that “skilled migrants are estimated to contribute $300,000 more in fiscal benefits over their lifetime compared to a BIIP visa holder.” Therefore, a more sharply targeted visa needs to be introduced that will play a valuable role in the venture capital industry.
OTHER CHANGES TO BE INTRODUCED BY THE END OF 2024
Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417): Effective 1 July 2024, passport holders of United Kingdom, where their indicated nationality is British Citizen or British National (Overseas), are exempt from having to undertake ‘specified work’ for a period of 3 months in order to obtain a second or third working holiday visa.
Student Visa (Subclass 500): This visa is for individuals intending to pursue full-time studies at a registered educational institution in Australia. The duration of the visa is determined by the length of the course of study.
Temporary Skill Shortage visa (subclass 482, previously subclass 457): This visa is for skilled workers sponsored by an Australian employer to work in Australia on a temporary basis. It requires a job offer from an eligible employer and sponsorship approval.
Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485): This visa is designed for international students who have recently finished their studies in Australia, enabling them to work temporarily in the country after completing their educational program.
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