THE complexities of bringing foreign workers to Australia have prompted three professional service providers to form a consortium offering a one-stop shop for companies wanting to bring in skilled people from overseas.
Local law firm Talbot Olivier, national mid-tier accounting firm Grant Thornton and global group Greenberg have jointly created the WA Immigration Alliance, which they launched this week.
The group describes their offering as ‘turnkey’ and believes that the tax, immigration and legal environment is becoming increasingly difficult for companies that want to import specialist workers, particularly for big operations in the Pilbara.
Immigration was a hot button issue in the recent federal election campaign and those wanting to bring in foreign employees have faced tougher hurdles in recent months.
While both parties have stated that skilled immigration levels were a priority, industry views the political debate around capping the level of migrants to Australia as likely to increase hurdles for specialist workers.
Most business lobby groups have anticipated a shortage of skilled labour in WA as the strength of resources sector increases.