STATE immigration officials are working to change restrictions on a new, long-sought-after class of visa that have riled business at a time when it is struggling to attract skilled labour.
Government sources have confirmed it has been consulting with industry regarding restrictive criteria on the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme, which was extended by the federal government in September to include metropolitan Perth.
The federal Department for Immigration and Citizenship governs the scheme, long used successfully by businesses to attract workers in regional centres and cities such as Adelaide and Darwin, but it is administered by the state’s Department of Training and Workforce Development in WA.
While initially welcoming the changes, industry players have been disappointed to find that the employer typically has to show it has advertised the position in newspapers for at least three months as part of the visa application.
This is exacerbated in the case of existing 457 visa holders who apply for the more permanent RSMS visa, which effectively means they are repeating the labour testing process.
Industry players and migration consultants argue that in Perth’s tight job market, the time frame is too long when the need for skills is well known and often the applicant already has the job.
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA, which is an industry lobby group and a provider of migration services to business, confirmed it asked the department to review the labour market testing criteria late last year.
CCI said the key issue was the three-month time period as part of labour market testing, especially around transitioning arrangements for 457 applicants.
“It is onerous to go through the process again; if you have had someone doing a good job for three or four years why is retesting (the labour market) needed?” a CCI spokesman said.
However, the spokesman also said CCI officials had found the government responsive to its concerns and were confident that some key changes would be made in the near future.
The Migration Institute of Australia also confirmed it had raised these issues with the state government, including a letter to the Premier Colin Barnett before Christmas.
MIA president Jacqui Ure said there had been some frustration in the industry but she was also confident from her dealings with the state government that the issue would be resolved soon.
Ms Ure said the regional scheme was advantageous because it was more attractive to employees due to being a route to permanent visa status and provided more security to employers because it locked the visa holder to the business for two years.
