Perth-based InterStaff Recruitment Ltd has been awarded an 'on hire labour agreement' by the federal government, allowing it to bring overseas workers into Australian in more than 60 occupations.
Perth-based InterStaff Recruitment Ltd has been awarded an 'on hire labour agreement' by the federal government, allowing it to bring overseas workers into Australian in more than 60 occupations.
InterStaff managing director Dan Engles said the firm had completed negotiations with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship and the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, and had been awarded its own On-Hire Labour Agreement authorising InterStaff to directly employ the workers it recruited and to place them on assignment with other employers.
The labour agreement will operate for three years.
It sets out the terms and conditions relating to both the engagement and employment of skilled overseas workers secured for temporary stay in Australia.
Mr Engles said securing the labour agreement was an important milestone for InterStaff, positioning the firm to move positively into the labour contract management industry for which it was ideally equipped.
InterStaff's core business of providing expert immigration, visa facilitation and offshore recruitment services compliments the new labour contract management role perfectly.
"Not only does this authorisation clear the way for us to establish our own pool of skilled employees for hire, it also means we can offer to relieve businesses of the onerous responsibilities and administrative burden that are part and parcel of directly employing temporary resident workers," Mr Engles said.
"The ongoing obligations of temporary resident sponsorship and employment are already heavy.
"and new legislation now before Parliament will provide the Government with even greater inspectorial powers and scope to impose severe penalties on employers in breach of their responsibilities."
"It is clear from our industry consultations that most employers would be glad to hand over this part of their role, but without losing the skills from the shop floor."
Mr Engles said InterStaff would also provide a service to workers from overseas who wanted to change employers during their stay or to secure ongoing work under their visa. InterStaff recruits skilled workers mostly from the UK, southern Africa and Asia.
The skill categories covered under InterStaff's On-Hire Labour Agreement with the Commonwealth range from blue collar trades to engineers and business professionals.
In demonstrating to government its commitment to the training of Australians, InterStaff negotiated to invest more than $80,000 in training indigenous Australian youth.
A training program is being developed in conjunction with Swan TAFE and will be launched at the end of October by the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans.