Introduction of powers to reduce fraud in Business Skills visas
On 5 November 2011 powers were introduced to reduce fraud in all Business Skills visas at both the temporary and permanent stages. This power is called the fraud Public Interest Criterion 4020 (PIC 4020).
Unfortunately, some people provide false or misleading information in visa applications. For example, some people may provide forged or false documents or give incorrect information to attempt to secure the grant of their visa application. The department takes any misrepresentation to secure a visa to Australia seriously and strives to uphold the integrity of all visa applications.
The introduction of PIC 4020 provides a strong basis for action against attempts to provide false information or documents. PIC 4020 allows a decision-maker to refuse the grant of a visa to a person and impose a three year bar on obtaining a new visa for having provided false, misleading and/or bogus documentation and/or information to the department.
The Fraud PIC now applies to Business Skills applicants who provide false, bogus or misleading documents during the course of their visa application, or in an application within the last 12 months that resulted in the grant of a visa. This also applies to those Business Skills visa applications which have been submitted previously but have not yet been finally decided.
The department will give applicants who have allegedly provided fraudulent information an opportunity to comment on the documents the department suspects to be fraudulent. The applicant will also have the opportunity to demonstrate compassionate and compelling circumstances why their visa should be granted.
For more information visit http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/_pdf/fraud-pic.pdf
The Business Talent visa
The Business Talent (subclass 132) visa is part of the Business Skills program and is for applicants who can demonstrate they have owned and operated significantly larger businesses than their temporary visa counterparts, and have higher personal and business assets.
Applicants for a Business Talent visa are required to provide evidence that they have net business and personal assets of $1.5 million and have owned and operated a business offshore with an annual turnover of $3 million.
The visa provides direct entry to permanent residence. Visa holders are required to complete a survey within three years of residence in Australia to determine their commitment to business in Australia.
The department is conducting a comprehensive review of the Business Skills program. The following are some interesting points about Business Talent visa holders learned from the review.
Industry composition
The following chart illustrates the industry composition of the businesses that are owned and operated by Business Talent visa holders in Australia. It also shows the proportion of visa holders establishing new businesses or purchasing existing businesses.
The most common industries for Business Talent visa holders to operate a business are in wholesale trade, accommodation and cafes, manufacturing and retail trade. A high number of new businesses exist in industries that require a greater emphasis on complex business partnerships and networks, for example, wholesale trade, property and business services, and communication services. Industries that serve the direct public such as accommodation, cafés and retail trade see visa holders buying and operating established businesses.
Business turnover
Business turnover is the revenue generated by an entity as a result of the ordinary activities of a business. It relates to current business activity and is an important measure of the visa holder’s business success in Australia. The average annual turnover declared by Business Talent visa holders for their Australian business is $2.2 million.
Business and personal assets
The net assets criteria reflect the personal success of the applicant in business and investment. Personal assets also provide some level of assurance that the applicant has sufficient personal funds for settlement in Australia. The net business asset standard is a measure of an applicant’s preparedness to risk their own capital in a business endeavour. The average amount of assets declared by Business Talent visa holders is $9 million and places them in the top quintile of Australian households for net wealth.
Employment
Business Talent visa holders are contributing to the program’s objectives of creating employment as 48 per cent of businesses employ one to four people and 25 per cent employ five to 19 people. This compares to the broader Australian business community where 60 per cent of domestic businesses are non-employing and only 24 per cent employ one to four people[1].
[1]ABS: 8165.0 Jun 2003 to Jun 2006 Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits
Business Skills and innovation
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship is conducting a comprehensive review of the Business Skills visa program to determine whether the program is meeting its intended objectives and what role the program should play in building Australia’s economy.
Innovation is the key to making Australia more productive and more competitive. Economic growth depends on the diffusion of new technology and knowledge, driven by national innovation systems that can absorb and implement knowledge. In high income countries such as Australia, the challenge is to maintain a flexible innovation system that can both create knowledge and absorb it from elsewhere.
We know that targeted immigration is one source for the supply of skilled workers and it supports a flexible labour market, but also, migrants themselves are strong contributors to innovation. A recent working paper by the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (DIISR) titled Migration and the Innovation Agenda, which reviewed international literature on immigration and innovation, argues that a positive correlation exists between immigration and innovation output in domestic economies.
There is no general path towards innovative success, and this introduces considerable diversity and variety in approaches to innovation. Innovation is not something that happens only in a relatively small group of high technology industries, nor something that is driven by a small set of industries or technologies. The service sector is also strongly innovative, and this is particularly important since the service sector is the largest sector in all advanced economies.
Innovation by businesses is not purely the result of independent decision making at the level of the enterprise. Innovation occurs in a system that is shaped by the social and cultural context, the institutional and organisational framework, regulatory systems, infrastructure and processes that distribute knowledge.
Business Skills is a niche category within Australia’s skilled migration program in that it directly creates business, and visa holders become business owners, rather than supporting existing businesses and industries facing skill shortages with a supply of skilled employees.
The program’s objectives are very similar to innovation activities and outcomes:
- generating employment
- increasing the export of Australian goods and services
- increasing the production of goods and services inAustralia
- introducing new or improved technology
- increasing competition and commercial activity
- developing links with international markets
Our capacity for invention and discovery depends on the strength of our national innovation system. General Skilled Migration and the Employer Nomination Scheme will contribute to the national innovation system through the placement of highly skilled people into the domestic workforce. However, these migrants have been selected on the basis of filling skills shortages and medium to long-term skill needs, not specifically on their history or capacity for innovation. The Business Skills program is about increasing entrepreneurial talent and diversifying business expertise in Australia. Therefore, the Business Skills program is ideally positioned to target migrants that have a demonstrated history of innovation and success in business to make a powerful contribution to the national innovation system and too the Australian economy.
The Business Skills program
The current Business Skills visa program was introduced in March 2003 and aims to attract skilled and experienced business owners, senior executives and investors to migrate to Australia to enter into business or investment activity.
Business Skills is a niche category within Australia’s skilled migration program distinct from general skilled migration and the employer sponsored visa categories in that it directly creates business, and visa holders become business owners, rather than supporting existing businesses with a supply of skilled employees.
Small business forms a vital part of the Australian economy. The sector represents 96 per cent of all Australian businesses and accounts for 48 per cent of all private sector employment. [1]
The objectives of the Business Skills program are to contribute to the growth of the Australian economy by:
- generating employment
- increasing the export of Australian goods and services
- increasing the production of goods and services inAustralia
- introducing new or improved technology
- increasing competition and commercial activity
- developing links with international markets
- increasing the dispersal of business migrants across Australia through State and Territory Government sponsorship.
The program is largely a two-stage process whereby migrants enter Australia initially on a provisional (temporary) visa, generally valid for a period of four years. Once a provisional visa holder is able to demonstrate satisfactory evidence of a specified level of business or investment activity, they may apply for permanent residence.
The program currently consists of 13 visa subclasses, six being provisional visas and the other seven being permanent. The program caters for business people migrating independently, or with sponsorship from a State or Territory Government.
The department is in the final stages of a comprehensive review of the Business Skills visa program to determine whether the program is meeting its intended objectives and if any adjustments are necessary.
