Busting the myths about SkillSelect
SkillSelect will be a major change to how Australia manages its skilled migration program. There is much talk about the changes, and as with anything new, not everything you hear is always correct. This blog busts some of the myths we’ve heard about SkillSelect.
Myth 1 - SkillSelect only affects points tested visas—formally known as General Skilled Migration (GSM) visas.
A common myth is that SkillSelect will only affect the independent skilled migration program- this is not true.
If you are interested in applying for a skilled visa after 1 July 2012, you may have to use SkillSelect depending on your visa preference/s. Therefore, it is important you understand how SkillSelect will affect you and your visa options.
It will be compulsory to submit a complete expression of interest (EOI) and receive an invitation before you can lodge a visa application for the following visa programs:
• Subclass 189 Skilled – Independent (Permanent) (Class SI)
• Subclass 190 Skilled – Sponsored (Permanent) (Class SK)
• Subclass 489 – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) (Class SP)
• Business Skills visa program.
It is optional (although highly recommended) to submit an EOI to be found and contacted by an employer for the following visas programs:
• Subclass 186 – Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) (Class EN)
• Subclass 187 – Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) (Class RN)
• Subclass 457 – Temporary Business (Long Stay) (Class UC)
More information on visa options can be found on the SkillSelect website.
Myth 2 – I can’t submit an EOI for more than one visa.
You will be able to submit an EOI for one, a few or all skilled visas in the one EOI. You do not need to submit multiple EOIs.
SkillSelect is a free online service, and by expressing interest in more than one skilled visa, you could increase your chances of being found by a state or territory government or employer who needs your skills.
Myth 3 – It will still be expensive and time consuming for employers to find skilled workers.
SkillSelect will make finding overseas skilled workers easy for employers and help ease skill shortages through managed migration.
A key function of SkillSelect is to assist in easing skills shortages through providing Australian employers with access to a pool of intending skilled migrants who are seeking employer sponsorship on either a temporary or permanent basis.
SkillSelect is ideal for employers wanting to quickly identify options for resolving specific skill shortages. It will really help employers operating small to medium businesses who have found it difficult, expensive and time consuming to find workers in the past. SkillSelect is targeted, convenient, a free service, and is without any obligation to sponsor. Employers will be able to easily search across a number of key selection criteria such as experience, qualifications, language skills and willingness to work and live outside major metropolitan centres.
Once suitable skilled workers are identified, employers are able to send a message in SkillSelect to the skilled worker notifying them of their interest in discussing employment and sponsorship opportunities. When sponsorship arrangements have been established, the skilled worker’s EOI details are seamlessly transferred from SkillSelect to final assessment and processing systems, saving time for everyone.
Myth 4 – I can intentionally embellish my claims on my EOI to increase my points score and likelihood of getting an invitation.
There are some serious potential risks in providing false and misleading information in your EOI.
If you are invited to apply for a visa, the information in your EOI will be used as part of your visa application. You will then need to confirm your claims and submit evidence with your application.
If you provide false or misleading information on your EOI and receive an invitation based on this information, your application may be refused. If your visa application is refused you will lose your visa application charge and may also be subject to a bar which prevents the grant of a further visa.
Myth 5 -The introduction of SkillSelect will mean less skilled visas will be granted.
This is not true.
Each year the government announces the number of places in the migration program as part of the Budget. This announcement on the program size is what determines the number of skilled visas available each year.
In the 2012–13 Budget an additional 3400 places will be allocated to the skilled migration program—this is a total of 129 250 places.
SkillSelect will not increase or reduce the overall number of visas granted. It will only determine who is able to lodge a visa application for the independent, family sponsored, state/territory nominated and business skills visas. The target number of skilled visas granted will be the same as the number set by government in the Budget.
Have you heard any other myths about SkillSelect? Leave us a comment and we will be happy to answer any questions you may have about the new process.
For more information visit the SkillSelect website.
Information on changes to points based skilled migration: http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/new-skilled.htm
Information on the permanent employer sponsored visa reforms : http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/skilled-workers/permanent-employer-sponsored-visa-whats-new.htm
Houston Skills Australia Needs event—more than 650 jobs on offer
American residents with skills and experience in the oil and gas, mining and construction sectors will be able to meet Australian employers with more than 650 jobs on offer at the Skills Australia Needs job fair in Houston, Texas on May 19-20.
Registration for this free event is through the department’s website and they close on May 11.
Skills Australia Needs events offer invited skilled workers the chance to talk to Australian employers and recruiters about jobs available ‘Down Under’ face-to-face.
As well as potential employers, Australian immigration officers will be on hand to talk to participants about skilled visa options to live and work in Australia, either on a temporary or permanent basis, as well as Australia’s new skilled worker registration system—SkillSelect.
Invitees can also meet representatives from several other Australian organisations and government agencies, including:
• Australia’s state and territory governments will talk about what it’s like to live in Australia, and state sponsored visas
• Trades Recognition Australia (TRA) will provide advice about the process for having your skills recognised and the new streamlined arrangements for licensing, which mean workers can start a job on their first day in Australia
• VETASSESS, a US trades recognition agency approved by the TRA to assess skilled workers in the electrical and plumbing trades will provide information about their services, and
• Future Skills International, approved by the TRA to assess electricians will be on hand to answer questions about their services.
This event is the latest in a series that the Australian Government has staged in several countries for many years. The job fair will help Australian employers and state governments fill critical skill shortages in areas of occupational demand in Australia.
Details including the full list of exhibitors, jobs on offer and how to register are available at www.immi.gov.au/skillevents/skilled-workers.htm
New visa subclasses announced on the SkillSelect website.
We have just published information about the new visa subclasses that will be introduced under SkillSelect on 1 July 2012. You should visit the SkillSelect website to find out the latest information.
We hope this information will be useful if you are thinking about migrating to Australia and researching your visa options. Further updates on the legislative framework for the visa subclasses will become available in June 2012.
Details on the outcome of the review of the business skills program will be published when they are available. We will provide you with this information as soon we can. Keep checking this blog and the SkillSelect website for updates.
You will notice that the SkillSelect website looks quite different to the departmental website. The new format aims to make web content easy to access and read for all our clients. We would really appreciate your feedback on the new format, so please let us know what you think in the comments.
To help us ensure that we are providing you with the information you want, we would appreciate if you can answer a simple question below in our poll.
Why did you visit the Migration Blog today?
- 1. I’m an intending migrant, researching my options. (50%, 70 Votes)
- 2. I’m a visa holder who wants to keep up to date with current migration policy. (22%, 30 Votes)
- 3. I’m an employer looking for skilled workers. (2%, 3 Votes)
- 4. I’m an advisor to people seeking to migrate to Australia. (7%, 10 Votes)
- 5. I’m an Australian Government officer. (8%, 11 Votes)
- 6. I’m a member of the public interested in migration policy. (6%, 9 Votes)
- 7. I don’t fit into any of the above categories. (5%, 6 Votes)
Total Voters: 139
Loading ...February labour agreement termination a first
The department recently terminated a labour agreement with a company that was found to be in breach of its obligations by employing workers on a casual basis, underpaying them and providing false and misleading information to the department. The breaches were uncovered during a monitoring exercise by the department. The termination means that the company can no longer employ overseas workers.
Labour agreements are formal arrangements that a number of Australian employers have with the Australian Government to bring skilled and highly specialised workers toAustraliato fill critical vacancies where suitably qualified Australian workers can’t be found to do the job. Overseas workers must be employed full time and on the same salary and conditions as Australians doing the same work at the same location, which protects overseas workers from exploitation and maintains wages and conditions for Australians.
One of the main types of labour agreement is the on-hire template agreement that allows recruitment companies to sponsor highly skilled overseas workers on 457 visas and then place them with other businesses. These workers are often critical in filling the skills shortages being driven by very strong employment growth in the resources sector.
Under the template on-hire labour agreement, the recruitment company must still meet their sponsorship obligations to their sponsored workers, even though they are on-hired to another company.
While the vast majority of sponsors do the right thing, the department will continue to follow any leads that suggest misuse of our visa programs or exploitation of overseas workers. In this case, visa holders affected by the termination have been given a reasonable amount of time to find alternative employment with other approved sponsors.
Attracting overseas skilled workers for the Mining and Resources Sector
SkillSelect presentation at the London Expo
We’re all familiar with media highlighting skills shortages, particularly in the resources sector where there are not enough Australian workers available. A blog post by Tom (June 7 last year) explained how the introduction of Enterprise Migration Agreements would assist employers to secure overseas skilled workers in order to support this important sector of the Australian economy.
Building on this, from July 1 the government will introduce a new method for selecting skilled migrants, called SkillSelect to further help employers seeking skilled workers.
SkillSelect will provide registered employers with access to high quality, pre-screened migrants interested in sponsorship under the subclass 457, ENS and RSMS programs.
It is an efficient and easy to use system that will record intending migrants’ qualifications, work experience, the visas in which they are interested and whether they are willing to work in regionalAustralia. They will have evidence of their English language ability and most will have already had their skills assessed. SkillSelect will bring potential overseas workers to employers and facilitate contact between the employer and intending migrants. In addition, by matching the number of migration program places to the number of visa applications SkillSelect will streamline processing times and speed up the migration program’s response to business needs.
At a recent Skills Australia Needs event we staged in London, 28 Australian employers met 878 pre-screened skilled workers. As many as 500 overseas engineers and tradies will be sponsored to positions which employers were previously unable to fill through the Australian labour force.
Other recent events we’ve presented in Germany, Greece and Dubai have attracted interest from high quality engineering professionals, tradies, and healthcare professionals. Further promotional events are planned for the USA in May. Details will be provided shortly on the department’s website at: http://www.immi.gov.au/skillevents/upcoming-events.htm
You can read more by also visiting the SkillSelect website.
Protecting overseas workers from exploitation – update on sponsor monitoring activities
Australian workplace laws apply universally to all. In addition to these workplace protections, temporary overseas workers have an additional protective framework embodied in the Migration Legislation Amendment (Worker Protection) Act 2008 (the Worker Protection Act) sponsorship obligations.
The vast majority of sponsors are compliant; however, there is a comparatively small number of sponsors who inadvertently fail their sponsorship obligations, and even fewer who are recklessly unscrupulous.
In addition to sponsor monitoring officers, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) also has a highly trained, dedicated inspectorate of 38 officers who maintain a keen eye on sponsors of temporary overseas workers in order to protect them from exploitation. An inspector’s role is to gather information, investigate and assess matters relating to a sponsor’s compliance with their sponsorship obligations under the Worker Protection Act.
DIAC has commenced monitoring on 1398 sponsors; issued breach notices to 270; officially warned 188; and sanctioned 75, which means to 29 February this financial year, we have barred or cancelled sponsorship to a not insignificant number of employers doing the wrong thing.
In addition to administrative sanctions, we also have the power to serve infringements and take civil action; already in the last eight months we have issued 37 infringements to a value of more than $186 000, and filed two applications in the Federal Magistrates Court against sponsors for failing their obligations to their visa holders. Other cases are pending.
During the monitoring process, we also work collaboratively with other agencies. For example, if we uncover issues that fall within the responsibility of the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO), we either collaborate with, or refer cases to their inspectors for full investigation to ensure compliance with workplace laws. DIAC and the FWO are also working together to help visa holders understand their legal rights when working in Australia. In December we jointly released a fact sheet about workplace rights, specifically for overseas temporary workers. It is available at http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/skilled-workers/_pdf/457-your-rights-work.pdf
Skills Australia Needs 25-27 February 2012 in London
This month the department is hosting a Skills Australia Needs event in London from February 25-27. It will be one of our largest. We expect around 1400 skilled workers as invited participants to attend.
Skilled workers in engineering and trades will be given the chance to hear from the department about skilled visa options for Australia and to discuss employment and sponsorship opportunities with 28 engineering and trades exhibitors on 25-26 February. The weekend will be followed by an information evening on February 27, featuring 17 exhibitors seeking medical and other healthcare professionals whose skills are also in high demand in Australia.
The department has successfully coordinated Skills Australia Needs events for a number of years in various countries to provide information to skilled workers about skilled visa options for Australia. The events recognise the important contribution of skilled migrants to Australia’s productivity and economic growth by helping to fill critical skill shortages in areas of occupational demand in Australia.
The events also help Australian employers to address specific skill needs they are unable to fill through the Australian labour market by matching them with pre-screened skilled workers in targeted occupations.
Interested skilled workers are invited to attend based on their qualifications and experience in these targeted occupations and their likelihood of meeting Australia’s skilled visa requirements.
More information about Skills Australia Needs events for both skilled workers and employers is available on the department’s website www.immi.gov.au/skillevents/
Ideas for a labour agreement for the tourism industry
The Department is working together with other government agencies to try to help address the shortage of workers in the Australian tourism and hospitality sectors. On 24 January 2012, we released a discussion paper asking for feedback on ideas for a template labour agreement that might meet the needs of Australian employers in these industries where standard immigration products like the 457 program aren’t an option.
Tourism injects about $35 billion a year into the Australian economy but is looking at a shortfall of about 36 000 workers in jobs including experienced waiters, chefs, bar attendants and hotel managers.
A labour agreement is a formal contract between the Australian Government and an employer which provides flexible immigration solutions underpinned by strong integrity measures. Where a number of employers in the same industry are seeking to sponsor workers in the same occupations, we can look at developing an “industry template” labour agreement for all employers in that industry, provided that they meet a series of important requirements. These include a commitment to the employment and training of Australians, paying market salary rates above the temporary skilled migration income threshold (TSMIT) and being able to demonstrate that there is a genuine need to employ overseas workers, having first exhausted all options to recruit Australians.
Before we can develop a template labour agreement, we ask for broad stakeholder input through consultations and discussion papers.
This discussion paper floats a range of questions to see what Australian employers in the tourism and hospitality sectors are really needing in terms of assistance in meeting their skilled and semi-skilled worker needs. We are asking for input on a range of topics including occupations, salaries, qualifications, English language ability, training, and risk mitigation.
There is a media release about this at: Minister for Immigration and Citizenship
You can view the discussion paper here: Tourism Labour Agreement Discussion Paper
There is an article about it in the Financial Review at: The Pub with no Aussies
The discussion paper is open for comment until 16 March 2012.
SkillSelect webpage goes live!
The SkillSelect website goes live!
We are happy to announce that on 28 January the SkillSelect website was launched at www.skillselect.gov.au
This site provides information on SkillSelect, details on the Expression of Interest (EOI) and invitation process, and what information you will have to provide when you submit an EOI.
You will notice that the SkillSelect web page looks different to other pages on our website. Please let us know what you think about the new website design or the content we have published. Your feedback will assist us in improving the delivery of information to our clients.
Although the website has been launched, you will not be able to submit an EOI until 1 July 2012.
We plan to publish more information on the SkillSelect website in early April, including information on the new visa subclasses. Our blog will also continue to keep you up to date with SkillSelect and its implementation.
We encourage you to read our previous blogs on SkillSelect here as they may answer many of the questions you have about SkillSelect.
SkillSelect – impacts on the sponsored skilled migration programs
In our last blog, we discussed the who, what, why, when and how of SkillSelect.
Today, we will look at SkillSelect and how it will impact the state and territory sponsored, business skills and employer sponsored skilled migration programs.
SkillSelect will connect state and territory governments and Australian employers with potential skilled workers through a central database.
How will SkillSelect affect the sponsored skilled migration programs?
State and territory sponsored and business skills migration programs: SkillSelect will be the sole method for state and territory government sponsorship of business skills and state and territory sponsored visas.
If you are interested in state or territory sponsorship under these programs you will need to submit an expression of interest (EOI) and receive an invitation in order to lodge a visa application. In your EOI you can specify the state or territory you are interested in.
State and territory governments can search in SkillSelect and select potential applicants for nomination (as long as they have not reached agreed limits on their State Migration Plan). SkillSelect will then generate an invitation to be issued to the selected candidates.
State Migration Plans specify which occupations state and territory governments can nominate applicants under, and the number of visas that will be granted as part of the program. The review of the business skills category is considering whether state and territory sponsored business migrants should be included in State Migration Plans.
State and territory governments will still assess potential applicants before they nominate them. The actual nomination can only occur after an EOI has been lodged.
Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS), Regional Skilled Migration Scheme (RSMS) and subclass 457 visas:
Prospective applicants for ENS, RSMS and 457 visas are not required to use SkillSelect. However, when submitting an EOI you can express an interest in these programs that allows employers to view your details. SkillSelect will facilitate contact between employers and prospective applicants to discuss sponsorship opportunities. SkillSelect will serve as an online register to connect employers to details of skilled migrants interested in employer sponsorship.
Employers who identify people through their own selection processes will still be able to sponsor them as per current processes.
Skilled Graduate, Skilled Recognised Graduate, Distinguished Talent visas and Labour Agreement programs: SkillSelect will have no impact on these programs and they will continue to function as per any current processes in place.
The following table outlines when an EOI will be required:
|
Independent or Family Sponsored |
Subclass 457 |
Employer Sponsored |
State or territory Sponsored |
Business Skills |
Regional Sponsored (Provisional) |
|
Yes – EOI compulsory |
No – EOI optional |
No – EOI optional |
Yes – EOI compulsory |
Yes – EOI compulsory |
Yes – EOI compulsory |
Why implement SkillSelect?
State and territory governments can maximise the benefits of their State Migration Plans, and employers can quickly and easily identify prospective skilled workers with the required skills and attributes to fill skill shortages.
A key benefit of SkillSelect is the ability to address regional skill shortages. SkillSelect allows prospective migrants to nominate their willingness to live and work in regionalAustralia. This will benefit employers experiencing regional skills shortages and state and territory governments attempting to settle migrants in regional Australia.
When will SkillSelect be implemented?
SkillSelect will commence on1 July 2012. As of this date, new applicants for Independent, Family, State/Territory Sponsored or Business Skills visas will need to submit an EOI and be issued with an invitation before lodging a visa application.
For more information on SkillSelect go to our website at www.skillselect.gov.au
