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.
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.
