Australia, US move to curb skilled worker visas

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's government has axed the 457 visa program.

"There is an urgent need to fill critical shortages now in jobs demanding cybersecurity, cloud, and data and analytics-related skills", AIIA CEO Rob Fitzpatrick said in a statement on Wednesday.

Other reasons for the Turnbull government's move this week are less convincing.

He wanted to "put jobs first" and "Australians first", signalling a reduction in the occupations available to skilled foreign workers and raising the threshold to qualify.

Mr Mahar said the Prime Minister's announcement of the 457 visa's demise "is not disastrous for the farm sector" as it did little to facilitate farmers' access to the skills they required, with shearers the only farm role included.

The consultation process and accompanying discussion paper was expected to tackle concerns including individual nomination procedure, third-party backing, length of stay, visa extension length, and whether the individual should be given permanent residency if their innovations prove to be a success.

"Bill Shorten had people coming out here on 457s to flip burgers at McDonalds".

Turnbull stressed that migration was an integral part of the Australian story and its success had helped the nation to become the world's most successful multicultural nation.

That sounds a plausible narrative, although in this political environment voters are entitled to be sceptical of both the aim and the policy.

Numerous job classifications from the 457 scheme to be scrapped were not used much anyway.

"This requires the ability to bring in the best talent from around the world and have our employees work where they want and need to".

Occupations including cooks, cafe and restaurant managers, chefs, marketing specialists and programmers, which are the most common 457 visa holders, remain on the list but will now require background checks, two years of work experience and labour market testing. "This is important for temporary visas; vital for permanent residency and citizenship", he said.

The Short-term visa would cost $1,150 and the Medium-term one $2,400 - more than the $1,060 the 457 visa cost.

Mr Goudie acknowledged that some businesses might "exploit the system", but said he had employed industrious workers on skilled working visas who went on to become valuable contributors to society. The government claims the test will be toughened, although detail is scant.

But Dutton said he was happy to work with business, and questioned what Atlassian was doing in the local market.

The flip side of the reforms is that Australian skill levels will need to be upgraded.

The fee paid by companies will depend on their size. Under the changes, they will have three chances, If they fail them all, they must wait two years before trying again.

The AHA has called on the Government to ensure that the needs of the hospitality industry are met within the new visa program.

The Herald has long supported a well-managed, economy-boosting population growth policy based on immigration.

"That rhetoric is very consistent with the rhetoric from Donald Trump around protecting American jobs and also from Theresa May's government in the United Kingdom post-Brexit, ensuring that UK workers get first access to jobs", she said. Our leaders should be explaining the benefits of skilled migration, managing the social and environmental effects of population growth, and working to counter xenophobia.