Australia Temporary Skills Shortage Subclass 482

As per the latest immigration news on March 18, 2018 the 457 Visa has been abolished and has now been replaced by the Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) Subclass 482 Visa.

This change in the visa program will affect the staff members who are sponsored by an employer also the changes to the legislation are extensive.

Here is some important information for the employers regarding the TSS visa.

When do the Changes apply?

The changes will come into effect from March 18, 2018 onwards. After this date:

✍ Applying for a  Subclass 457 Visa is not possible.

✍ The TSS subclass visa will replace the 457 visa.

These changes also apply to permanent employers who sponsor the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) and RSMS Subclass 187 visas that are lodged on or after this date.

What to do If I have already applied under the Subclass 457 Visa before March 18, 2018.

If you have applied under the Subclass 457 Visa before March 18, 2018 the application will continue to be processed. The application will be assessed as per the Migration regulations which have been applied before this date. If an application has be sent before 18 March, 2018 but there is no mention of any kind of linkage to 457 sent by this date then there the application will not be processed and the candidate will be issued a refund for the same.

What is the difference in the requirements for a TSS Visa than a 457 Visa?

There are some changes that have been made to the requirements list for application under a Temporary Skill Shortage TSS Subclass 482 Visa.

1. The TSS has three different Streams that are:
2. The short term, The medium term and The labour agreement streams
3. Work Experience
4. English Language Ability
5. Health Requirement
6. Occupations List
7. Work Conditions for the Visa
8. Visa Validity Period for Adult Children
9. Higher Visa Application Fees
10. Training requirement for sponsorship approval
11. Employer Sponsorship validity and renewal process
12. Market Rate Salary
13. Labour Market Testing is required in most cases
14. Various Nomination Requirements.

TSS Streams: An Overview

The employers can nominate under one of the three TSS application streams:

1. Short Term Stream

For applying under the short term stream:

1. The applicant’s nominated occupation should be in the STSOL (Short Term Skilled Occupations List).
2. The applicants should be genuine temporary entrants
3. The validity of the visa will be for 1 or 2 years (exceptions for International Trade Obligation applications).
4. The visa can be renewed only once onshore.

Medium Term Stream

For applying under the Medium term stream:

1. The applicants occupation should be present in the MLTSSL (Medium and Long Term Strategic Skills List).
2. Have a high English language proficiency score as compared to the Short term stream.
3. The validity of the Visa can be from 1 to 4 years.
4. The Visa can be renewed as many times as the holder wants and the applicants might be eligible for the status of a permanent employer.

Labour Agreement Stream

This stream is for those employers who have been able to negotiate a labour agreement with the Australian Government.

Work experience requirements for the TSS Subclass 482 Visa

For being eligible to apply for a TSS visa, the candidate should have a minimum of 2 years of work experience in a related field or in a nominated occupation. It used to be possible to apply under the 457 Visa without any work experience as long as the applicant had the relevant qualification which means that people with no work experience are not eligible to apply under the TSS Visa (for example International Students).

If the sponsorship is under the Labour Agreement scheme, a waiver of  2 year work experience requirement can be considered.

English Language Requirements for the TSS Subclass 482 Visa

✍ For the short term stream, language requirements are same as they were for subclass 457 Visa. An IELTS score of 5 with 4.5 minimum in all 4 bands.

✍ For long term stream, the English requirements are higher. A minimum of 5 in all the bands and a minimum of an overall 5 will not be sufficient.

Just like the 457 Visa, under the TSS the following countries do not need to take an English proficiency test.

✍ Passport holder from UK, Ireland, USA, Canada and New Zealand.

✍ People having studied for 5 years or more in an English medium.

✍ Have intra-company transfers where the base salary is $96,400 or above.

✍ Diplomatic/ Consular appointments.

For people applying under the Labour Agreement Stream, the requirements are not very extensive. The applicants need to show they have the English language skills as required by their profession without referring to formal English testing.

Health Requirements for the TSS Visa

To be eligible to get a TSS visa, applicants need to show that they don’t suffer from any serious medical conditions that are:

1. of public health concern or a public health hazard
2.  might end up being bringing a significant cost to the Australian community
3.  might result in use of any scarce medical or community services

The TSS visa is subject to health criterion 4007.Which means that if the applicant has a health condition, they can be granted a visa as long as the community doesn’t have to pay the cost through a health wavier. Personal factors are considered. For example:

1. Existing health insurance
2. Financial capability
3. Relative’s ability to provide the care needed.

The employer doesn’t need to sign an undertaking which means that the person won’t need to disclose their condition.

Changes to the Skilled Occupations Lists

The structure of the list for the TSS visa has been changed, find the new classifications below:

1.  The MTSSL: It contains the most high in demand occupations that make candidates eligible to apply for a 4 year Visa and gives them Permanent residence options.
2.  STSOL: This list contains occupations which are eligible for a TSS visa that’s valid for 2 years.
3. Regional Occupations: This contains a list of occupations that are eligible for a TSS only if the applied position is located in a regional postcode and are also eligible for the permanent RSMS visa.

There have been no changes to the MLTSSL or STSOL, but the regional list has some occupations added to it meaning that earlier some occupations that weren’t eligible to apply for under the 457 visa may now be eligible to apply for under the TSS visa if the position is located in a regional area.

Work Restriction on a TSS visa?

The TSS Visas are subject to the condition 8607 which is:

• a) The employees can only work for the employer who has nominated them in the sponsored occupation.
• b) The applicant must hold all the required permissions to work on the position.
• c) The person should start working within 90 days of arrival in Australia.
• d) The person might face a cancellation of they don’t work for more than 60 days.

Validity of the Temporary skill shortage Subclass 482 Visa with an adult child

If an adult child is accompanied by the applicant in then the TSS visa is valid until the child’s 23^rd birthday.

The 457 Visa could be valid in some cases after the child’s 23^rd birthday.

Cost

The application fee for the TSS visa varies with the stream that is applied for:

1. Short term stream: $1,265
2. Medium term stream: $2,645
3. Labour agreement stream: $2,645

There are no fee increases for the nomination or sponsorship application at this stage.

A training Levy will apply to TSS nominations as per the announcement by the government and the following rules might apply once the legislation is passed on the same:

✍ For Large organizations ( With over $10 million turnover): $1,800 annually for visa validity.

✍ For Smaller organizations: $1,200 annually.

After the introduction of the training levy, the cost of the TSS visa will increase.

Can a 457 sponsorship approval be used for the Temporary Skill Shortage Program?

Yes an existing standard business sponsorship can be used to apply for the TSS Nomination and Visa application.

Training Requirement for Approval as a Business Sponsor

Sponsors do not need to provide an evidence for training of the Australians in the business that is yet to be approved as a sponsor. This is due to the expected introduction of the training levy in the near future that will replace the training obligation.

The sponsorship obligation to the approved sponsors to provide training will continue.

Training will be relevant when applying for a permanent Employer Nomination Scheme Visas.

 For how long is a TSS Sponsorship Approval Valid for?

If the sponsorship has been given after 18^th March, 2018 then it will be valid for 5 years (in most cases). Before, it would be valid for a lesser time especially if the business is a start-up.

Changes in the Sponsorship Renewal Process

For sponsors who are currently have operations going on from Australia, a simpler and streamlined method is available after March 18^th march 2018.

For the overseas business sponsors, a new application should be submitted every time and the streamlined isn’t an option here.

Labour Market Testing Requirements for TSS Subclass 482 Visa

As per the Labour Market testing requirements it is impossible to source an Australian labour market employee before sponsoring them for a visa.

For the TSS visa most cases require Labour Market Testing, with the exception to the application of an International Trade Obligation.

The Labour Market testing should be channelled within 12 months to be able to meet the TSS requirements from 18^th June 2018 onwards; this should be done within the last 6 months before application.

Assessment of Market Rate Salary under the TSS Visa

The assessment of the market rate salary has been revised as follows:

1. Requirements will be met if the applicant earns at least $250,000.
2. The annual market salary rate (AMSR) for the applied position should be at least $53,900 under the unchanged Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT).
3. The nominee should earn the minimum required amount as per either the AMSR or TSMIT
4. Non-monetary benefits are not included from the above mentioned considerations unless the Minister considers it reasonable to include them.
5. If the Minister is informed about the TSS applicant’s employment conditions, the applicants are less favourable that would apply to an Australian and later there can be a refusal of the application.

The Annual Market Salary Rate (AMSR) is determined on the basis of the following process:

1. If an Australian citizen or a permanent resident is working in an equal position in the same workplace.

If an industrial instrument applies and the earnings of the Australian are given in that instrument.

• Else payslips and even an employment contract for the Australian citizen is sufficient.

1. If the Australian citizen is not there on an equivalent position:

• Check if any industrial instrument might apply and specify the earnings by the instrument.

• Information from Job Outlook, remuneration surveys, advice from employer associations or unions, job advertisements.

If the candidate is relying on job advertisements for establishing AMSR, they should be:

✍  From a national recruitment website or from national print media. (In Englsih).

✍  Should tell about their specific salary arrangements for the position.

Changes in the Nomination Requirements

There have been many changes in the Nomination process. Find the changes listed below:

1. For the Temporary skill shortage visa, having the occupaiton approved during the time of decision requirement is a needed at the time of the application.
2. The TSS visa is only given for full time positions. Unlike the 457 that was given for part time positions too.
3. The exact number of years need to be specified for a TSS nomination, meaning the candidate need to mention how many years will he/she work in Australia.
4. It is mentioned by the legislation that the sponsor must pay the nomination fees and this will come into effect once the Traning levy has been introduced.

Conclusion

The concept of the Temporary Skill Shortage TSS Subclass 482 Visa is very similar to that of the 457 Visa. For assistance regarding the TSS visa and for information on how the changes will affect and impact your business.

If you are potential visa applicant, you can book a consultation for discussing the best visa options for you. You can call :+919625212959 or mail your queries to info@makevisas.com.