Temporary Skill Shortage Visa – The Important changes and impact on Businesses

For anyone wondering, Temporary Skill Shortage visa (subclass 482) or simply TSS visa is a work visa which allows employers in Australia to sponsor a foreigner to work in their business in Australia introduced in mid-late March 2019.

This was implemented as a change from the previous process by replacing the457-visa programby the Temporary Skill Shortage visa which will have two main streams.

• A short-term two-year stream with a much broader range of occupations. This visa will not allow permanent residency when the two years are over. Additionally, a fee of $1150 will apply for the short-term visa.
  
  
• A four-year visa class aimed at medium term skills gaps is the other stream. The fee for the medium-term applicants is $2400.

Checking for criminal records is mandatory for both streams. This is not something that is part of the process before TSS.TTS temporary skills shortage visa is very much a learning process, and you can start there itself.

All these changes align with 216 occupations being written off and removed from the skilled occupation lists, from web developers and butchers to radio presenters and photographers.

Who will it impact the most?

The biggest impact of the changes was and will be on the people that lose jobs as the occupations are removed from the skilled occupations list, effectively denying them the chance to transition into a permanent residency.

The changes also effect employers in Australia who were about to or were in the process of securing employees for four years which would have allowed them to then focus on developing and expanding their business.

What is the silver lining for you under this system?

The silver lining is that the two-year visa can be extended for a further two years. This is good news to those aspiring to permanent residency. They may need to use that time to upskill or reskill to qualify for an occupation on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL), and it is highly recommended to do so.

There is still risk involved in this process, however. It is unpredictable and no one can really tell if more changes will be made in the future.

What the changes mean for businesses?

• This visa scheme will require employers in Australia to advertise jobs before filling them with foreign workers and migrant workers can be at a disadvantage in this regard.
  
  
• Australian media predicts that “requirements on employers to contribute to training Australian workers will change”
  
  
• Furthermore, certain clauses stipulate a minimum annual turnover of $1 million, or that the business have at least five employees, for some occupations and industry segments to receive the privileges of this visa.

As a further update to the story of Temporary Skill Shortage Visa, foreigners seeking employment in Australia are now facing even more hurdles following the government’s decision to replace the 457 temporary work visa programs with two new visa classes. The requirements for English language proficiency and work experience are stricter this time around. Given the global pandemic, and hit to Australia’s economy, the best that anyone can do is be updated on the latest changes to visa and immigration.