Temporary Migration and Skills Formation †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Temporary Migration and Skills Formation. Answer: Introduction The temporary business (Long stay) Visa that is the Subclass 457 temporary skilled work visa had been designed in order to allow employers in Australia to address the issues in relation to the shortage of labors. The visa allows such employers to bring in skilled employees from outside Australia to meet there demands in relation to labor if such labor is not available in Australia. There are a variety of occupations which are eligible to be granted the visa for the purpose of work in Australia. The subclass 457 visa is the most widely used way by employers to enable a non-resident to work in Australia by sponsoring them. With respect to the visa the employer can sponsor the employees for a temporary period and basis. An employee can stay and work in Australia for a period of up to four years through the use of subclass 457 visa program. The holders of a subclass 457 visa allows are allowed to come into and go out of Australia any number to times once they have entered the country for the first time. The visa also allows the holder to bring into the country any of their dependents for the purpose of studying and working in Australia[1]. Oversees or Australian businesses which are not able to meet there demands with respect to skilled employees from the labor market of Australia are able to sponsor oversee skilled employees through the virtue of this visa program with respect to a standard business sponsorship arrangement. The most common route towards sponsoring a prospective 457 subclass visa applicant is the standard business sponsorship arrangements[2]. For the purpose of becoming a standard business sponsor a business has to make an application to the department. Labor arrangements are official agreements which takes place between an employer and Australian government for the purpose of recruiting oversee workers. These agreements were negotiated and got into generally for the purpose of addressing special labor market situation which do not come under standard business sponsor arrangement[3]. The application for subclass 457 visas has to be made by following a three stage application process. Firstly, the employer has to make an approval for the purpose of becoming a standard business sponsor. Through this process the employer is made to nominate a position in relation to a subclass 457 Visa. Secondly, a nomination has to be made by the employer in relation to the position discussed above. Finally a person who has been nominated to work in a nominated occupation has to make an application for the visa[4]. A person or a business has to be an approved standard business sponsor for the purpose of nominating a skilled oversee worker for subclass 475 Visa. During the life of the sponsorship approval a person can make unlimited nominations to sponsor oversees employees to address skilled worker shortage. The approval is usually granted for a period of three years per Australian Business Number. An application for extension of this period can also be made by the businesses. The purpose of the stage is to identify the details of the businesses who have made an application for sponsorship, getting attestation from the employer in relation to their commitments towards employing local labor and deploying employment practices which are nondiscriminatory in nature. A labor agreement has to be entered into by the business with the department if the work is related to meat industry, on-hire industry or a special requires is present which is prevents sponsorship under standard way. There are various obligations which are imposed in the sponsors which include cooperating with the inspectors, ensuring equivalent terms and conditions in relation to employment, paying cost of travel to ensure that the sponsored employee leaves Australia, payment of cost borne by the government for the purpose of locating and removing person who are living in the country unlawfully, record keeping obligation, providing record and obligation to the minister with respect to certain events, ensuring that the sponsored person works only for the nominated occupation. These obligations are valid only for a certain period[5]. The basic point in relation to the 457 visa was that a skilled migrant can be sponsored by an employer without providing any reference to the fact that there is actual shortage of labor or not in the court with respect to such occupation. Thus if an employer has the desire to transfer an existing employee to Australia or employ a relative or a fried while is already in Australia and does not have a permanent visa can fulfill is desire by following the rules of the 457 visas. Only one obligation had been imposed on the employers towards analyzing that the labor is available or not in the local market for the nominated position. Other than the sole obligation the employers were not required to conduct any analysis in relation to the availability of labor[6]. The obligations states that the employers who are seeking employees under the visa must have to get a declaration from the designated Regional Certificating Body that the position sponsored by the employer cannot be filled with the available labor market presently. However what the test meant in practice cannot be clearly understood. Market rates were also not required by the employer to be paid to the employees under the 467 visa. In both US and UK (H-1B and work permits) there is some form of market testing applicable along with the rule of paying wages at a market rate[7]. The visa has been one of the most commonly used visa for used by non-citizens to come to Australia for a purpose of working and enjoying holidays for a certain period which usually lasts for more than a year on an average. The stay although limited to a period of four years can and often is practically extended. The program provided by the subclass 457 visa is expanding in a very rapid manner and has become a continuous and major political issue in the recent times. The visa has now been started to be opposed in a vigorous manner by the Federal Australian Labor Party (ALP) and the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). Both the parties manifest the visa program as a part of broader industrial relations strategy of the coalition government. The strategy is claimed by the critics to have been implemented in order to shift the balance of power towards the employers with respect to working condition, shift times and wages. It has been suspected by both the parties that the unscrupulo us employers are utilizing the program under 457 visas towards driving down working conditions and wages[8]. The visa also often gets approved at a wage rate which is well below the market rate. A formal request had been made by the ACTU for the purpose of making an investigation into the matter by the federal ombudsman. The request was in relation to analyze whether the mandatory requires through which the visa could be issued are met before the visa is actually issues. In addition it was requested to analyze that the workers who are entering the country with respect to the visa are having their rights abused or not. There was a huge increase of the number of 457 visa which had been granted during the period of 2005-2006. The increase accounted to 40% from the last year and applications of 40000 primary applicants had been received. First time in the history of the immigration department more application for temporary visa had been as compared to permanent skilled visa[9]. Two reasons can be cited for this increase. It was announced by the federal government in May 2006 that General Skilled Migration visas are made available with a few changes to the program as compared to the last year. The visa was majorly driven through the demand of the employers and the visa demand was projected likely to increase which was actually the case as seen in 2016. Unlike the skilled work visa issued in the US which has an annual cap, there is no annual cap for the 457 visa in Australia or any set targets for the government[10]. The promotion of the 457 visa had been done by the government in an aggressive manner which included the outpost of the officials belonging to Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs to industry organization and employer for motivating demand for 457 visas. 20 of such DIMA officers had been out posted in January 2006 and the number has been increasing even since. Other factors which also contributed towards increasing the take up of e mployees by the employer include record low genuine skills, labor shortage unemployment in sectors like resources along with growing and large supply of temporary residents living on other visa and willing to take up subclass 457 visa. With respect to this background the purpose of this paper is to outline the history of 457 Visa, why the visa was popular and the issue leading to the cancelation of the visa[11]. History of 457 Visas Although the demand for permanent stay visa had been have always been high and significant, during the last two decades there have been a significant change to this pattern where the shift has been made towards temporary visa programs. Temporary migration was increasingly seen as the initial step towards the permanent migration in Australia. The pursuit for an onshore visa increased from 15000 in 1998 to 63400 in 2009 and finally 92300 in 2014. In 2008 over one third of the migration programs included those immigrants who came in Australia on a temporary basis. The level of temporary migration was not determined by the government and was mostly driven by present demand as opposed to permanent migration programs[12]. Temporary skilled visa was one of the most significant category along with the student oversee visa which contributed to the increase in temporary migration to Australia in the recent years. There is no limit on the number of 457 visas which imposed by the government to b e granted every year[13]. The number of visas provided was directly proportional to the demand which employers had towards temporary skilled migrant workers along with the will of such employers to provide sponsorship for the migrant employees. The program therefore becomes highly responsive to changes in the demand for labor and economic conditions in the recent years[14]. The Howard administration first introduced the 457 Visa on 1st August 1996, after the party got elected in the same year. However, the initial decision of implementing the 457 visa had been made by the Keating Labor Government. In 1995 September, Senator Nick Bolkus the minister of immigration and ethnic affairs made an announcement that key recommendation made by the roach report had been accepted by the Australian government with respect to temporary skilled visas and is set to change the programs relate to the visa in accordance to the recommendation. These charges were actually the introduction of the new subclass 457 visa regime[15]. A committee which was chaired by Neville Roach who was the Managing director of Fujitsu Australian prepared the roach report. A representative of the ACTU had been included in the committee for the purpose of business interest. The report was also accepted by the new coalition government in form of a blue print for 457 Visa. A radical deregulation i n relation to the temporary entry regime of Australia had been made through the rules of 457 Visa. These also involved significant self-regulations enacted by employers towards the recruitment of foreign nationals[16]. The Australian government before august 1996 operated temporary work visa based on the principle that the grant of visa to non citizen in relation to employment should not hamper the chances of Australian residents to gain access to adequate jobs. The principle was thus incorporated into the visa requirements that the employers take into account appropriate methods of local market labor testing before nominating the position to a non-citizen. The principle and market testing signified that an employer must demonstrate that the position to be taken by a foreign national had been offered initially to an Australian resident and none of such resident had been found suitable for such position[17]. The principles in relation to labor testing had been parted away through the implementation of 457 visas from august 1996 with respect to various employers and skilled labor category but not all of them. The test had been removed completely from the application of 457 visas in 2001 in relation to all eligible occupations and employers. As a tradeoff for the removal of the resident labor market test at the same time several other provisions had been introduced by the government. Firstly the government limited the number of occupations for which the application in relation to subclass 457 visa could be made in Australia[18]. Employer sponsored temporary entry list (ESTEL) which was a list in relation to the occupations eligible for 457 visa was also created which was defined essentially as 457-eligible occupations in significant groups 1-4 in the Australian Standard Classification of Occupations (ASCO). These groups were mainly professionals, associate professionals, managers, related person and tradespersons having certain expectations. However discretion was still retained by the officials of DIMA in relation to granting the visa for those occupations which are not contained in the ESTEL list of occupations. The fundamental for the ESTEL was in relation to the occupation defined in ASCO with respect to a requirement at an entry level for completing a trade certificate (Australian Qualifications Framework Certificate III) or any qualification which is of a higher level and requiring usually a minimum period of three years for the purpose of the course. This standard was not as good when compared to that of the same visa in US, through which a minimum of bachelor level of education is required[19]. In addition a minimum entrance salary had been established for 457 visa which were applicable form 2001 July. Up to this period the grant of subclass 457 visa could be approved at any level or salary. Form this date the visa application was approved by then DIMA only w hen the employer had agreed to pay the holders of the 457 visa a minimum of gross annual base salary including tax but not including superannuation and home allowance[20]. In 2001 the minimum salary in relation to 457 Visa had been set at $34,075 for all occupation which the provisions of an additional review. The level of salary had been derived from Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) which provided the average of weekly earnings, particularly the trend weekly average earning for all employees in any skill category which included categories like unskilled labors not covered by 457 visa and part time workers even through 457 was limited to full time employment[21]. However still as compared to the other bench mark the salary standard provided by subclass 457 visas was low[22]. It was even not up to the mark as compared to the salary of a new graduate having a bachelor degree in all over Australia and nearly less by $8000 compared to the average salary of full time employees as provided by ABS in 2001. In addition, in order to ensure the compliance of the employers with respect to the program under visa 457 the program was significantly expanded by t he government[23]. The light touch self-regulation system which had been introduced in 1996 with respect to the 457 visa was targeted to have replaced totally by the extended compliance program. A policy for the purpose of monitoring a minimum of 10% of the total employers who had been approved as sponsors by the department for 457 visa had been implanted by the DIMA in 2001. The policy was upgraded by the DIMA in 2001 November under which it had been provided to monitor all employees who have been approved under the 457 visa program at least one time during the period the sponsorship was valid for nomination[24]. The new and upgraded policy in relation to the was initiated through the mixture of site visiting to at least one fourth employees working in those industries which are considered as high risk industry in relation to non-compliance and paper based monitoring. A form had been sent by DIMA to the employers of 457 categories which asked to provide a report on their compliance with the undertaking under 457 sponsorships which also included wages. It was provided by the deputy secretary of DIMA in relation to a testimony to the senate estimates committee in May 2006 that a person making an application for subclass 457 visa has to be provided a salary on minimum level as set out through the provisions of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) or the Australian award wage, whichever among the two is more. The four minimum applicable salaries with respect to the visas in 2006 were $41,850 as the ordinary national 457 least amount for all other occupations and $57,300 in chosen Information and Communications Technology (ICT) occupations. The minimum salaries were only applicable on holders of 457 visa applied after the revision had been made[25]. The employer lawfully continued to pay the employers who had been granted the 457 visa before the salaries have been revised at a low rate. However the rates in the mining industry provided to the holders of 457 visas were much more than the aware rates. In various areas of employment which include d professionals, conditions and salaries were determined by the market and not included in award or certified agreements. For instance many TCT professionals were not coved by awards or any similar arrangements. In such circumstances effectively no Australian award wage exits and the DIMA minimum salary or the Gazetted minimum sets out effectively the sole wages to be provided to 457 visa holders. The employers also had the tendency of getting into individual workplace agreements with the employees under subclass 457 visa with respect to any salary which is more than the minimum salary as discussed above. The employers were also required by the DIMA to follow the obligations in relation to workplace relation laws and workplace agreements which the business may get into with the sponsored person. The Fair work Act 2009 provided encouragement to the employers to abide by such actions. According to the comments of the immigration minister in 2006 it can be suggested that keeping a chec k on the rate of inflammation in wages was more important than considering the payment of market rates[26]. It was provided by the immigration minister in 2006 that she is considering implementation of mobile strike team or Flying squads in order to ensure that the employers are complying with the existing provisions. These squads may consist of a team consisting of members from the DIMA and other federal agencies along with the Australian Taxation Office [ATO]. This was also supposed to include an enhanced corporative arrangement between such agencies. It had also been provided by the DIMA officers that the employers had been provided with advanced warnings before a site visit was conducted towards a monitoring program. This warning actually defeated the purpose of the surprise site visit. It had been provided by the DIMA that 8000 employees were present in Australia holding the 457 visa in the year 2006. It was also provided that the NSW department of health was the largest user of the program of 457 Visa. In the year 2001, 60% of the total 475 visa granted had been made onshore which ac counted to 16303 visas in relation to those persons who were already in Australia. Out of such provided visas 3700 application had been granted to those people who already had a 457 visa which indicated that such individuals were either changing occupation or employers or being provided an extended time for the purpose of stay in Australia[27]. Historically the visa has always been in controversy in relation to wages and work conditions. This is because the employers in order to maximize the profits arising out of the business activities tried to minimize the operational cost of the business[28]. This was done by providing less than standard wages to the oversee employees as well as not providing good working conditions which also required significant investments[29]. The migrants also were willingly getting exploited by such worker in their pursuit of obtaining an Australian citizenship. The situation was only highlighted when inquires had been requested by the opposing parties. The employers were always provided an advantage with respect to the bargaining power through the 457 visa program. The visa since the day it had been introduced had been misused on various situations not only by the employer but also the immigrants. The history of the visa and the issues originating out of the program facilitated the abolishment of the program from Australia. The following section discusses why the visa was so popular among the immigrants and what the key issues were which lead to the downfall of the visa[30]. The popularity of the Visa 457 subclass temporary skilled work visa was one of the most popular visa among the immigrants. There were various reasons because of which the visa was considered as a prior option and one of such reason is the legal provisions attached to the visa. For the purpose of understanding why the visa was so popular the legal provisions in relation to the visa has to be understood. The 457 subclass visa allowed a skilled worker who is not a resident of Australia to come to the country and work in a position for which they have been nominated by their approved sponsor for a period of four years. The process of getting such a visa was easy once a person was sponsored by an approved Australian business. The processing time of the visa was also very less. In only five months 75% of the visas were processed and in a period of 10 months 90% of the subclass 457 visas had been processed as updated last on 18th September 2017. There was a combined list of eligible skilled occupations with respect to the 457 visa through which a person could get to stay and work in Australia for a period of two years. In case a person fell out of such list of occupation than the period of stay was reduced to two years. This was the maximum period only if an additional period is not provided for by any other trade obligations. The combined list of occupation contained various occupations namely accountants, advertising managers, aeronautical engineer, agricultural scientist, electronic mechanics, anaesthetist, child care managers, Civil Engineering Draftsperson, Community Worker, Company Secretary, Computer Network Systems Engineer, Construction Project Manager, Counsellors (nec), Dietitian, Drug Alcohol Counsellor, Economist and Environmental Manager. The list also extended to Environmental Manager, Finance Broker, Forester, Gastroenterologist, Health Diagnostic Promotion Professionals (nec), Health Promotion Officer, Horse trainer, ICT Business Development Manager and Management Accountant[31]. Therefore it can be stated that mostly all occupation are contained in the list. This provided a wide range of power the sponsors as they well allowed picking up employees from a wide range of occupations. The visa lets the person work and stay in Australia for a specified period. In addition the visa also allows the visa holder to bring his or her family or dependants t o the country for the purpose of working or studying in Australia[32]. In addition the person also is provided the right to travel in and out of Australia any time they want to when they get this visa. In order to ensure flexibility in the subclass 457 Visa program, a few aspects of the visa program are subjected to alteration from time to time. The aspects which could be changed with respect to time are provided through what is known as the legislative instrument. These instruments are legal mostly legal documents which provide specific rules of the subclass 457 visa program which can be altered by the minister for immigration and border protection. The instruments are provided through the ComLaw website. The links and page lists provide a short description in relation to what is provided through the instrument. These generally include alterations regarding, English language requires, the eligible skilled occupation lists, training benchmarks, employment terms and conditions, exemp tion from directly working for the sponsor and labor market testing[33]. The visa also includes a no further stay condition. According to this condition a person can only stay in Australia till the visa is valid and must leave Australia without any delay after the visa has expired. This condition was rarely as according to the ABS the temporary visa are most likely to be converted into a permanent work visa. The visa application cost also is also one of the factors increasing its popularity. The basic cost which is required for making a 457 visa application is currently at $1080 which is also mostly borne by the employers. The visa applicants in relation to the 457 visa are mostly form countries like India, UK and Canada. The visa like all other visas requires a valid passport along with other essential documents related to traveling. In addition any person who has been nominated by an Australian business and the occupation falling under the list of eligible occupation has the right to make an application under this visa. The visa applicants are also requ ired to meet the skill requirements along with any licensing and registration obligation. The person must also have a specific level of English. It is required to be shown by the applicant that they have the skill and experience required to fill the occupation which have been nominated by the approved worker[34]. The assessment which were required in relation to the visa were basic and thus most on the people who made an application in relation to the visa were eligible to be granted the visa. Thus this provision of the visa also raised its popularity in the world and made Australia one of the most targeted places by skilled workers to work and earn. Population from advanced and developed countries like Canada, UK and US also come to Australia for the purpose of working through the virtue of the 457 visa. The 457 visa program has provided to one of the most significant changes to the flow of Australian immigration during the last two decades. This has been related to the growth of the long term temporary long term migration and particularly for the temporary skilled migration. This visa has become the most general pathway which has been used by the employers to sponsor skilled workers temporarily in Australia. According to the ABS migrants who are covered under the category of this temporary visa are largely transitioning towards permanent residency. This process is referred as a two step migration process. In addition there was no cap on the number of applicant which can be provided by the 457 visa and thus an employer was able to sponsor any number of employees during the life time of their approval. These provisions also enhanced the popularity of the visa because of unlimited number of applicants[35]. The only few requirements which the sponsors required was that they were operating a lawful business in Australia. In addition the businesses also required a training bench mark in relation to providing quality training to the Australian citizens working for them. The commitments of the firms in relation to recruitment of Australian locals also have to be attested by the firms. The employers also need to provide written acknowledgement in relation to implementing ant discriminatory practices within the workplace. The program was also available to the oversees employers in Australia if they were able to demonstrate that they are operating legally within the country and they are in need of skilled workers for the purpose of their business operations and such workers are not available in Australia. Thus the multinational brands which were operating in Australia were provided with the opportunity to transfer their staff working in other countries to Australia. This saved them from the pr ocess of fresh recruitment and training required in relation to the organization. The training requirement which has been imposed on the Australian business in relation to the 457 visa were not imposed on the oversee businesses. This also enhanced the level of staff which were brought into Australia by the oversee businesses through the use of the 457 Visa program. For the purpose of dealing with the situation were the Australian citizens were not getting enough jobs the labor market test was incorporated into the visa compliance program from 2013 November. In relation to the program the approved business sponsor has to manifest his attempt in relation to hiring Australian nationals with respect to the nominated position for the 457 Visa. However such provisions have always been overruled in relation to international treaties like the free trade agreements with china and Japan by which the labor testing provisions were not required. Moreover the labor testing provisions were also no t needed in relation to occupations which have been exempted like all occupation under ANZSCO skill level 1 and 2. The employers were also required to demonstrate that for each employee holding the 457 visa, they are giving equal pay and working conditions which would be provided to an Australian worker doing the same work in the same position which is also known as the market salary rate. The market salary rate test is also not imposed where the remunerating position of the employer is in excess of $250,000. The employer through the use of the program was able to provide low salary to the foreign nationals as they would have to pay to the Australian nationals in case they had been employed by them. In July 2016, under the scheme the lowest salary which have been accepted to be valid was $53900 which was also known as Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold. This step made the visa even more popular as the salary was low, as well as it ensured that the holders of 457 visas woul d be able to provide for themselves while working in Australia. The salary had been subjected to immense criticism and an independent review had been ordered in relation to the salary in April 2016. The reports of the investigation had not been disclosed in public[36]. The pledge of the government to treat the workers who were the holders of 457 visa in the same way as Australian workers by providing them with the same minimum conditions also enhanced the popularity of the visa among the non-Australian citizens. The conditions included situations related to overtime, rest breaks, sick leaves, holidays and working hours[37]. The visa holders were also provided the right to join and be represented by a worker union. They had also been provided the right to fair treatment which included protection from unfair dismissal, discrimination against sex, religion, race sexual orientation, pregnancy or the membership of trade union. As on 31st maach 2016 there were about 177400 person who held the Subclass 457 visa in Australia. Out of this number the number of primary visa holder was 97766 and the number of secondary visa holders was 79634. Secondary visa holders constituted the dependents of the primary visa holders. The largest number of the primary visa holders as of march 2016 were working in NSW (40435) which was followed by Victoria and Western Australia. Food service industry is found to have the largest number of 457 visa holders employed followed by media and telecommunication. The major countries whose citizens are the primary visa holders include India followed by UK, China and Ireland. Through the above discussion it can be stated that there were several reasons why the visa had become popular in the country. Firstly it was not possible to get permanent residency in Australia. The process was very expensive and had strict regulations to be complied with in order to be granted permanent residency in Australia. The process is relation to a temporary stay visa in Australia was not as complicated as the permanent visas. The introduction of the 457 visa provided a gateway for the immigrants to come to Australia. In addition the visa had provisions through which a residency could be transferred from temporary to permanent residency. Subsequently these two step processes become a popular way of getting permanent residency in Australia[38]. On the other had it was very feasible for the employers to appoint oversee workers as they did not have to comply with the same standards related to working conditions for them as well as the minimum salary requirement which they would have to do in relation to the Austrian employees. The low level of legal compliance made the grant of this visa application very easy and thus there was a significant increase in the number of visa application made and granted in relation to the subclass 457 Visa[39]. Issues with the 457 Visa This section of the paper discusses the major issues in relation to the 457 visa which lead to the abolishment of the program. Tis part also discusses the major proposed changes in relation to the new program. The 457 visa as discussed above requires a sponsor. The sponsor has to be an Australian business. The business can only be a sponsor when it has been approved by the department. In the given situation it was very easy for the businesses to get an approval for the purpose of becoming an approved business sponsor in Australia. The business had the power to ensure that they can target any employee all over the world to work for them citing that there is a shortage of labor for such occupation in Australia. This shortage was nothing but what has been created by the employers themselves that they could bring in people from outside Australia pay them less and make more profits. The real purpose of the visa which was to address the position of skilled labor shortage in Australia has been misused since the visa program had been brought to existence. In addition the provisions to bring in dependents along with the visa holder also raised the popularity of the visa as the holders were allowed to travel with to Australia with their families[40]. In Australia the 457 visa was used by the Australian or Overseas employees as the most common visa for the purpose of sponsoring skilled overseas workers to enable them for working in Australia for a temporary basis. At present the visa is at a stage of being abolished by the government of Malcolm Turnbull. The visa when initiated was known as temporary business (long stay) and as discussed above was introduced as soon as John Howard became the Prime Minister of Australia in the year 1996. The name of the visa was changed to temporary work skilled subclass 457 visa dated 24th November 2012. All applications in relation to the 457 visa were processed by the department of immigration and border protection itself. It was announced by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on the 18th of April 2017 that the 457 visa is going to be replaced with two new categories of visa[41]. The 457 skilled immigrant visa was reviewed by the Australian government and after such review provisions were enacted to enhance the transition towards permanent residency which started on 1st July 2012. With the start of this date workers who are the holders of 457 skill immigrant visa were able to transition towards a permanent residency in case they have already worked for 2 years with their sponsor employer and the employer has the desire to provide them full time employment with respect to the position which was nominated for the visa. Fair work ombudsman conducted in audit between September 2013 and June 2014 with respect to the 457 subclass visa. It was found by the audit that 40% of the total 457 visa holders did not work for their employers any longer and in addition these workers were paid very well below the minimum statutory wage of dollars 53900. When the Japan free trade agreement was concluded in 2015 the obligation imposed on the employers to offer job to the local b efore nominating such position for a subclass 457 visa was removed. Through this agreement the employees were no longer required to provide jobs to the local Australian residence before providing such jobs do citizens of Japan Hoover eligible for the subclass 457 visa. Recommendations was released by the department of immigration and border protection in December 2014 to provide relaxation to the requirements in relation to 457 visa. A few of the recommendations included the extension related to the 6 months short term work visa to a period of 12 months without having any obligation of making an application of a 457 visa. This change has been criticized by the construction Forestry mining and energy Union on the basis that the requirements for skill test and English language with respect to the 457 visa are being avoided and there would be no demonstration required by the employers too many face that they made an attempt to fill such vacancies by local Australian workers[42]. It was announced by the Australian government on 18th April 2017 that the temporary work skilled visa subclass 457 will be replaced and abolished buy completely new visa in March 2018 which would be known as the new temporary skill shortage visa. The visa has been initiated to provide support to the businesses for the purpose of addressing actual shortage of skill towards their workplace along with prioritizing Australian workers to the number of safeguards included in them. The visa is said to be issued for a period of 2 years on a short-term stream and 4 years on a midterm stream[43]. Some of the major changes in relation to the subclass 457 visa programs are provided in this section of the paper. The new Visa comes with a enhanced and more targeted list of occupation which ensures better alignment with the needs of skill with respect to the labour market of Australia, the new Visa has provided and requirement through which an experience of minimum 2 years would be required by those persons who have been nominated by the Australian sponsor for a position. The visa also requires a minimum market salaries great through which it would be insured that the employees do not engage overseas workers with the intention of undercutting Australian workers. The new Visa also reinforces the mandatory testing of labour market provision until and unless such testing is prohibited by international agreements. The visa provides only 1 on shore visa renewal with respect to the short-term stream. The visa also provides renewal on shore capacity along with a pathway for permanent res idency after 3 years have passed with respect to the midterm stream. Therefore the eligibility period for permanent residency have been increased from 2 years to 3 years. A work first test has been introduced which is nondiscriminatory in nature in order to ensure that the employees do not indulge in this discriminatory actions against the Australian workers. The visa has also made from the requirements with respect to the employers towards making a contribution with respect to the training of Australian workers. In addition tax file number along with data will be collected by the department of immigration and border protection and would be scrutinized against the Australian tax office record. The visa also requires a penal clearance certificate on a mandatory basis. Moreover certain requirements which were present in the previous 457 subclass visa have been retained and tightened in relation to the new Visa. The requirements in relation to English language have been tightened. The applicants under the new Visa scheme would be required to have a minimum of 3 years work experience in relation to the position nominated by the Australian employer. The maximum age requirement which have been set in relation to the visa is of 45 years and any applicant over the age of 45 years would not be able to make an application for the new visa. Contributions of the employees in relation to the training provided to the Australian workers have also been tightened. The new temporary skilled migration income threshold has to be met by the Australian or Overseas employers along with an obligation to pay Australian market salary rate to the visa holders. For the purpose of reflecting the skill needs an employer in the regional Australia would be provided continued access to occupation with respect to temporary and permanent visa. There would be provisions for providing existing permanent visa concession with respect to regional Australia. This may include actions like providing ag e sanctions with respect to certain occupation and waiving the nomination fee. Consideration would also be provided towards the expansion of occupation with respect to regional Australia which are exempted from requirement[44]. The present 457 visa holders are not to be affected by the changes made in relation to the new program by the government. The short term visa would be provided two general occupations whereas the mid-term visa would be provided for highly skilled occupations. It has been provided by the Prime Minister that the new system has been rigorously, resolutely and manifestly conducted in the interest of the nation. It has also been added by the Prime Minister that the changes and Reforms focuses on providing job to the existing Australian nationals. It has also been provided by Peter Dutton who is the immigration Minister that the government is likely to reduce the number of occupations which are made available with respect to the 2 year visa. It has been provided by the Minister that the open and did nature of the scheme with respect to the 457 visa would be ended when the new changes are introduced. A grandfathering arrangement for the present visa holders have also been talked about by th e Minister. It was provided by the Minister that the present 457 visa program which is conducted for a period of 4 years is open ended in nature and therefore often results in migration outcome. The new Visa scheme would ensure that the employees are provided a 2 years visa scheme with respect to temporary skill shortage but permanent residency would not be provided to search visa holders after the visa has come to an end. There have been various issues in relation to the 457 visa specially related to the fast food chains where the government provided that it is willing to scrap the Fast-track arrangements in the industry with respect to the 457 skilled work visa application. There was also problems which have been indicated in relation to the list of Jobs available for skilled migrants with respect to the subclass 457 visa. The list of job available in Australia were wide as compared to some of the other countries like UK and US which required high qualification positions were only covered by skilled work visa. The major issues which was faced in Australia with respect to the grant of subclass 457 visa was in relation to occupations like cooks, cafe managers and chefs. The roles are said not to be available with respect to the schemes for coffee shops and other fast food outlets along with those drinking establishments through which only unlimited food services are offered. The aim of the new Visa would be only to ensure that the employees are able to fill those vacancies which are difficult for them to be field by the Australian local rather than misusing the visa program to increase business profits and providing extended stay to their friends and relatives in Australia[45]. In the year 2013 the establishment of an independent review had been announced by the Abbott government into the 457 visa program. an obligation had been imposed on the review through with it had to find out ways for enhancing the integrity of the program while diminishing the red-tape and the burden of compliance imposed on the businesses towards who want to utilize the program. The result of the review had been published in the Robust New Foundations: a streamlined, transparent and responsive system for the 457 visa program in 2014 September. Twenty two recommendations had been provided by the report in relation to the 457 visa program. The focus of the recommendations was towards increasing and streamlining flexibility in the visa application and sponsorship process along with the improvement of compliances by the sponsors. Support had been provided by the government in relation to the recommendations from the report towards all the recommendations except two[46]. The two recommen dations were in relation to abolishing the labor market test along with the expanding the list if nations which are not required to take up the English testing test. The program had undergone several reforms towards its provisions since the recommendations. The major changes included altering the requirements in relation to English language in order to provide additional flexibility towards complying the requirements. It was also made an offence under the penal code to receive, ask for , provide or offer payments or any other consideration in return of providing a visa sponsorship[47]. Ever since the visa had been introduced one of the major concerns in relation to the visa was related to the vulnerability of foreign nationals workers towards abuse and exploitation. There have been many cases reported in relation to exploitation and abuse by the media and unions over the years the visa program has been in palace. However it is not easy to determine the full extent of the problem[48]. The complete review conducted in 2008 known as the Visa Subclass 457 Integrity Review provided the actual nature of the vulnerability. This was because the right of the sponsored employees to stay in Australia was actually depending up the employers who the used to work for. This not only provided the employers an opportunity to blackmail and exploit the visa holders but also prevented the visa holders from reporting against the abuse of the employers. This subsequently provided that the cases related to exploitation by the employers largely goes unrecorded and untraceable. According t o a report provided by a recent senate standing committee inquiry with respect to the effect of temporary visa program in Australia in relation to the labor market along with temporary visa holders, exploitation was major concern for the temporary migrants[49]. The report was known as A National Disgrace: The Exploitation of Temporary Work Visa Holders. Several recommendations had been provided by the senate which aimed to enhance the protection given to the temporary migrants in the workplace. With respect to numerous allegations and concerns with respect to potential exploitation the Fair Work Australia was provided the responsibility of monitoring compliance with the obligations of the sponsors for ensuring workers are working in the position they have been nominated for and are being provided salary at the market salary rate[50]. Conclusion According to P OBrien if there are two evils to choose from, a person must always chose the one they have never tried before[51]. It has also been stated by Martin Luther King Jr injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. The 457 visa program has been brought into existence to meet the issue in relation to the shortage of labour in Australia. It never had the intention to provide jobs to oversee people on the first of Australian national. The history of this visa manifest at there have been several attempts made towards rectifying any defect depicted by the visa. Most of the defects would have been I dressed appropriately if there was a standard of legal compliance observed by the authority as well as the employers. The visa was never the less use for purposes with it had no intention to address. Firstly the visa was used to make temporary residence in Australia become permanent residents. This was because the visa had provision through which a person was able to make an a pplication with respect to a permanent visa while they were on a temporary skilled work visa. In addition the visa provided a power to the employer through which he had authority to make a person stay in Australia even after the visa had expired through an extension. The provisions of the visa were designed in such a way as to provide higher level authority to the employers. The employer had been imposed with the responsibility of sponsoring a person to Australia for the purpose of work. The responsibility signify that a person could not be given the skilled 457 visa if he was not sponsored by an approved Australian or Overseas employer. Where there is discretionary power it is evident that it would lead to exploitation and abuse. In the same way the employer started to abuse the employees. Firstly as the employers controlled the right of the employee to stay in Australia there was blackmailing the employees and exploiting. As the employers had been provided with the responsibility of sponsoring a person to Australia they were provided the opportunity to charge payments and other considerations from the employees in return of sponsoring them to Australia. The blackmailing which was initiated by the employers who was mostly related to providing the employees with wages which are not only unacceptable by law but also not enough for a person to stay properly in Australia. Another way the employers for exploiting the employees was by providing them in appropriate working conditions. These conditions were often related to the time for work, the place of work, leaves, superannuation and other working benefits. The workers were not provided appropriate leaves, they were not provided adequate rest breaks, they were not given enough salary, the working condition provided to them where not safe, they were often made to work overtime and they were continuously kept under a said that if they do not obey the orders of the employer the sponsorship is going to get cancelled and they have to be travelling back to their country of origin. These actions which the employers indulged into was not only abusive towards the immigrants employees but also a threat to the Australian culture of harmony. There were several provision in active to get these evils out of the 457 visa program. The government had introduced minimum salary which had to be paid to the Employees while they were on a 457 visa. However it was found by independent reviews that not only was the salary inadequate for a person to properly stay in Australia but also even such base salary was not provided to the Employees by the employer. For the purpose of making profit the employers more than often indulged in violating the provisions of law. The government also made an attempt to initiate the provisions regarding the introduction of flying guards or surprise Strike squads in order to ensure that the employers are complying with the duties imposed on them. However according to the reports consid ered by the department the employees were given prior notice before search investigations were made in relation to the workplace so that they were provided educate time to alter the workplace conditions in favour of the employees. The government has also made an order to provide the immigrant workers with the same working conditions as it was provided to the Australian national. However the provision resulted in very insignificant or no changes to the working conditions of the 457 visa holders. This was because such visa holders did not have the power to raise their voice against the employer. They have the knowledge that the right to stay in Australia is in the hands of the employer and if there is there Voice in relation to the working conditions they might be reported to their original countries if the sponsorship is cancelled. Therefore it can be concluded that the bargaining power of the employer in relation to the visa was in excess to be able to get bored the parties to the e mployment contract balanced and subsequently abuse and exploitation became evident. Another issue because of which the 457 visa was regarded as an evil rather than good was the condition of Australian citizen employees. Through the visa program it was evident that the Australian as well as Overseas employees were getting labours at a very cheap rate. On the other hand the employers have to provide the Australian national enhance working conditions along with salary at a statutory rate which was known as the market rate. They also had to comply with several legal provisions while the employees Australian nationals in the workplace. It was very easy for them to evade the responsibility imposed on them by law with respect to the 457 visa holders. This was because they had the knowledge that whatever they do the holders are not going to complain. The Australian workers on the other hand would have no such pressure from the employers and would not have hesitated to raise their voice against them cause if it was found that they were while eating legal provisions in relati on to the salary and other working conditions. Moreover the low level of salary is required to be provided to the 457 visa holders also made the visa very popular among the Australian as well as Overseas business sponsors. They would make more profit by employing 457 visa holders rather than Australian nationals. This actions by the employer defeated the whole purpose of the 457 visa which was to meet the shortage of labour in Australia. The actions that is to result in unemployment for the Australian national which was not at all for seen while the visa was brought into existence. One of the main reason why the visa has been abolished by the present government was to ensure that the employment rights of the Australian National are provided to them. The labour market testing which is a prominent aspect of similar visas in other countries like United Kingdom and United States was also present in the 457 visa program was implemented in a very weak manner. On various occasions either t he employees where exempted from conducting the labour market test or if the test was implemented it was not strictly complied with. The basic reason of the test was to identify that whether the position which has been nominated for by the sponsored business could be filled by the locally available labour. The employers in order to evade the obligations under this test used to nominate such positions which were not made by the available local labour but used to make the 457 visa holders do other words which would have been easily done by the local labour in the virtue of that position. Independent reviews conducted in relation to workplace often found that the 457 visa holders are being made to work out of their positions by the employers. Moreover rather than searching for label in the local market the overseas approve businesses started to bring in staff from other countries where the business operate in order to make more profit as they were able to save significant amount of mon ey with respect to training, working conditions and wages. These actions defeated the purpose of the labour market test by the employers and started to create unemployment in Australia. Corruption was another evident Evil which was found in the 457 visa program. The corruption was not only limited to the employers but also extended to the government officials as well. The employers demanded consideration from the employees so that they can provide them sponsorship in relation to the 457 visa. There was even corruption on the part of the employers towards graining approval in relation to the 457 visa sponsorship. As discussed above not only was the visa used to bring in stuff from other branches of the business to Australia but it was also used by businesses to give permanent residency to their friends and relatives were already staying in Australia by the virtue of some other. The 457 visa had the provisions that throughout two way process a temporary Residency could be transferred into a permanent residency. This was one of the most significant reasons why permanent resident visa were no longer as popular in Australia as compared to the temporary resident visa. The purpose of the visa was to address temporary shortage of labour in Australia however it was more than often used by people to convert temporary Residency into permanent residency as it was very easy to get the temporary visa and a gate way to come into Australia. The visa program was there for rightly scraped by government for the good of the Australian community. The new visas which have been designed in place of the 457 visa is to be implemented from March 2018. The visa has several new provisions in order to address the shortcomings of the 457 visa as discussed above. It is being protected under to new visas in relation to temporary shortage of labour would be able to not only meet the needs of labour demand in Australia but also would be able to remove the evils from the former 457 visa program. Bibliography ABC News. (2017). Why the 457 visa is being axed and what it means. [online] Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-18/why-the-457-visa-is-being-axed-and-what-it-means/8451214 [Accessed 8 Oct. 2017]. Arunachalam, Dharmalingam, and Ernest Healy. "Australia's skilled migration programme and skilled migration between Australia and Japan."Corbett, J. Daly, A., Matsushige, H. Taylor, D.(eds), Laggards and Leaders in Labour Market Reform, Routledge, London(2009): 180-204. Bahn, Susanne, Llandis Barratt-Pugh, and Ghialy Yap. "The employment of skilled migrants on temporary 457 visas in Australia: Emerging issues."Labour Industry: a journal of the social and economic relations of work22.4 (2012): 379-398. Bahn, Susanne. "Migrant workers on temporary 457 visas working in Australia: implications for human resource management."Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources52.1 (2014): 77-92. Bahn, Susanne. "Workers on 457 visas: Evidence from the Western Australian resources sector."Australian Bulletin of Labour39.2 (2013): 34. Barrett, Rowena, et al. "The flip side of fly-in fly-out: The use of 457 visas by smaller firms in the Western Australian resources sector."Australian Bulletin of Labour40.2 (2014): 138. Berg, Laurie. "Mate Speak English, You'Re in Australia Now English Language Requirements in Skilled Migration."Alternative Law Journal36.2 (2011): 110-115. Birrell, Bob, and Ernest Healy. "Migrant accountants: High numbers, poor outcomes."People and Place16.4 (2008): 9. Bissett, Michelle, and Ingrid Landau. "Australia's 457 Visa Scheme: And the Rights of Migrant Workers."Alternative Law Journal33.3 (2008): 142-146. Border.gov.au. (2017). Abolition and replacement of the 457 visa Government reforms to employer sponsored skilled migration visas. [online] Available at: https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Work/457-abolition-replacement [Accessed 8 Oct. 2017]. Breen, Fidelma. "Australian Immigration Policy in Practice: a case study of skill recognition and qualification transferability amongst Irish 457 visa holders."Australian Geographer47.4 (2016): 491-509. Cameron, Roslyn. "Responding to Australia's regional skill shortages through regional skilled migration."Journal of Economic and Social Policy14.3 (2011): 4. Campbell, Iain, and Joo-Cheong Tham. "Labour market deregulation and temporary migrant labour schemes: An analysis of the 457 visa program." (2014). Collins, Jock. "Immigration And The Australian Labour Market."Ecodate23.4 (2009). Cully, Mark. "The contribution of migrants to regional Australia." (2011). Deegan, B. "Visa Subclass 457 Integrity Review: Issues Paper 3: Integrity/Exploitation." (2008). Deegan, Barbara. "Visa subclass 457 integrity review: Issues paper 2, English language requirement/occupational heath and safety." DIAC, 2008. Deegan, Barbara.Visa Subclass 457: Integrity Review. Department of Immigration and Citizenship, 2008. Federation, Australian Nursing. "Submission to the Senate Inquiry on framework and operation of subclass 457 visas, Enterprise Migration Agreements and Regional Migration Agreements."Melbourne: ANF(2013). Foley, Elizabeth. "Advocating for social justice."Australian Nursing Journal: ANJ, The17.3 (2009) Howe, Joanna, and Alexander Reilly. "Meeting Australia's labor needs: the case for a new low-skill work visa."Fed. L. Rev.43 (2015): 259. Howe, Joanna. "Accountability and Transparency under the Subclass 457 Visa Program: Is there Cause for Concern(2014)."Australian Journal of Administrative Law21: 139. Howe, Joanna. "Enterprise Migration Agreements Under the Subclass 457 Visa: Much Ado About Nothing?'(2014)."Australian Journal of Labour Law27: 86. Howe, Joanna. "Is the Net Cast Too Wide-An Assessment of Whether the Regulatory Design of the 457 Visa Meets Australia's Skill Needs."Fed. L. Rev.41 (2013): 443. Hugo, Graeme, et al. "Temporary skilled migration to Australia: the 457 Visa Sub-Class [This paper is part of a larger research project on temporary overseas migration to Australia, funded by a Linkage Project grant from the Australian Research Council, with the Department of Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs as the industry partner.]."People and Place11.4 (2003): 27. Hugo, Graeme, Siew-Ean Khoo, and Peter McDonald. "Attracting skilled migrants to regional areas: what does it take?."People and Place14.3 (2006): 26. Jockel, Maria. "457 visas, skill shortages and worker protection."People and Place17.2 (2009): 30. Jockel, Maria.457 Visa Law: Addressing Australia's Skilled Labour Shortage. Thomson Reuters, 2008. Kaur, Amarjit. "Migration matters in the Asia-Pacific region: immigration frameworks, knowledge workers and national policies."International Journal on Multicultural Societies9.2 (2007): 135-157. Khoo, S., C. Voight-Graf, and G. Hugo.Temporary Skilled Migration to Australia: The First Five Years of Arrivals in the 457 Visa Subclass, Australian Centre for Population Research, Research School of Social Sciences, The Australian National University. Canberra, Mimeo, 2003. Khoo, Siew-Ean, et al. "Scoping Study of Migration and Housing Needs."Report for National Housing Supply Council Unit, Department of the Treasury31 (2012). Khoo, Siew?Ean, et al. "Temporary Skilled Migration to Australia: Employers' Perspectives1."International Migration45.4 (2007): 175-201. Kinnaird, Bob. "Current issues in the skilled temporary subclass 457 visa."People and Place14.2 (2006): 49. Kinnaird, Bob. "Current Issues in the Skilled Temporary Subclass 457 Visa'(2006) 14 (2)."People and Place49: 49-50. Larsen, Gareth.The subclass 457 visa: a quick guide. Parliamentary Library, 2013. Mares, Peter. "We know about the 457. What about the 485?." (2013). Nasu, Hitoshi. "Reform of Subclass 457 VISA Schemel: Proposal of Three Models."Alternative Law Journal33.3 (2008): 147-150. OBrien, Paula, and Melissa Phillips. "Health care justice for temporary migrant workers on 457 visas in Australia: a case study of internationally qualified nurses." Journal of law and medicine 22.March (2015): 550-567. Phillips, J. "Temporary (long stay) business visas: Subclass 457: Research note no. 15, 200607."Social Policy Section, Parliamentary Library of Australia, Canberra, viewed6 (2007): 2006-07. Phillips, Janet, and Joanne Simon-Davies.Migration to Australia: a quick guide to the statistics. Parliamentary Library, 2016. Phillips, Janet.Temporary (long stay) business visas: subclass 457. Parliamentary Library, 2007. Saunders, John.Skilled migration and the workforce: an overview. Adelaide: NCVER, 2008. Subclass, Visa. "457 External Reference Group."Final Report to the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, April(2008). Tani, Massimiliano. "On the motivations of business travel: Evidence from an Australian survey."Asian and Pacific migration journal14.4 (2005): 419-440. Tham, Joo-Cheong, and Iain Campbell.Temporary migrant labour in Australia: the 457 visa scheme and challenges for labour regulation. Centre for Employment Labour Relations Law, Melbourne Law School, 2011. Toner, Phillip, and Richard Woolley. "Temporary migration and skills formation in the trades: A provisional assessment."People and Place16.3 (2008): 47-57. Velayutham, Selvaraj. "Precarious experiences of Indians in Australia on 457 temporary work visas."The Economic and Labour Relations Review24.3 (2013): 340-361. Wright, Chris F. "Why do states adopt liberal immigration policies? The policymaking dynamics of skilled visa reform in Australia."Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies41.2 (2015): 306-328. www.border.gov.au (2017). [online] Available at: https://www.border.gov.au/WorkinginAustralia/Documents/abolition-replacement-457.pdf [Accessed 8 Oct. 2017]. Zubaran, Carlos, and Susan Douglas. "Peers or pariahs? The quest for fairer conditions for international medical graduates in Australia."Med J Aust201 (2014): 509-10. Zubaran, Carlos. "Balancing the Act."Monash bioethics review29.3 (2011): 19-30.