Supplementary Submission: Inquiry into Subclass 457 Visas, Enterprise Migration Agreement and Regional Migration Agreement
Submission Date: 31 May 2013
This supplementary submission provides further information on the:
- amendment to the Law Council of Australia’s (the Law Council) submission to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee’s inquiry into the framework and operation of subclass 457 visas, enterprise migration agreements and regional migration agreements;
- structural reasons within the immigration program which have resulted in the increase in 457 visa applications; and
- potential conflict of interest that can arise in some cases when an employer assists a prospective employee with their 457 visa application.
To realign the unemployment rate and the number of 457 primary applications being lodged and to reduce the number of 457 visa holders in Australia, the Law Council recommends:
- increasing the period of stay in Australia for holders of Graduate Skilled 485 visas to two years and facilitate nomination pursuant to the Employer Nomination Scheme for holders of 485 visas who have been employed by their nominating employer for at least two years;
- reverting to the former position where 457 visa holders seeking to transition to Employer Nomination Scheme subclass 186 visas were required to have been holders of a 457 visa for two years and working with their nominating employer for at least one year;
- acknowledging that in a tight resourcing environment there would be significant benefits to re-evaluating the role that could be played by the registered migration agent profession.
To avoid potential conflicts of interest, the Law Council recommends that:
- there be more definite measures to ensure that the assistance that the Office of the Migration Agents Regulatory Authority (OMARA) provides is accessible by prospective foreign employees sponsored by their employer, and that visa applicants are made aware of their rights to seek independent migration advice;
- the current exemption in sections 280(5B)-280(5C) of the Act be amended to exclude employers providing assistance to prospective employees; and
- Regulation 3 of the Migration Agents Regulations be repealed.
Last Updated on 01/05/2025
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