AIIA response to proposed changes to 457 visa arrangements

Transcription

1 AIIA response to proposed changes to 457 visa arrangements May 2017 Ground Suite B 7-11 Barry Drive Turner ACT 2612 GPO Box 573 Canberra ACT 2601 T E info@aiia.com.au W

2 About AIIA The Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) is Australia s peak representative body and advocacy group for those in the digital ecosystem. AIIA is a not-for-profit organisation that has, since 1978, pursued activities to stimulate and grow the digital ecosystem, to create a favourable business environment and drive Australia s social and economic prosperity. AIIA does this by: providing a strong voice on policy priorities and a sense of community through events and education; enabling a dynamic network of collaboration and inspiration; and curating compelling content and relevant information. AIIA s members range from start-ups and the incubators that house them, to small and medium-sized businesses including many scale-ups and large Australian and global organisations. We represent global brands including Apple, Adobe, Deloitte, Gartner, Google, HP, IBM, Infosys, Intel, Lenovo, Microsoft and Oracle; international companies including Optus and Telstra; national companies including Ajilon, Data#3, SMS Management and Technology and Technology One. While AIIA s members represent around two-thirds of the technology revenues in Australia, more than 90% of our members are SMEs. Our national board represents the diversity of the digital economy; more detailed information is available on our web site. Introduction The longstanding 457 visa programme has made an important contribution to productivity growth in Australia and in the case of the ICT sector, has been essential to addressing the genuine gap that currently exists between the domestic supply and demand of ICT and new digital technology skills. Individuals who hold 457 visas not only fill real and immediate needs within ICT organisations, but have proven to also make a significant and positive contribution to the Australian economy generating more revenue than cost 1. The ICT sector operates in a business environment that is global and highly mobile more so than any other industry. The skills required in the ICT industry undergo rapid change at the same time that strong growth in demand is expected. This increases pressure to find suitably qualified staff in emerging ICT specializations that are critical to delivering major ICT initiatives and driving innovative solutions across the broad range of industry sectors. The skills shortage in the ICT sector is therefore, a real concern - both in the immediate and long-term. ICT is Australia s fastest growing sector - growing at some 4% pa compared to 2.1% pa for the workforce as a whole. AIIA members advise that the 457 visa programme has been and continues to be an integral part of their recruitment strategies and is instrumental in cross training members in their respective domestic workforces. AIIA is therefore, a strong advocate for 457 visas (or similar) for the ICT sector particularly as a means to address in the short term ICT skills shortages. This is especially the case in areas such as cyber security, cloud and data related skill competencies. We appreciate the opportunity to provide comment in relation to recent announcements proposing significant changes to the existing 457 visa programme. We have six (6) areas of concern to raise. These are outlined below. 1 Access Economics, The Impact of Sponsored Temporary Business Residents of the Commonwealth Budget, May of 5 May 2017

3 Comments In summary AIIA s concerns relating to the changes announced to the 457 visa arrangements by the Prime Minister on 18 April are: Lack of industry consultation prior to announced changes; Exclusion of some occupations from the skilled occupations list; Potential disproportionate impact on SMEs; The implications of breaking the nexus between short term visas and permanent residency; Transitional arrangements; Implementation of the proposed changes and avoidance of red tape and additional cost; and Implementation of the foreign worker levy and establishment of the Skill Australians Fund. These are outlined in more detail below. Lack of industry consultation AIIA is disappointed the Government did not undertake some level of industry consultation or provide some forewarning prior to its announcement. While we understand that the government has no obligation to provide advance warning of policy changes, the absence of communication meant the AIIA was not in a position to respond to member concerns - either for more information or to allay potential concerns. As noted above a number of our members rely on the 457 visa arrangements to attract much needed skills. Given the role of the ICT sector in driving innovation and growth, the unexpected announcement naturally resulted in concern that these skills could no longer be accessed. Some members were understandably concerned about the potential impact of policy changes on the operation of their businesses. Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular expressed real concern for the sustainability of their business. AIIA aims to work constructively with government and in this instance, would have been well positioned to respond to member concerns more appropriately and more swiftly if we were at least briefed beforehand. While it is now clear that changes will not impact the industry to the extent originally thought, the announcement nonetheless caused significant alarm. Exclusion of some occupations from the skilled occupations list There is a range of occupations that are not on the current list of eligible skills and therefore also omitted from the proposed new short-term skilled occupation list (STSOL) and medium and long-term strategic skills list (MLTSSL). These include: User experience (UX) product developers User interface (UI) product designers Front End Software developers Product Management experts Artificial Intelligence experts These new types of digital technology skills reflect the agile nature of technology trends and development. There is already uncertainly regarding the ability to recruit these types of skills under existing arrangements. We highly recommend that the Department consult further with the industry to ensure the new list of eligible skills includes these, and possibly other roles that are in high demand across the sector. 3 of 5 May 2017

4 Ability to apply for Permanent Residency has been limited Because proposed changes have eliminated the path to permanent residency for many roles, it may become more difficult to attract the most qualified foreign workers to fill roles where there is a skills gap in Australia. The overall perception of Australia being harder to get into will undeniably have a negative effect on tech companies and entrepreneurs thinking of relocating here. At a time when other countries like New Zealand are actively courting top talent from overseas, this will affect our ability to compete for the best. We have heard some anecdotal evidence of this already in the medical research field. Potential disproportionate impact on SMEs SMEs such as technology startups are likely to be more affected by the changes to skilled visa arrangements because there is a risk that the already competitive skills market will be even more competitive. As a result some SMEs are concerned they will not have the cash flow to compete for quality local skills. There is also concern that the new arrangements will impose additional process and compliance costs an additional burden for cash and resource strapped SMEs. There is also concern that the strictly time limited Short Term visa arrangements will be less attractive for quality skilled persons looking for longer tenure. Given the distance of Australia from many other countries and the time it takes to build and grow startups and smaller companies, there is concern that limiting the short term visa stay to 2 years will effectively be a disincentive to skilled experts committing for such a short period of time. In addition, new caveats have been imposed on 59 occupations. One of the most relevant being that SMEs with a turnover of less than $1m, or fewer than five employees, can no longer sponsor certain roles. These include the occupations of accountant, chief executive or managing director, conference and event organiser, corporate general manager, customer service manager, and marketing specialist. There is concern that this may make it difficult to, for example, invest in a promising international startup and woo them and their expertise to Australia. Transitional arrangements Some members have expressed concern that some employees brought to Australia on 457 visas will be significantly and adversely affected by the changed policy. There are instances where overseas experts have only accepted 457 visa positions in Australia on the expectation that they had a pathway to permanent residency. Now that this option has been limited, there are known instances where visa applicants will return home and be significantly worse off than when they left for Australia. While it is well understood that the Australian Government or even Australian employees can provide no guarantees regarding the ability to stay in Australia, the fact that this option has now all but been closed will inevitably cause distress for some individuals and families that made decisions based on the policy at the time. AIIA strongly recommends that the Department give careful and sensitive consideration to avoid unnecessary distress or hardship to current visa holders caught in the transition process. Potential red tape and additional cost AIIA s most significant concern is implementation of the policy changes and the potential for unnecessary red tape and additional cost linked to how new arrangements and compliance 4 of 5 May 2017

5 requirements will be executed. As noted above this is a particular concern for SMEs who do not have the capacity to absorb additional process and cost. AIIA is keen to work with the Department to ensure new policy arrangements are implemented as seamlessly as possible, with no additional burdensome red tape requirements or cost. AIIA has worked with the Department previously to implement changes to 457 visa policy changes with satisfactory outcomes. We are keen and confident that we can assist the Department this time to also achieve mutually agreeable outcomes. Introduction of the foreign worker levy In respect of the proposed foreign worker levy, Australia is already a heavily taxed country. Any further disincentives and burdens on employers in the ICT industry make Australia less competitive. AIIA notes that the proposed new foreign worker levy and the Skilling Australians Fund replaces the existing mandatory training benchmarks required of employers who hire foreign workers. AIIA is also keen to work with the government to ensure the integrity of the Skilling Australians Fund, in particular to ensure the Fund is used to directly address skills shortage areas, including digital technologies that are imperative to building Australia s capability for the jobs of the future. Conclusion As noted above, AIIA welcomes the opportunity to work with the Department to ensure the smooth implementation of proposed policy changes. We have assisted the Department previously, including in reforms to labour market testing in 2013/14. This was a very productive and constructive exercise and we hope we could achieve the same sort of effective operational outcomes in this instance. Suzanne Roche, GM Policy and Advocacy can be contacted at s.roche@aiia.com.au or on to assist effective industry engagement. 5 of 5 May 2017