Department of Immigration and Border Protection ATT: Skilled Visa Review and Deregulation Taskforce (4N275) Director, Stuart Nett Email: smdt@immi.gov.au 17 October 2014 Dear Stuart, Re: Submission to the Review of the Skilled Migration and 400 Series Visa Programs The Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC) is the peak body for tourism and events in Victoria, representing around 600 tourism and events operators and businesses. VTIC provides leadership for Victoria s tourism and events industry through One Voice advocacy and representation, and works to support a professional, sustainable and globally competitive tourism industry in Victoria. We are pleased to provide this submission to the review of the Skilled Migration and 400 Series Visas on behalf of our members. We provide specific examples of our members experiences with the current 400 Series Visa Program, as well as suggestions for improvements to the application process. We also touch on the 417 Working Holiday Maker Cultural Visa Program and its implications for the ongoing issues of skills and labour shortages. VTIC is also a member of the National Tourism Alliance (NTA) and we support their combined industry submission, made in conjunction with Restaurant & Catering Australia, Accommodation Association of Australia, Australian Tourism Export Council, and Tourism and Transport Forum. Australia s migration program is vital to the success of many industries and its contribution to the tourism industry is two-fold: firstly, through provision of skilled labour for businesses throughout our sector; and secondly, through the visitation by family and friends of those skilled migrants in other industries and professions who come to Australia, whether short- or long-term. We thank you for the opportunity to contribute to this important discussion. Yours sincerely, Dianne Smith Chief Executive Victorian Tourism Industry Ltd ABN 85 152 248 541 Industry House, 486 Albert Street East Melbourne, VIC 3002 GPO BOX 4352, Melbourne VIC 3001 P: 03 8662 5425 F: 03 8662 5449 E: info@vtic.com.au W: www.vtic.com.au
Case Study 1: Global Ballooning Global Ballooning prides itself on being Australia's most professional hot air ballooning company and is headed up by Director and Chief Pilot Kiff Saunders. Kiff has more than 25 years of flying experience and has flown balloons in over 10 countries around the world, including three world ballooning championships, making him one of Victoria's most experienced balloonists. He is also responsible for training many of the commercial hot air balloon pilots flying in Victoria today and his achievements have been recognised by his induction into the Australian Ballooning Federation Hall of Fame. Kiff also holds the Absolute Australian Altitude Record' for hot air ballooning. Global Ballooning has 15 balloons and has safely flown more than 40,000 passengers. Kiff shares his experiences with 457 visa system here: Certainly for a small business owner the process of applying for 457 visa is quite lengthy. Given the seasonal nature of our business a long lead time makes it difficult to find suitable skilled employees when we need them, as we never really know when the visa will be approved or whether the application will be successful. Mostly the need for skilled balloon pilots is based on a need that may occur quite quickly for example, pilots moving on or in response to increased business activity. I also find that the immigration rules are continually changing and unless one uses an immigration specialist, if your application does not meet the exact criteria it is flatly rejected and a new application is required. There is no scope to fix minor problems within the Department, yet it can take up to three months to have your application looked at again. Our experience with our case officers has been astounding over the years - if a number is wrong or the payment figure reflects last year s rates then they will not enter into a discussion with you; even if it is a simple case of just rectifying the problem in five minutes. I would like to see small business needs recognised in regard to how applications are managed - this means making it cost and time effective. Given we have a proven record of employing people under a 457 visa over the past 15 years it would be a blessing if we were able to fast track an application once an initial company sponsorship application has been accepted, based on the skills based requirements. 2
We would happily put a case forward as to why we need to employ overseas pilots but once this has been established it would be good if we could work on a pro-forma application that is easy to understand and has a case officer associated with it whom we can contact for up to date information or to fast track applications. It would allow us to move quicker within the changing economic climate when we do need to find additional skilled pilots to meet demand. As I mentioned above it is extremely difficult to locate and secure the services of skilled hot air balloon pilots. Once we have found them it is important to be able to offer them employment, including an ongoing opportunity; otherwise they are likely to look at guaranteed opportunities elsewhere. I would also visas that allow for the seasonality of the work. Our flying season in Victoria is only really only six months - this is when we fly large passenger numbers. It would be extremely helpful to have a 457 visa issued that allows overseas employees to enter and leave the country at least once a year without having to reapply, for a period of say up to 5 years. On the ultimate wish list I would also like pilots coming into the country to be able to have a grace period whilst their pilot qualifications are being processed, prior to commencing employment. Assessment of qualifications can take up to 30 days as the Civil Aviation Safety Authority also goes through its processes. To be able to bring pilots over early so they can obtain their local licences would be a great result. This case study highlights several shortcomings of the current 457 temporary skilled migration visa program: The system is difficult to understand and navigate without the help of a migration agent. This adds additional expense to the already costly process of hiring a skilled overseas worker. The system lacks flexibility to deal efficiently with minor clerical or typographical errors. The system does not meet the needs of a seasonal business, which may experience strong demand and a resultant need for skilled workers at relatively short notice, and for short periods of time. The existing Accredited Status scheme sets very high thresholds which many SMEs would not meet; yet the administrative burden for SMEs needing to use the 457 Visa Program would be greater than for larger businesses with more resources. There is an opportunity to streamline the application process for small businesses with an ongoing requirement for skilled migrants. There is also an opportunity to provide an incentive program for SME sponsor businesses with a good track record and proven need for skilled workers. 3
Case Study 2: FH Hospitality FH Hospitality was founded in 2001, specialising in Hospitality and Tourism. The company has over 40 years experience in the hospitality, tourism and the management industry in development, training, job placement and consulting. FH Hospitality s key objectives are: - To provide the gateway to Asian job placement and training in quality, market leading hospitality and tourism outlets in Australia; - To provide innovative management and business solutions to increase operation profitability; - To utilise our expertise, dedication and passion for the hospitality industry to maximise venue potential; - To cater for all hospitality and tourism business requirements by offering a variety of hospitality services. Chief Executive Louie Hayek makes the following comments about the 417 visa: The reason why our program is attractive to employers is that we handle the paperwork, visa requirements and placements. The employer lets me know when, how many and what they require and we deliver the right candidates. We currently deal with 417 Working Holiday Maker visas, as this is a great starting point for many of our applicants. The positives of a WHM 417 Visa is that it is easily available for the students and employers don t have to sponsor or commit to long term positions (Hospitality and Tourism is made up mostly of casual staff, not full timers). In addition, not all companies have a large HR department to undertake the visa application and recruiting processes, and our program saves them time and money. Obviously there are limitations with the WHM 417 Visa, which result in some employers not joining the program. Some of these are: - Six (6) months work is not long enough for positions where training and development is required. For a company to effectively train a student, they would require 2-3 months to train them to the standard they require. This leaves them with only 3-4 months to get the best out of the students - training is expensive and time consuming and many companies will not go down the WHM Visa path even though they need positions filled. Positions such as reception/hotel staff (this is where bilingual staff would be most effective) are not filled because the WHM Visa only allows six months at the one employer. 4
- Cooks are often bypassed by many restaurants again due to the short time they have to work with the visa holders. Training and development requires time that eats into the WHM visa period. - There would be greater support financially for the students from the home country governments if they were given the opportunity to work for 6 months. We are competing with other countries for these students. - And the biggest issue is that all the companies I meet request the same thing: they need Mandarin speaking employees. Student visas are too restrictive and a WHM Visa based on 12 months would be ideal for these companies. Whilst the 417 Working Holiday Maker (WHM) visa is not within the scope of this review, we have included it in this submission as it is relevant to a broader discussion around skills and labour shortages in the tourism and hospitality sectors. Although the WHM visa is a cultural visa, whose primary purpose is not work but rather cultural exchange, the reality is that many WHM visa applicants and holders value very highly the opportunity to work during their stay in Australia. Indeed, the typical backpacker who comes to Australia on a WHM visa will plan his or her trip around when and where they can acquire work. There is a well-documented capacity and capability shortages 1 in tourism and hospitality for lower level jobs, such as front of house and customer service staff. The FH Hospitality example shows that WHM visa holders can not only help fill these labour shortages, but also have the potential to provide tourism and hospitality businesses with the linguistic skills that are also in-demand. The issue of labour shortages for occupations that are not on the Skilled Occupation List (SOL) is a critical one for tourism and hospitality. The growing need for Asian language skills amongst these types of jobs adds a further layer of complexity and makes the chances of these roles being adequately filled by local workers increasingly remote. The Working Holiday Maker visa is an important short-term migration program that can help with this growing problem. However, it too has shortcomings which VTIC believes need to be addressed if it is to continue to play a role in meeting current and future tourism and hospitality industry needs. 1 http://www.austrade.gov.au/tourism/policies/national-long-term-strategy/workinggroups/labour-and-skills/tourism-employment-plans 5
Summary of Recommendations: We support the guiding principles for Australia s temporary migration system as noted in the submission by the National Tourism Alliance; namely that the system be: Simple; Responsive; Revenue Neutral; Viewed in conjunction with other border processing costs; and Tailored to meet the needs to different industry sectors VTIC s recommendations are as follows: 457 Temporary Skilled Migration Visa Program: Implementation of recommendations of the Independent Review of Integrity of the Subclass 457 Visa Program, in particular: o 10.1 That Standard Business Sponsors should be approved for five years and start-up business sponsors for 18 months. o 10.2 That as part of the government s deregulation agenda, the department should develop a simplified process for sponsor renewal. Related to this is our recommendation for the development of a recognition scheme for SME sponsor businesses with good track records. This would be an incentive for sponsor businesses to ensure their applications are correct, complete and compliant. It would also provide a greater degree of responsiveness to business needs which arise at short notice. The existing Accredited Status scheme sets very high thresholds which many SMEs would not meet; therefore SMEs miss out on the benefits afforded by the Accredited Status scheme, such as an extended period for Business Sponsorship. Moreover, the administrative burden for SMEs needing to use the 457 Visa Program would be greater than for larger businesses with more resources at their disposal. Greater flexibility within the system to deal efficiently with minor clerical or typographical errors. Rather than genuine minor errors rendering an application invalid and necessitating a complete re-submission, flexibility within the system to 6
pause an application, rectify the minor error, then resume progress would reduce the administrative burden for business by obviating the duplication of process associated with re-submission and reducing the time lag between application and outcome. Incentives such as the recognition scheme outlined above may also assist in improving the overall quality of applications. Increasing the period of validity of the 457 visa and the business sponsorship to assist businesses operating in a seasonal environment. Where a business experiences significant seasonal fluctuations that make year-round employment unfeasible, increasing the period of validity of the 457 visa and/or the business sponsorship to allow an approved 457 visa holder to return to the same sponsor business for regular seasonal work over, say, a 3-5 year period would assist with business planning and reduce the administrative burden of repeatedly submitting individual applications for the same role. 417 Working Holiday Maker Visa Program: VTIC fully supports the recommendations made in the combined industry submission to: Remove the 6-month cap on employment allowing WHM to spend a greater amount of time with one employer; Grant a second year extension to WHM who spend three months or more working in regional tourism and hospitality businesses; Freeze any further increases in visa fees and charges associated with this visa class; Revise the qualifying age range from 18-30 to 35 years in line with other countries; Allow multiple visa applications, one between 18-25 years of age and a second from 26-35 years of age; and Expand the program to include key international growth markets including China, India, Vietnam and the Philippines and remove need for the program to be reciprocal. 7