Department of Immigration and Border Protection
On 18 March 2015, the Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection announced that the Government will act on the recommendations of a recent independent review of the temporary work (skilled) (subclass 457) visa programme for skilled migrants. The 457 visa programme is a temporary visa programme aimed at meeting skills shortages. It allows businesses to address labour shortages by sponsoring genuinely skilled overseas workers. The review was conducted by an independent panel which made several recommendations relating to different aspects of the programme including labour market testing, market salary rates and training benchmarks. The review was certified by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (the Department) as meeting the requirements of a Regulation Impact Statement. Under the Australian Government Guide to Regulation, the Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) does not assess independent reviews. The Department estimates the average annual regulatory cost savings to be about $29.9 million, and this has been agreed by the OBPR.
- The independent review report is available at the Department of Immigration and Border Protection website
- Department Certification of Independent Review – Robust New Foundations: A Streamlined, Transparent and Responsive System for the 457 Programme [
35 KB] - Department Certification of Independent Review – Robust New Foundations: A Streamlined, Transparent and Responsive System for the 457 Programme [
95KB - OBPR response – Review of the 457 programme[ 150KB]
- OBPR response – Review of the 457 programme [ 55KB]