DIAC Improves Temporary Worker Visa

With the recent economic boom, jobs in Australia have also started to increase significantly. In fact, this has actually lead to an decrease in the country's unemployment rate, which has hit to an all time low of only five percent. And now, it seems that the country is actually needing more workers to fill in this demand. 

Because of the demand, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship is now putting up a lot of effort in attracting more foreign workers in the country. And while the general skilled migration program has received considerable attention and changes, the DIAC has also started working on other means of allowing worker entry into the country. One of these is the temporary visa.

The temporary visa, also known as the 457 visa, grants the applicant the opportunity to work in the country anywhere from six months to four years. Workers under this visa are sponsored by employers, recognized by the Australian government, to work for them for a given amount of time. The 457 visa holder is also eligible to change the 457 visa into a permanent residency one if conditions permit.

Because of the current demand for workers in the country, the 457 saw an increasing number of applicants. Thus, the DIAC saw it necessary to improve the visa program in order to better encourage employers to make use of it to deal with their worker needs. One of the things that the DIAC is seeking to do in this one is to simplify to whole program.

Here, the DIAC wants to start by reducing the number of temporary work in australia visas available. As of current, aside from 457, there are actually several other different visa types that grant temporary working opportunities for applicants. Some of these are targeted only for particular groups of applicants. However, the DIAC noted that several of these visas actually have only a limited number of applicants. Thus, the department said it I necessary to do away with these. The DIAC estimates that it would be able to reduce the number of temporary visa to half the current one by 2015

Immigration officials also said that they will also try to simplify the application process for these visas. The department noted that application time for these visa can often take up to three months. Authorities said that the above reduction in the number of visas will also greatly in speeding up the process. They also added that there will also be more steps that will be undertaken by the department in order to further speed up application.