sonlymewalter

457 posters who have been brought to Aus by their employers as highly skilled and those skills are not available in Aus - no one so far has denied this is not required nor have these jobs been taken in good faith.

The comments made about fraudulent 457 skill requirements is about those skills being brought in that are not required and are readily available in Aus

There's a difference.

Pollyana

I know there is, and you seem to know there is but the way some comments - such as the one I quoted above - have been phrased on here is causing upset to some 457 holders, hence my making that point.

sonlymewalter

yeh its an emotive subject and some people are taking it personally which is a shame.

Anyway mate let's hope it gets sorted and the visa is finally used for what it's intended and hopefully genuine visa holders aren't penalised either

LeeWillo

I am on a 457 visa, but my kids are not school age yet, and I am in South Australia so not really relevant to me. This is pushing me to do PR though for when and if the time comes and I was chatting to an australian colleague about this. He said here he pays $4250 a year for his 15 year old to go to school anyway, plus books/clothes/pe kit/school trips/anything else, so it sounds like paying for schooling is pretty normal anyway.

paddyo

That is quite possibly one of the most inflammatory and incorrect statements put on here. I came on a 457, in good faith, for a valid 457 sponsored position and provided a good return investment to my company. I paid taxes and I supported the economy in all respects with ZERO drain on the benefits that Australian PR or Citizens had. So please think before you drop some stupid comment in the thread!!
Now....rant over......back to the OP point. NSW has had this $4500 per year per child for ages and I was aware of it when I came over. Initially our son was in Long Day Care , with no CCR, and then started school. Me being me challenged it via the NSW Education and used the following Human Rights link http://www.hrc.act.gov.au/Wiki/?incs...ic-authorities which stated that every child is entitled to FREE education. There somewhat banal response is that the 457 Temp children are an extra drain on NSW resources and therefore need that money to support that burden. I then counteracted that by providing evidence from my local school Principal who stated that the school only gets $135 of that money...so how is this 'burden' shared except in Admin, mostly in processing the $4500 fee!!
It is a complete money grabbing shameful sham and each State that uses it should be publicly shamed using the Human Rights law which Australia has signed up to.
I do not buy into the 'education is an investment for OUR children not other countries so why should we use our taxes to pay for them' comments. A child is a child and you do not know the path their family circumstances will take. Morally it is wrong.
Finally, I will echo what some posters have mentioned about payment. I approached my company with big Doe eyes and pleading poverty and they actually paid me the fees for schooling. It can be done but obviously dependant upon your company's mobility policy and how much they want you.
To bring it it now, and have this possible instant financial burden is just blatant disregard for personal circumstances and treating the people of WA who are on a 457 with complete and total disrespect.

Amazulu

That's what I was saying in a previous post. $4000 per child will raise about $30-odd million per year. By the time the bureaucracy processes this there will be f**k all left

It would be more cost effective to fire a couple of hundred civil servants

Amazulu

There are many problems with the 457 system but that is not the fault of individual 457 holders

Personally I think 457 should be scrapped. Go for a PR only system for skilled people but make the process simpler

paddyo

+1

sonlymewalter

+1

roaringmouse

I think the PR visas should have a probationary period, similar to that of the partner visa - so people need to actually work in their field for a minimum time to move onto PR status. Otherwise it's possible to get PR based on a shortage, and take completely different work - no use at all to the country if there is a shortage.

With 457s they should really only be to fill a temporary or short-term gap, which means in my view they should ideally have a "no further stay" condition attached so with the possible exception of a partner visa, no other visa can be applied for by a 457 holder - and no time from living on a 457 should go towards citizenship.

sonlymewalter

That only works if people are guaranteed to be given a job in the role they are skilled at. When a lot of people come to Aus they are told they need Aus job experience and to do this they often have to take lower skilled work. This system suits the Aus job market as in effect Aus gets highly skilled workers doing not so skilled jobs.

teza

How about combined result? Demolish 457 and if you get skilled visa, in return to RRV or citizenship, proof of working in your skilled profession 2 out of four years? Surely taking out 457 of the equation would create helluva lot more jobs plus would stop these non stop posts of "I've had my PR 5 years but spent 10 days in OZ situations? Just thinking.....

teza

P.S. nothing to put special laws in that if you truly can't find someone in Oz, then hire a specialist for a contract time in Oz...

roaringmouse

Then having the probationary period will allow them to get any relevant qualifications, and with the ability to extend the probationary period once this will allow them to work within the field for which they gained their visa.

Otherwise the person could end up doing work in a different occupation that isn't in demand for visa purposes which could have gone to someone else. The only reason a person is living in Australia is due to the skill and experience they have, taking away that skill (e.g. by working in a different job) defeats the point of the person having a visa (and right to live in Australia) in the first place.

sonlymewalter

And that's the point. Aus brings over skilled migrants but there aren't always jobs available in those roles so it's unreasonable to expect a visa holder to have worked in their skilled job when through no fault of their own those jobs are not available.

Aus benefits as highly skilled migrants end up coming to Aus and sometimes working in unskilled jobs so effectively Aus gets a highly skilled workforce at all levels which is fantastic for the Australian economy even if it is crap for the individual skilled migrant.

The PR visa is wholly geared as a benefit to Aus whilst the 457 visa is open to abuse which is why the two visas are worlds apart and why the 457 needs to be monitored more closely for genuine short term required skills.