As I write this we are just a couple of weeks away from the Western Australian state election. Mr McGowan, the leader of the WA Labour Party, who is (as was Hillary Clinton) the favourite to win has made the 457 visa an election issue.
In a campaign TV ad that aired on the 14th of this month Mr McGowan accused the WA State Premier, Colin Barnett (who, as far as I know, is not being investigated by the FBI, and is certainly not a billionaire reality TV star), of having Canberra fast track the employment of overseas workers as bricklayers, engineers, electricians and mechanics, and says he will “rewrite that list on day one” if elected.
The Australian Labour Party’s ‘Fairer Temporary Work Visa Fact Sheet’ notes that we are seeing a rise in visas for jobs such as cooks, bricklayers, and café managers and that those roles should easily be filled by local workers.
Malcolm Turnbull’s coalition government is quite aware that the 457 visa is an emotive subject and, in November last year, reduced the time available for someone whose sponsorship ends prematurely to find another employer in Australia. They are also working towards tightening the evidence required to prove that an employer has really tried to find a local worker before bringing someone in and have responded fiercely to any criticism from Labour by pointing out the increase in visa numbers during the current opposition’s time in office. Beyond that, the Libs are more low key. If you search ‘457 visa’ on their website the results focus on 457s in relation to the China Free Trade Agreement.
As someone that is directly involved in assisting clients to solve their staffing problem via the sponsorship of a loyal, hardworking, skilled and experienced overseas worker, predominantly for the hospitality and automotive industries, I look at those quoted position titles with interest. As can be seen in the DIBP’s table below, bricklayers, engineers, mechanics and electricians are not that much of a threat to Australians with those skills. 457s for cooks and chefs, roles that have been a cornerstone of TPRCs business, and that I have daily involvement in have been plentiful.
For those outside the hospitality industry it may come as a surprise that clients will pay a recruitment fee, and for visa costs and flights, and wait a few months for processing of documentation. They do as they know they will get an employee that they can rely on, and who will be keen and easy to manage. A client with 30 years’ experience in hospitality told me that he has had nine chefs in his resort’s kitchen since June last year. Unfortunately, backpackers on working holiday visas and locals (knowing that they are in great demand) tend not to stay. Not to mention those who talked a good game but couldn’t cook an egg.
On any day, SEEK usually has between 2500 and 3000 job advertisements for chefs and cooks around Australia. Despite MKR and MasterChef the number of people happy to earn $12 an hour as a first year apprentice (and that is above award) isn’t going to fill that gap and, unlike bricklayers, I don’t see robots taking over any time soon.
So, in closing, may I say that I am 100% in favour of the Consolidated Sponsored Occupations List being reduced from its current 600 plus visa applicable occupations (which include goat and deer farming, grass growing, railway station manager, camping ground operator, electorate officers for MPs, potters and sculptors). That said, if you want to be able to eat out once in a while, or need some work done on your car, please lobby your MP not to throw the cook/panel beater out with the bath water.