On 3 June 2011 the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) released the ‘Outlook for Net Overseas Migration May 2011’. The DIAC paper provides insight into the trends of Australian Government migration policy.

While there has been an overall drop in Net Overseas Migration (NOM), the employer sponsored visas such as the 457 temporary work visas continue to be in favour with DIAC.

“With labour market conditions improving, visa applications for temporary skilled workers are on the rise, up 70 per cent by the end of February 2011 compared to the low in October 2009... Reforms to the subclass 457 visa program which have sought to ensure that temporary overseas workers are paid at market rates and do not take Australian jobs, combined with fast visa processing times by the department, may have contributed to making this program more responsive to labour needs.”

From the DIAC release it appears likely that employer sponsored visas will continue to be a focus of Australian migration policies:

“It will be important to maintain the link between economic needs and skilled migration in future, particularly as the economy recovers and we continue to see strong terms of trade driven by economic growth in emerging economies such as China and India.”

DIAC predicts that demand for 457 subclass visas will continue to grow:

“It is anticipated that as the economy gathers strength, employers will look to immigration to address skills shortages, pushing up the demand for subclass 457 visa holders. Similarly, there are indications that there will be increased number of Working Holiday Makers.”

Work Visa Lawyers provide assistance to businesses and individuals in relation to Australian work visas and business visas.

Source document: http://www.chrisbowen.net/media-centre/media-releases.do?newsId=4561