The number of Irish workers being sponsored by Australian companies rose in 2011.

Figures released by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) show that Irish citizens were granted 3,100 primary 457 visas up to December 31 last year.

This is 68 per cent higher than the figure for the same period in 2010-11.

The four-year 457s are temporary residence visas offered to skilled workers and their dependants who are sponsored by an Australian company.

Primary visa grants refer to people who applied for sponsorship for their own behalf, while secondary applicants are those attached to partners’ applications.

The top three citizenship countries for primary visa grants from July to the end of December 2011 were the United Kingdom (24.8 per cent), India (17.6 per cent) and the Republic of Ireland (9.2 per cent).

The number of primary visa holders in Australia at 31 December 2011 was 68,320 – an increase of 14.5 per cent compared with the same date in the previous year.

Overall, the number of 457 primary visa applications lodged from July to the end of December 2011 was 36.7 per cent higher than the same period in 2010.

Although application lodgements tend to ease in December due to the holiday season, the number of primary applications lodged in December 2011 was still 20.9 per cent higher than in December 2010.

Offshore primary visa lodgements for the period were 43.4 per cent higher than the same period in 2010, reflecting a continued strong demand for temporary skilled workers.

New South Wales emerged as the most nominated position location for migrants.

It held 34 per cent of 457 primary visa grants during that period, followed by Western Australia (23.4 per cent) and Victoria (19.7 per cent).

These states were also the top three nominated locations for primary subclass 457 visa grants in the last programme year.

Following this trend, Irish citizens made up 2,240 of the 457 visa holders in NSW as of the end of December, followed by 1,280 in resource-rich Western Australia and 1,090 in Victoria.

The number of subclass 457 visa holders granted a permanent residence visa in December 2011 was 5.2 per cent higher than in December 2010. The majority (96.3 per cent) were in the skilled stream and 3.7 per cent were in the family migration category.

There was little change in the top three industries for primary visa grants, with construction (13.6 per cent), other services (12.7 per cent) and health care and social assistance (12.2 per cent).

Medicare has apologised to expectant mother Deirdre O'Rourke for the mix-up.

Medicare has been forced to send its staff a reminder of its requirements under Ireland’s reciprocal healthcare agreement with Australia, after a pregnant Irishwoman on a 457 visa was provided with the wrong information about the level of public health cover she could access.

In an email sent on November 17, and seen by the Irish Echo, Medicare told Deirdre O’Rourke, 36, that any decision to give her maternity care would lie with an individual hospital.

“The individual public hospital would make the decision as to whether the treatment they are willing to provide as a public patient under the reciprocal agreement is due to ill health or immediately medically necessary,” the email states.

This ran contrary to the federal Department of Health position, which says that it has had the final say on the provision of pregnancy cover to expectant mothers on 457 visas.

“Women from Ireland who are in Australia are entitled to free public hospital care including pregnancy care,” a spokesperson for Health said.

The situation has been causing confusion among pregnant temporary workers and their spouses.

Ms O’Rourke, who is three months pregnant, said her GP was unsure of what medical costs were covered during the pregnancy.

It took the woman from Kildare several attempts to get a clear response to questions she had asked Medicare.

Irish citizens become entitled to Medicare benefits for non-hospital medical care when they become permanent residents in Australia.

However, the Irish and Australian governments are signed up to a reciprocal healthcare agreement (RHCA), which covers treatment deemed to be ‘medically necessary’. Irish visitors are also entitled to subsidised medicines under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

Eventually the Royal Women’s Hospital (RWH) in Melbourne settled the matter and told the woman she would be covered as a ‘reciprocal rights patient’.

“Trying to get a straight answer from Department of Human Services and from Medicare, was a nightmare,” Ms O’Rourke told the Irish Echo.

Medicare has now apologised.

“Medicare acknowledges that a staff member provided incomplete information to a customer, and sincerely apologises for any inconvenience caused,” a spokesperson for the Department of Human Services said.

“A message will be sent to all relevant staff this week reminding them of the requirements of the RHCA with the Republic of Ireland,” he added.

He stressed that the government considers that maternity services can constitute immediate ‘medically necessary’ treatment under the RHCA.

Meanwhile, a separate woman on a 457 visa who has given birth in a public hospital said her experience went very well. The Irish Echo previously reported this woman’s experience in April, as she had learned that her private health insurer would not cover pregnancy.

“All ante natal and post natal care was covered and all follow-up appointments have also been covered for example, home visits by community nurses, follow-up baby appointments, ultrasounds,” the woman said. She did not wish to be named.

“All vaccinations post-baby are also free. If you go to the GP you have to pay but if you go to your local area health centre they will inform you of times that they do vaccinations, but you must donate $4.40 towards them,” she added.

Almost all temporary residents in Australia will lose access to the Living Away From Home Allowance (LAFHA) under plans unveiled by the Australian government today.

The Treasurer Wayne Swan announced the changes as part of a package of measures aimed at boosting government revenue.

The new rules will come into force from July 1, 2012.

LAFHA is widely used by temporary residents to boost their take-home pay. Some employers pay their foreign workers a LAFHA which comes off their gross wage. They then pay income tax on the lesser amount.

Under reforms announced today: access to the tax exemption for temporary residents will be “limited to those who maintain a residence for their own use in Australia, which they are living away from for work purposes, such as ‘fly-in fly-out’ workers”.

This will effectively close off the option for most temporary residents who claim the allowance because they are living away from their original home ie Ireland. That will no longer be allowable, according to the release from Treasury.

“The Government will introduce reforms to stop individuals from being able to exploit the tax exemption for living-away-from-home allowance and benefits,” the Treasurer said.

“This tax exemption is being increasingly misused by a narrow group of people, particularly highly-paid executives and foreign workers, at the expense of Australian taxpayers.

“Rorting of this tax exemption was one of the issues raised at the Tax Forum, and has seen the total amount of tax-free living-away-from-home allowance reported by employers to the Australian Taxation Office increase from $162 million in 2004-05 to $740 million in 2010-11.

“No permanent resident legitimately using this tax exemption for accommodation and food expenses will lose any entitlements. These reforms will not affect other tax concessions, such as those that apply to travel and meal allowances, and remote area fringe benefits. The reforms will apply from 1 July 2012.

“This start date will enable the Government to undertake an extensive consultation process on these reforms, so appropriate transitional arrangements can be put in place, including in regional Australia.

“These changes will ensure that a level playing field exists between temporary residents and permanent residents, and that Australian taxpayers are not funding the unfair exploitation of concessions.”

:: Reaction

One Irish mother, who moved to Australia with her husband and two young children on a sponsored 457 visa last May, told the Irish Echo that the removal of the allowance would be a disaster for the family budget.

“As temporary residents we do not have access to Medicare. We also have to pay thousands of dollars for our kids to attend government schools. The LAFHA has given us a chance to live and work in Sydney but without it, we may have to consider going back to Ireland.”

A Melbourne-based Irish mother said without the allowance her family may be forced to leave Australia.

“We’ll have to go home next year as after our rent, bills in Ireland (car loans, bank loan, mortgage), crèche and travel costs we are only left with the extra I get from LAFHA. Permanent residency would be perfect for us but we just can’t afford to pay for it yet,” she said.

“I’m just hoping my company can do something to help as over 50 per cent if not more of their employees are on 457 visas.”

Meanwhile, recruitment agencies that have offered the allowance as part of their salary packaging are hoping to win some change through a consultation process.

One recruitment source said the move made clear that the government was directly targeting temporary residents.

KPMG tax partner Andy Hutt told the Irish Echo that workers seeking to recoup the loss via negotiations for a salary increase may find that their contracts have prepared for the dissolution of LAFHA.

“Many [companies] have got it written in that they’re not obliged to provide those benefits if the tax rules change, so it will be a relevantly straightforward change for them,” he said.

Mr Hutt said temporary workers who have used the allowance to pay regular large outgoings, such as rent, may now struggle.

“There will be some people who went into leases for accommodation here in Australia in expectation of being able to get that paid for out of pre-tax remuneration and they may find that hard to sustain once the tax exemption falls away. But I think the government will argue ‘you’ve got seven months to think about that and manage your finance’ so you can deal with that come July’,” he said.

“Fundamentally, the temporary residents who are affected don’t vote.”

Additional reporting by Luke O’Neill

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said the new accreditation scheme would come into effect on Monday. (File pic)

Updated: 13.50pm

The Gillard Government has announced a new accreditation scheme for the 457 visa program which will allow businesses to gain access to priority processing and approval for six years.

The scheme does not change the length of sponsorship available to workers.

The ’457s’ are temporary residence visas offered to skilled workers and their dependants who are sponsored by an Australian company.

“This new scheme recognises that many Australian businesses have a long history of dealing with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) and an excellent record of compliance with workplace and migration laws,” said Immigration Minister Chris Bowen, in statement.

“From 7 November, these businesses will be able to seek accreditation that qualifies them for sponsorship approval of six years rather than the current three, as well as ensuring faster processing times for all future subclass 457 nominations and visa applications.”

Businesses will need to meet certain additional benchmarks to qualify for accredited status, including being an active 457 visa sponsor for the past three years and a commitment to ensuring at least 75 per cent of their domestic workforce is Australian.

The businesses will also need to be either government agency, a publicly listed company, or a private company, with a minimum of $4 million turnover per year over the last three years. Businesses must also had at least 30 primary Subclass 457 visa applications granted in the previous 12 months.

“While employers should first look to Australians to fill skill vacancies, the subclass 457 visa provides a fast and flexible process for the entry of overseas workers where they are needed to fill skill vacancies,” Mr Bowen said.

“The new accreditation scheme was developed in consultation with the Skilled Migration Consultative Panel, which includes representatives from major employer groups, unions and state governments.”

The 2011 KPMG Skilled Migration Survey of employers found that the subclass 457 visa program provided a flexible avenue to alleviate skill shortages in growth sectors such as the mining industry.

Use of the subclass 457 visa program is increasing, with 54,360 subclass 457 primary visas granted in 2010-11, an increase of 38.2 per cent compared to the same period the year before. The UK was the most popular source country, with 11,820 primary applicants granted visas.

The median processing time for a subclass 457 visa is currently 22 days, according to DIAC.

Figures released by DIAC show that Irish citizens were granted 1,460 primary 457 visas in the last year until 30 September 2011, a significant increase on the figure of 830 for the same period in 2010.

An increasing number of Irish workers are finding sponsorship with Australian companies, according to the latest statistics.

An increasing number of Irish workers are finding sponsorship with Australian companies, according to the latest statistics.

Figures released by the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) show that Irish citizens were granted 1,460 primary 457 visas in the last year until 30 September 2011, a significant increase on the figure of 830 for the same period in 2010.

The four-year 457s are temporary residence visas offered to skilled workers and their dependants who are sponsored by an Australian company.

Primary visa grants refer to people who applied for sponsorship for their own behalf, while secondary applicants are those attached to partners’ applications.

The top three citizenship countries for primary visa grants from July to the end of September 2011 were the United Kingdom (25.4 per cent), India (17.9 per cent) and Ireland (8.6 per cent).

The number of primary visa holders in Australia at 30 September 2011 was 77,250 – an increase of 10 per cent in comparison with the same date last year.

New South Wales emerged as the most popular destination for migrants, which held 36.2 per cent of 457 visa grants during that period, followed by Victoria (20.9 per cent) and Western Australia (20.9 per cent).

These states were also the top three nominated locations for primary subclass 457 visa grants in the last programme year.

Following this trend, Irish citizens made up 2,580 of the 457 visa holders in NSW as of the end of September, followed by 1,480 in resource-rich Western Australia and 1,300 in Victoria.

The number of subclass 457s granted from July to the end of September 2011 was 54.2 per cent higher than the same period last year. However, the number of primary visas granted in September 2011 was 2.8 per cent lower than in August.

There was little change in the top three industries for primary visa grants, with healthcare and social assistance (13.5 per cent), other services (12.4 per cent) and construction (12.0 per cent) continuing to top the list.

Irish citizens were granted a total of 14,833 working holiday 417 visas between 2009 and 2010, which was a drop of 7,953 on the previous year.

Minister Collier has voiced further criticism of the Federal Government. (File pic)

Western Australian Minister Peter Collier has heavily criticised the Federal Immigration Minister Chris Bowen for failing to provide assistance with his scheme to bring Irish workers to the state.

Speaking at the Commonwealth Business Forum yesterday, Minister Collier said he was ‘sick’ of talking to Immigration minister Chris Bowen about the scheme.

“I’m working with [Ireland’s Junior Minister for Skills] Ciaran Cannon and the Irish Government and we’re going to go around the Feds on this thing. We’ll work with the Irish Government and we’ll hold it up as a big success,” Mr Collier was reported as saying by the West Australian newspaper.

Mr Collier told the Irish Echo last month that he would plough on with the scheme with or without the aid of the federal government.

“Ideally, we want the federal government to work with us but they have been less than forthcoming, to be honest,” he said, in September.

His latest comments show a further dissatisfaction with the federal government’s attitude to the scheme, backed by Irish junior minister Ciaran Cannon.

“A lot of these people are middle-aged, they’ve been retrenched,” he said. “So, come over to Western Australia, spend 18 months to two years with us, help us out, then you can go home.

“We’ve got no language barrier, no qualification barriers, it’s a relationship born in heaven.”

In the 2011–12 Budget, the government announced that the RSMS programme would be expected to deliver up to 16,000 skilled migrants to regional and low population growth areas of Australia.

Increasing numbers of Irish nationals are seeking to have decisions about their visas reviewed, figures released to the Irish Echo show.

The Migration Review Tribunal (MRT) can review decisions to refuse to grant visas, to cancel visas, to refuse to approve sponsors, and to refuse to approve a nominated position or business activity.

MRT figures show that review applications lodged by Irish nationals have increased tenfold since 2007/08.

Approximately 149 Irish nationals lodged applications to have Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) decisions reviewed by the tribunal in the last financial year, with the tribunal making 76 decisions so far.

The number of applications means that Irish nationals, collectively, spent over $200,000 on the reviews in the last financial year.

The figures do not give details on whether or not the decisions were in favour or against. Nor do the figures provide detail on whether or not the initial visa application was made in or outside of Australia.

The tribunal publishes a small number of decisions on its website.

The tribunal had 150 active cases relating to Irish nationals at the end of the financial year.

The MRT figures (see panel) show the number of Irish nationals seeking a review has been rising year on year.

The Irish Echo has learned that the majority of the cases involving Irish nationals for the last five years have pertained to the refusal of Temporary Business 457 visas.

The four-year 457s are temporary residence visas offered to skilled workers and their dependants sponsored by an Australian company.

Just 11 Irish nationals sought to have their visa decision reviewed in 2007/08.

That figure increased to 63 the following year, to 85 in 2009/10, and to a five-year high of 149 in 2010/11.

The cost of lodging an application for a review increased in July to $1,540. The MRT reduces the fee to $770 if an applicant can prove financial hardship.  The MRT will also refund $770 of the fee if the review is decided in an applicant’s favour.

The previous fee of $1,400 could be waived fully in cases of severe hardship and refunded fully in instances of a positive decision.

457 visa holders and international students pay thousands to enrol a child in ACT and NSW public schools. (Pic: Stock)

New South Wales Education Minister Adrian Piccoli is seeking legal advice about the state’s practice of charging fees for temporary residents who wish to enrol their children in public schools, after it emerged the fees could breach Australia’s obligations as a signatory to a UN treaty.

Currently, international students and parents in Australia on 457 visas are required to pay such fees for their children to attend NSW public shools.

The fees begin at $4,500 a year for a child in kindergarten and rise to $5,500 for those attending years 11 to 12.

An application to waive the fees can be made. The NSW Department of Education considers such applications on a case-by-case basis.

“The applicant is required to provide a number of documents to support their case, including a declaration regarding their financial position.

“The Exemption Review Panel may either grant a full 12-month exemption from the fees or, where the exemption is declined, offer the applicant an instalment plan facility to pay the fees,” a department spokesperson said.

Figures released to the Irish Echo show 28 students from Ireland paid temporary resident fees in 2010 and 2011.

Twelve Irish citizens were granted fee waivers in that same period. Irish students made up just one in 333 of the total number of students in the temporary residents programme in 2010-11.

The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission was first to question the legality of the revenue stream, following its research into the experiences of international students and other visa holders who pay fees for their children to attend school in the state.

The United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child states: “All children have the right to a primary education, which should be free.” Australia has been a signatory to the convention since 1990 but has not incorporated it into law.

Last week the Australian Capital Territory, which also charges the fees – but at a substantially higher rate than NSW – vowed to fight any action to stop it doing so.

The state earns $5m from international education each year. Roughly 460 international students are currently enrolled in ACT public schools.

The ACT charges $13,900 for a temporary resident to enrol their child in the final year of a public high school.

The ACT department of education said it did not have readily obtainable stats on the number of students of Irish nationality.

“I think it’s entirely appropriate for the ACT to seek to have an education export market and we would hope to grow it in the future,” ACT Education Minister Andrew Barr told
reporters last week.

“I’ll fight any attempts to kill off this export industry for the ACT.”

Doyle was sponsored after a company overheard his phone conversation, while having a coffee at a jobs expo in Dublin.

To many people, what happened to Bill Doyle will sound somewhat like a fairytale.

The 28-year-old from Wexford went up to Dublin and was taken to the Working Abroad Expo in the RDS on a Saturday morning with a friend who was hoping to move to Canada.

“I remember the hall was divided into Australia and Canada. We had been out the night before in Dublin and all I wanted was to find a hangover cure,” he said.

Making a beeline for the coffee stand, Bill found himself on the Australian side of the expo while his friend went off to see what Canada had to offer him.

“I was running my own company in wet and dry hire, to do with excavations, disposal and machinery hire,” he said. “I had two guys with two trucks doing work for me that morning. They rang me and while I was on the phone to them – giving them instructions for picking up some machines — I noticed these two guys listening to me.

“One of them came up and asked me to join them and I noticed his Aussie accent then,” he said. The men, one from Australian Migration Visa Lawyers (AMVL) and one a HR manager from Coates Hire, had heard Bill talking about specific equipment.

“Obviously, Coates Hire deal with the equipment I was talking about,” Bill said. “They started asking me loads of questions. They asked me if I would be interested in coming to Australia and if they could email me some information.

“I had never thought about it before, my company at home was doing OK. But within three days I got an email from them,” he said.

After doing a Skype interview, Coates made Bill an offer.

“They asked me if I would be interested in running a branch for them,” said Bill. He then had a tough decision on his hands, should he leave his job, family and friends in Ireland for this opportunity in Australia?

Soon enough, the decision became a little easier when the company he was working for lost two government contracts that Bill was hoping would keep them busy in Ireland over the summer.

“Obviously, the country was getting worse and two government jobs pulled out,” he said.

Bill decided to take the leap and has been in Brisbane for training for a month. He is about to head up to Cairns to run one of the company’s branches.

“It’s weird going from running my own company, and pulling all the strings in Ireland to working for someone else again. But so far, this company is going well and their plans are huge,” he said.

Bill also said that he’s looking forward to going to Cairns as it’s smaller than Brisbane and coming from a smaller area like Wexford, it will feel more like home to him.

“I wanted to find the fire and drive I had in Ireland during the boom times,” he said.

The move is working out well for Bill, whose only wish now is that some of his friends might also come and join him Down Under.

“I realised there was so much opportunity here and I know friends back home who are in a rut and should come out too,” he said.

Australian recruiters are looking to Ireland to fill vacancies and companies like AMVL are endeavouring to link jobseekers with employers.

The mining boom, in particular, is creating many vacancies that companies are struggling to fill within Australia but there are opportunities across the board, accrording to AMVL’s recruitment specialist John Young.

“Our clients are mainly looking for blue collar workers, mechanics, sales coordinators, first-level management sales coordinators, people who work in rental shops and in equipment hire, and we are also getting inquiries about engineers,” he said.

“We are mostly recruiting people in the resources and mining industry. We’re 90 per cent mining driven, but we’re not limited to that,” Mr Young said.

AMVL went to the Working Abroad Expo in the RDS in March of this year and set Irish people up with jobs and sponsorship in different parts of Australia.

“Lately we’ve had quite a bit of interest in recruiting people within the telecommunications industry in relation to the national broadband network.

“That’s being built over the next four years so we’ll definitely be looking for people with those skills,” he said.

Three single people have come over through AMVL to jobs with sponsorship, and two others came over with their families, since the expo in March.

They have been employed as mechanics, sales coordinators and branch managers. According to the company, employers in Australia are really stretched for people so there’s a real drive to get skilled people to come over.

“Any one who is a construction plant mechanic, a HGV mechanic, people with five years sales experience or a degree in marketing or sales, is in demand,” Mr Young said.

Minister Collier has said there will be huge demands on WA’s future workforce needs.

A Western Australian state Government minister has attacked the Federal Government’s visa process, saying the Federal Government is ‘oblivious’ to the workforce requirements of the resource-rich state.

The state’s Training and Workforce Development Minister Peter Collier has visited Ireland and Britain as part of a delegation promoting the attributes of living and working in Western Australia to potential skilled migrants.

“The one clear message we are constantly being given is that people want to come to WA but are often frustrated by the Federal visa process, which is holding back the ability of skilled workers coming to the State,” Mr Collier said, in a statement.

“The Government has appealed for changes to the Federal migration program to help WA supplement its workforce needs – I met with Immigration and Citizenship Minister Chris Bowen in March to discuss these changes in detail.

“It’s no secret that there will be huge demands on WA’s future workforce needs – it’s been well documented and reported, yet the Federal Government seems completely oblivious to our requirements.”

WA has campaigned to have Perth recognised under the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS), an expansion of the types of skilled occupations that qualify for 457 visas, and review of the allocation of State sponsored visas, among other measures.

Mr Collier had said the response he received from the Federal Government on these issues was not good news for the state.

:: UPDATED – Perth given ‘regional city’ status

But this morning, Immigration Minister Chris Bowen announced that Perth could now be considered a regional city under RSMS, meaning it will have greater access to skilled migrants.

Mr Bowen made the announcement during an address to the Migration Conference of the Australian Minerals and Metals Association (AMMA), this morning.

“Skills shortages are not limited to mining projects, with opportunities for Australians in the resources sector leading to local skills shortages in other parts of Western Australia, particularly in Perth,” said Mr Bowen

“Therefore, for the purpose of greater access to skilled migration, Perth will now be considered a regional city and will be able to benefit from inclusion in the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme.

“This will provide employers with another, easier avenue to recruit the skilled workers they need from overseas and give skilled temporary visa holders in Perth a more streamlined pathway to permanent migration.”

The announcement comes as a report by Monash University’s Centre for Population and Urban Research (CPUR) yesterday called for Australia’s current migration intake to be halved.

“Australia needs a lower, but better-targeted immigration program. The bulk of current migration has little to do with providing scarce skills to the resource industries,” the CPUR report states.

“Rather, it is delivering two major streams. One is a predominantly professional flow to the big cities where the immigrants are being employed in people-servicing industries such as health and welfare. The demand for these services is, in turn, partly driven by migration-fuelled population growth.

“The other stream is a mass of people on temporary visas such as students and working holiday makers. Again, they go to the major cities, and work on a casual basis, reflecting their visa status.”

The report’s authors criticise the pathway to permanent residency provided by the 457 program arguing “this policy must be changed if the temporary influx during the resources boom is not to become permanent, as occurred in Western Germany in the aftermath of its guest worker program in the 1960s.”