New Temporary Skill Shortage visa to replace 457 visa

The TSS visa programme will be comprised of a Short-Term stream of up to two years and a Medium-Term stream of up to four years.

Government abolishes 457 visa Source: SBS

Today, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced that the Government will abolish the Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457 visa).

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The 457 visa will be replaced with the completely new Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa in March 2018.

The TSS visa programme will be comprised of a Short-Term stream of up to two years and a Medium-Term stream of up to four years.

This new visa will support businesses in addressing genuine skill shortages in their workforce.

The Government also aims to contain a number of safeguards which prioritise Australian workers.

According to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) “This new visa is part of the Government’s significant reform package to strengthen the integrity and quality of Australia’s temporary and permanent employer sponsored skilled migration programmes.”

Key reforms include:

visa reform info Source: visa reform DIBP

DIBP alos plans to significantly condensing the occupation lists used for skilled migration visas, including the subclass 457 visa, from 19 April 2017.