Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa update.
The Australian Government will introduce the Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa in early March 2018.
There will be three options available under this new visa program:
- Short-term stream – this is for employers to source genuine temporary overseas skilled workers in occupations included on the Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL) for a maximum of two years (or up to four years if an international trade obligation applies)
- Medium-term stream – this is for employers to source highly skilled overseas workers to fill medium-term critical skills in occupations included on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL)*1 for up to four years, with eligibility to apply for permanent residence after three years.
- Labour Agreement stream – this is for employers to source overseas skilled workers in accordance with a labour agreement with the Commonwealth, on the basis of a demonstrated need that cannot be met in the Australian labour market and standard visa programs are not available, with the capacity to negotiate a permanent residence option.
*Employers in regional Australia will have access to a broader range of occupations when the TSS visa is introduced.
Subject to final approval of transitional arrangements, it is expected that:
- if subclass 457 nomination and visa applications are both lodged prior to TSS implementation, they will be processed under the current framework.
- if a subclass 457 nomination application is lodged without an associated 457 visa application being lodged before the commencement of TSS, it will, however, effectively become ‘redundant’ as subclass 457 nominations cannot be linked to TSS visa applications, even where the nomination has already been approved (subject to the specific scenarios below).
Arrangements will be put in place to ensure that such ‘redundant applications’ can be finalised and/or withdrawn with a refund of the fee provided. To avoid delays or unnecessary additional processing steps, RMAs are, however, strongly encouraged to:
- lodge complete subclass 457 nomination and visa applications together before the end of February, or
- postpone lodgement until commencement of TSS.
Source: http://www.homeaffairs.gov.au