Are you a business operator in the Peel Region finding it difficult to recruit suitably qualified and experienced workers for skilled vacancies within your business?

Opportunities are available for sponsoring a skilled worker under the temporary Business Regional 457 sub class or the permanent Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme.

What does it mean to sponsor a skilled migrant?

You have to offer the skilled migrant a full-time position that requires a specific skill level.  Employment conditions offered are in accordance with Australian industrial laws.

You can only sponsor a migrant into a position for which you have been unable to recruit a suitable Australian citizen or resident.

For further information on sponsoring a migrant and the role of the Peel Development Commission, please contact Nicole Nugent at the Commission.
Detailed information on business sponsorship can be obtained through the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) website at www.immi.gov.au

TEMPORARY BUSINESS REGIONAL 457 SUB CLASS

Changes to the 457 visa program came into effect in May 2009, with the removal of some occupations from the standard sponsorship arrangements.  These changes are among a series of recently implemented measures aimed at ensuring the 457 program provides industry with needed skills, without undermining local training and employment opportunities.

The latest change means employers wanting to recruit overseas workers in occupations listed under major groups five to seven on the Australian Standard Classification of Occupations (ASCO) can only do so by successfully negotiating a labour agreement with the Commonwealth.

Labour agreements aim to provide a flexible response to the needs of industries experiencing skills shortages, while ensuring overseas recruitment does not affect long-term improvement of employment opportunities for Australians.

The agreements also apply increased rigor to the consideration of the merit of a request for foreign workers.

This will ensure employers using the 457 visa program to gain access to these occupations satisfy all their obligations under the program, including those on training.

For details visit the Department of Immigraiton and Citizenship (DIAC) website at www.immi.gov.au or phone 131881.  Alternatively, interested persons may contact Nicole Nugent at the Commission on telephone (08) 9535 0013.

Further changes have been announced which include the payment of market rates to ensure subclass 457 visa holders are on the same wages and conditions of employment as those provided to an Australian worker undertaking equivalent work in the same workplace.  For further information, read the media release by the Minister for Immigration at http://www.minister.immi.gov.au/media/media-releases/2009/ce09081.htm

Information for Prospective Skilled Migrants

There are a number of options available to individuals wishing to migrate, including initiatives that encourage skilled migrants to settle in regional Western Australia.

These include the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme, the Skilled Independent Regional Scheme and the Regional 457.

The Peel Development Commission is a certifying body, appointed by the Minister for Immigration, to assess and certify applications for regional migration.

The Peel Development Commission can also:

• Answer any questions you might have;
• Provide a list of skills that have been identified as being in demand in the Peel Region;
• Provide a list of employment agencies in the Region; and
• Provide you with information about living in the Peel Region.

For more information please contact:

Nicole Nugent

Phone: +618 9535 0013
Fax:  +618 9535 2119
Email: peel@peel.wa.gov.au

For more information about migrating to the Peel Region or to Western Australia visit www.migration.wa.gov.au. Here you will find information on living and working in the State as well as details of assistance offered to prospective skilled migrants.

A copy of the document Business and Lifestyle Opportunities in the Peel Region can be downloaded here.