Australia to change work visa

New Delhi/Melbourne: In an unexpected announcement, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced on Tuesday that his government will replace the popular 457 visa that brings temporary foreign workers to the country with a new version that will recruit only the “best and the brightest in the national interest.”

The move to abolish the visa, used by over 95,000 temporary foreign workers, a majority of them Indians, is aimed at tackling growing unemployment in the country.

Mr Turnbull was quoted by news agencies as saying, “We are an immigration nation, but the fact remains, Australian workers must have priority for Australian jobs, so we are abolishing the 457 visa, the visa that brings temporary foreign workers into our country.”

Hit by Australian move, India examines visa policy
Mr Turnbull was quoted by news agencies as saying, “We will no longer allow 457 visa to be passports to jobs that could and should go to Australians.”

Making it clear that the idea behind the idea is to “put Australians first,” Mr Turnbull wrote on Facebook, “Our reforms will have a simple focus: Australian jobs and Australian values.”

The move has jolted New Delhi, particularly since Mr Turnbull visited New Delhi a few days ago. Reacting to the development, India said that it is “examining consequences of the new policy in consultation with all stakeholders,” adding that the issue would be included in the ongoing Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) negotiations with Australia.

The programme known as 457 visa, introduced in the 1990s, allowed businesses to employ foreign workers for up to four years in skilled jobs where there was shortage of Australian workers. Visa holders were allowed to bring family members to Australia on 457 secondary visas. The programme was hit by controversy with allegations that the visa was being misused by employers to import cheap workers.