New Australian visa agreements for foreign workers

Two new labour agreements have been announced by the Australian Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, David Coleman to support the country’s multicultural communities. Labour agreements for the aged care sector and religious institutions were unveiled on Thursday.

The new labour agreement for the aged care sector will allow aged care facilities to sponsor carers with the required skills to care for communities’ elderly, despite the fact that the occupation of the aged care workers does not feature in the list of eligible occupations. Aged care providers will now be able to sponsor overseas workers for a Temporary Skills Shortage visa or an Employer Nomination Scheme Visa. They have to show that they can’t find workers with the required skills in Australia.

Additionally, a new occupation of Religious Assistant has been introduced for religious institutions, increasing the possibility of sponsoring overseas workers. The new arrangement will afford the flexibility to the visa nominee to work in any senior position. The sponsoring employer must be a religious institution under the Migration Regulations and provide evidence of charitable status.

The arrangement comes in effect on 11 March 2019 and will continue to provide a pathway to permanent residency.