澳洲移民部修改457临时工作签证要求

Skilled migrants employed on temporary visas will soon be paid the same rates as local workers who do the same job.

Employers are required to pay 457 visa workers an immigration specific wage of around $43,000, regardless of the sector they work in.

据2009年4月2日澳广报道，澳洲移民部4月1日宣布对457工作签证做了一系列的修改，其中包括提高持此签证工人的最低工资标准以及加强对申请者英语水平的要求。

在前霍华德政府时期，457签证经常受到批评，因为雇主可以在工资和工作条件等方面不平等对待持这种签证来到澳洲工作的海外劳工。

现在联邦政府为这个签证类别设立了最低年薪工资标准。今后无论哪个行业，雇主都必须按照本地员工的薪资水准支付457签证持有人$43,000元左右的年薪。

移民部长埃文斯表示，设立和市场价格挂钩的最低工资标准可以保证外籍工人在工资上不受歧视，同时也可以保障雇主不会只雇佣工资偏低的外籍工人而使本地工人失去工作机会。

不过，政府表示，受全球经济危机的影响，今年此类签证的申请数目有所降低。

此外，从2009年7月1日起，行业技工职业（Trades occupations ）和厨师（Chefs）457申请人的英语水平标准从原来的“雅思”4.5提高到5分。

具体如下：

Further changes to the temporary Australian visa program were announced today by the Government. These include:

As of 01 July 2009, all 457 visa holders will have an MSL that "keeps pace" with local wages, which will be indexed at 4.1 per cent.

As of mid-September 2009, a market-based MSL for 457 visa holders will be implemented.

All 457 visa holders working in trade occupations and chefs positions will need a higher English language ability requirement (5 IELTS from 4.5 IELTS). This aligns the English language requirement for those needed for a permanent Australian employer-nominated visa for trades' occupations.

As of 01 July 2009, 457 visa applicants from high risk immigration countries will have to pass skills assessments for trades occupations and chefs.

The Government will step up its monitoring of employers to ensure they are exhausting the local labour market before hiring overseas workers.

Training benchmarks will be introduced so that employers can prove they have up-skilled workers to the best of their ability before employing overseas workers.

All ASCO 5-7 occupations will have the labour agreement pathway extended to include them.