It is safe to say that hiring international workers is a valuable resource for employers to deal with labour shortages.
Employers can fill vacancies with international workers if they cannot find suitable Australian employees. What’s important to note here is that employers can recruit overseas skilled workers by sponsoring them through a Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional visa subclass 494 or a Temporary Skills Shortage Visa subclass 482. Every employer is required to go through labour market testing during the nomination stage of the application process to sponsor international workers.
What Is Labour Market Testing?
Businesses must undertake labour market testing, which is a recruitment campaign, to recruit a foreign national for a job. It demands that Australian employers first advertise the job vacancy to Australian workers before turning to overseas workers. It proves the existence of domestic labour shortages.
What Happens In Labour Market Testing?
Australian employers are supposed to run two advertisements before beginning to look for an overseas worker to fill a job vacancy. Let’s take a look at the specific requirements for job advertisements;
- The vacancy should be advertised in English in Australia.
- The ad should include a clear title and job description.
- The ad should highlight the work experience or skills needed for the job.
- It must contain the name of the approved sponsor or the recruitment agency that the sponsor is using.
- The salary for the job should be mentioned if the annual income is less than $96400.
Another requirement is using the following platforms to advertise for at least four weeks;
- A reputable recruitment website that receives high traffic.
- National print media, such as magazines or newspapers.
- The business website provided that the employer is an accredited sponsor.
- National Radio
Furthermore, the jobs should be advertised through the Government’s Workforce Australia Website with all the information included in the other two ads. Again, the minimum time limit the advertisement should run for is four weeks
It’s necessary for employers to conduct labour market testing properly. Otherwise, the nomination application for an Australia work visa could be refused.
Why Do Entities Want To Scrap Labour Market Testing?
Business leaders believe that the strict rules and guidelines of labour market testing are depriving Australia of talented workers around the world. It takes up to a few months to complete labour market testing. As a result, Australian businesses miss out on the opportunity to hire skilled workers because they are already recruited by employers in other countries by the time labour market testing is completed.
It is not wise to waste so much time in a climate in which every country is going through significant labour shortages. Plus, labour market testing is irrelevant for industries where labour shortages are apparent, such as healthcare, hospitality, and IT.
On the other hand, unions are against the scrapping of labour market testing. They believe it would only solve the problem in the short term.
Is Labour Market Testing The Only Problem?
Yes, labour marketing testing consumes a lot of time during the recruitment of overseas workers on Australia work permits. However, it is not the only barrier when it comes to hiring international workers.
Foreign nationals must apply for the Temporary Skilled Shortage Visa or any other work visa and go through a skills assessment to confirm their suitability for the job after an employer begins the recruitment process.
Experts suggest that this is where the main problem lies since government and private agencies can take up to six to nine months to certify the skills and qualifications of overseas workers.
It should be noted that COVID severely impacted skills authorities, among other things, as several assessors had to quit, resulting in a sufficient backlog of skills assessments. This means employees have to wait for months to get their skills assessed, ultimately delaying the approval of their Australia work visa.
Experts believe that the government should delegate the task of skills assessment to more organizations to fix this problem.
When Will The Authorities Solve These Problems?
Clare O’Neill, Home Affairs Minister, has asked businesses to remain patient until the budget for the overhaul of the migration system of Australia is announced. According to the announcement in late 2022, the Labour Government is thoroughly reviewing Australia’s migration program.
We hope you found this information helpful. Follow our blogs for the latest updates and informative content on Australian immigration.
