In response to the review of the skilled migration and temporary
visa program, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection
(DIBP) published a paper in December 2014 proposing a Short-Term
Mobility Visa that would allow foreign workers entry into Australia
for up to 12 months to perform specialised work, without a 457
skilled migration visa.
If implemented, these changes are likely to have a significant
impact on employers. The new visas would not be subject to English
language or skills requirements and employers would not be required
to conduct labour market testing in order to show that there is no
Australian worker who could fill the relevant position. The
Short-Term Mobility Visa would replace the existing category 400
visa, which currently allows skilled or specialist entrants to work
for up to six weeks.
