Trade Skills Training visa
Client summary
On 1 November 2005 the new Trade Skills Training visa will come into effect. This visa will allow non-citizens to undertake apprenticeships in regional areas of Australia, in trade occupations experiencing skills shortages, where no Australian has been found to fill the position.
On completion of the apprenticeship, holders of the new visa will have the opportunity to apply for permanent residence under existing regional migration visas.
Technical details
The new Trade Skills Training visa (subclass 471) will be a temporary residence visa within the Sponsored Training (Temporary) (Class UV) visa class. The new visa has the following key requirements.
The applicant
The applicant must:
- be sponsored by an Australian employer or organisation (which must apply for and be granted approval as a Trade Skills Training visa sponsor, and will need to give undertakings in relation to the applicant);
- be between 18-35 years of age;
- have vocational English;
- have the educational, qualification and skills background to undertake their apprenticeship;
- have the financial capacity to meet apprenticeship tuition course fees, as well as living expenses, travel and school costs for themselves and any spouse or dependant children accompanying them;
- obtain adequate health insurance; and
- have an offer of employment as an apprentice, and be genuinely intending to undertake the apprenticeship.
The apprenticeship
The apprenticeship must:
- be undertaken as part of the Commonwealth Government's New Apprenticeships Scheme;
- be in an acceptable trade (which must be a trade listed in Major Group IV in the Australian Standard Classification of Occupations list, which requires the completion of at least a Certificate III qualification under the Australian Qualifications Framework);
- be in a trade suffering a shortage of skilled workers (which must be a trade on the Migration Occupations in Demand List, the National Skills Shortages List, State/ Territory Government occupational shortage lists, or a trade that has otherwise been certified by an approved body as being in shortage in the particular regional location);
- be in a regional area (which as a matter of policy can be anywhere in Australia except for Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Newcastle and Wollongong); and
- be certified by an approved body as one which has been unable to be filled by local recruitment.
The employer
The employer of the applicant must:
- be lawfully and actively operating in Australia;
- have a satisfactory record of, or a demonstrated commitment towards, training Australian citizens and Australian permanent residents;
- have a satisfactory record of compliance with the immigration laws of Australia;
- not have anything adverse known about it by Immigration;
- have the capacity to provide the apprenticeship to the applicant; and
- employ the applicant consistent with relevant Commonwealth, State and Territory legislation relating to employment and working conditions.
Sponsorship
The amendments insert a new Division 1.4E in Part 1 of the Regulations to provide for approval of Trade Skills Training sponsors. New regulations 1.20UI to 1.20UT include the following requirements.
- Sponsors of the apprentice need not necessarily be the employer of the apprentice, and can include peak industry bodies, or bodies representative of a regional area in Australia.
- The sponsor must lodge the visa application on behalf of the applicant.
- Sponsors need to be approved by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs.
- The sponsorship application must be either approved by, or be lodged at, the time of the visa application.
- The sponsorship must be approved before the visa can be granted.
- Key requirements for approval as a sponsor include that the sponsor must:
- be lawfully established and actively operating in Australia;
- have a satisfactory record of immigration compliance in Australia;
- not have anything adverse known to Immigration about it;
- be able to ensure appropriate training and employment arrangements are in place, under the New Apprenticeship Scheme;
- if they will also be the employer of the apprentice, have a satisfactory record of, or a demonstrated commitment to training Australians; and
- be able to meet certain undertakings with regard to their conduct and the conduct of the persons they sponsor.
Sponsor's undertakings
The sponsor must make undertakings that include:
- ensuring that the visa holder abides by the conditions of their visa;
- ensuring that the visa holder is accommodated in Australia in adequate accommodation arrangements;
- ensuring that the apprentice signs a New Apprenticeship/ training contract, and that this contract is lodged for registration in accordance with the relevant State or Territory legislation within 3 months of the grant of the visa; and
- notifying the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs within 10 days if the apprentice ceases to be employed in the apprenticeship for which the visa was granted.
Additional information: The first instalment of the visa application charge is $420 and is payable at time of lodgment of the visa application.
The second instalment of the visa application charge is $3,300 and is payable before the visa is granted. The charge is set at this level to offset the costs to the Commonwealth Government of its New Apprenticeships Incentives Programme payment, paid to employers of apprentices.
Sponsors need to pay a fee of $1,050 for their application for approval as a Trade Skills Training sponsor. The sponsorship approval lasts for a period of two years, and covers the number of apprentices they indicate they have capacity to sponsor on the sponsorship application form.
Applications must be lodged at the DIAC Brisbane Regional Office, where they will be processed.
