Philip Ruddock (Berowra, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Kennedy for the opportunity to speak in response to the questions that he has asked about the use of 457 visas. In relation to the specific questions, some of them may require further information, which I will obtain, but I can say that I understand that one in five 457 visa holders, as he has suggested—I think the figure is 19 per cent—is often able to seek from within Australia a skilled migration outcome on the basis of the skills that they have and on the basis that they satisfy the relevant criteria for a permanent visa outcome. Whether that would lead to two million workers in Australia by the year 2011 is something I would have to check, but, with of the order of 100,000 migrants settling in Australia each year now, one can see how figures of at least half that may well be ascertainable.

In relation to the 457 visa class generally, it was introduced as a result of a report commissioned by a predecessor of mine, former immigration minister Nick Bolkus. The report was prepared by a very distinguished businessman, Neville Roach, and formed the basis of the implementation of the 457 visa class. It has been a system which, from time to time, may be manipulated or misused by some people, but in the main it has been extraordinarily successful. If you look at the number of complaints in relation to the 457 visa class, you will see that something in the order of 200 employers out of 10,000 employers in the program in the period up to September 2006 have been the subject of complaints. In relation to that, DIMA has been doing its job of monitoring the compliance of that program. It has monitored something like 6,471 sponsors and has made site visits to 1,790 sponsors. If you look at the implementation of the program, each time issues are raised about the scheme being potentially misused—and each time issues are raised in this parliament—you will see that DIMA is conscientiously investigating the small number of cases involved.

In relation to the member’s allegation that these are visas for people who are working in relatively low-paid employment in Australia, 85 per cent of persons granted 457 visas in 2005-06 were professionals, managers or associate professionals. The largest single occupation has been that of nurses. When you look at the employment demands within our economy, it is not surprising that we need to have an important and well managed program for administering the capacity of the Australian economy to be able to function effectively.

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