Nick Xenophon (SA, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Ludwig, representing the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship. Jetstar, a Qantas Group airline, used overseas based crews to fly domestic legs carrying domestic passengers on internationally tagged flights within Australia. A number of these flights can operate outside the standard provisions for international flights as they pick up and drop off domestic passengers at domestic terminals. Can the minister indicate what the appropriate visa would be for the overseas based crews working on these flights given that the cabin crew are working on what are essentially domestic flights? Furthermore, are there any criteria to determine whether a flight within Australia can reasonably be tagged as international, if it is carrying domestic passengers, for the purpose of issuing such visas?

Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you for your question. I say at the outset that all foreign airline crew must hold a visa when in Australia. I note there is an exception to that where they are New Zealand citizens, but they still are required to hold a special purpose visa. Foreign crews on wholly domestic flights are required to hold a valid temporary work visa. That is a 457 visa negotiated through a labour agreement. For a labour agreement to be approved the employer should demonstrate a genuine need that cannot be met from the Australian labour market and make specific commitments to training, wages and conditions. That ensures job opportunities for locals and helps protect foreign workers from exploitation.

In respect of the second part of your question—foreign crews on international services, including domestic legs of that service—they are able to hold a special purpose visa that specifically allows for international air crew travel. Broadly, a domestic leg of an international flight must have the same flight number as the international flight and must include immigration and customs clearance and processes in all domestic ports. Such 457 visas are monitored. The program has a strong monitoring requirement for all approved visas. In addition, employers who are approved as sponsors will be monitored to ensure that they are complying with all their sponsorship obligations. These obliga­tions, of course, govern their use of the program in relation to pay and conditions for overseas workers, recordkeeping and cooperation with authorities. When sponsors fail to satisfy any of those requirements— (Time expired)

Nick Xenophon (SA, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. If cabin crew working on these flights are indeed operating under crew travel authorities and not 457 visas, has the department investigated whether this is an appropriate use of such authorities and would the Qantas Group be meeting its obligations under the Migration Act?

Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you for your supplementary question. In respect of the first part of it, I am advised that if foreign crews are operating on a domestic leg of an international flight then a special purpose visa would in fact be the appropriate thing they would need to have. As I mentioned earlier, it is a longstanding provision of Australian migration legislation to have facilitative visas and clearance arrangements for international airline crew. International airline crew arriving in Australia are taken when they land to hold special purpose visas by operation of law. They are, of course, registered and processed through the DIAC system with the crew travel authority, which requires that these special purpose visa crew arrangements are only those suitable for international airlines bringing crew into Australia.

In relation to the second part of your question, I will seek further information from Minister Bowen about that. (Time expired)

Nick Xenophon (SA, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Since the Fair Work Ombudsman investigation that commenced last year on the issue of foreign crews on Jetstar domestic leg flights, can the minister indicate whether the department has requested any information from the ombudsman and whether it has received any requests from the Qantas Group to issue other types of visas to cover cabin crew operating on these flights?

Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Xenophon for his second supplementary question. As I was indicating, these special purpose visa crew arrangements are only suitable for international airlines bringing crew into Australia, but they are not intended for international crew to operate in a purely domestic sector in Australia. I can and will seek additional information from Minister Bowen as to whether or not that department has sought information from the ombudsman, but I can say in respect of that broad issue that I understand the department has not sought information from the Fair Work Ombudsman in relation to these investigations. I do note, however, that the ombudsman's investigation is still ongoing. On that basis it would be inappropriate to go into any detail in respect of the ombudsman's investigation. That should be able to be done in an open— (Time expired)