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

My question is to Senator Lundy, representing the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship. Is there a proposal before the minister or are there discussions between the minister for immigration and the Qantas group to allow international flight attendants based in Asia to work domestically on foreign rates of pay and conditions, without Australian conditions of pay and employment and without the provisions of the Fair Work Act applying?

Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The government is not aware of any such proposal. Foreign crew working on domestic flights are required to hold a valid temporary work visa, namely a 457 visa. The 457 visa requires that the visa holder be paid the domestic market rate of pay. That is, the standard business sponsors must show that they will provide no less favourable terms and conditions of employment to the foreign worker than they would to an equivalent Australian worker. This protects overseas workers from exploitation and ensures that overseas workers are not used to undercut local employment, conditions and wages. Employers have the obligation to ensure equivalent terms and conditions of employment, and this means that they must pay their workers the market salary rate. This requirement is designed to protect skilled overseas workers from exploitation and it is also designed to ensure that the skilled overseas workers, as I said, are not used to undercut local employment, conditions and wages.

The salary of 457 visa holders must also be above the temporary skilled migration income threshold. This threshold ensures that workers will have enough money to be self-reliant while they are in Australia. Employers must demonstrate that the market salary rate for the position they are seeking to fill is greater than the temporary skilled migration income threshold.

Further, 457 workers also have rights under the worker protection act 2008, which protects workers from exploitation. Under these laws the sponsor must provide the employee with the same terms and conditions as Australian workers performing the same work in the same workplace. There is also another protection under the Fair Work Act and 457 visa holders have rights under the National Employment Standards. These National Employment Standards apply to all employees covered by the national workplace relations system, regardless of the award, agreement or contract of employment that applies to an employee.

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

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Do the protections that the minister referred to in relation to 457 visas also apply to special purpose visas issued to airline crew members? Is there any proposal before the minister in respect of special purpose visas that would allow overseas based crews to fly domestic legs using those special purpose visas?

Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I said, I have been advised that there is no proposal before the minister. Perhaps it is useful—given that I do not have another response to that question, given that there is no proposal—that I go on to outline the National Employment Standards that would apply to the 457 class visa holders.

There are, of course, 10 minimum workplace entitlements under the National Employment Standards. They include: a maximum standard working week of 38 hours for full-time employees; a right to request flexible working arrangements to care for a child under school age or a child under the age of 18 with a disability; parental and adoption leave of 12 months; four weeks paid annual leave each year, plus an additional week for certain shift workers; 10 days paid personal or carer's leave each year; community service leave for jury service; long-service leave; a paid day off for public holidays, except where reasonably required to work; notice of termination; redundancy pay; and the right to new employees to receive employment information. (Time expired)

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

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Does the government consider it acceptable that an overseas based flight crew works on a domestic flight which is tagged as an international flight but where the overwhelming majority of passengers are, indeed, domestic passengers—that that could be seen as an abuse of either the 457 or the special purpose visa arrangements?

Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will take the detail of that question on notice for the minister. Because the government is not considering any proposal I do not have any additional detail that I am able to provide to Senator Xenophon other than to reiterate, as I mentioned in the answer to the first part of his question, that all foreign crews working on domestic flights are required to hold a valid temporary work visa, namely a 457 class visa. The requirement of this visa is that they are paid the domestic market rates of pay.