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 This PPT explains a number of the recent
and approaching developments in employer-sponsored 457,
ENS and RSMS visas, including:
The importance of lodging a whole application
Current process Times for Employer Sponsored Visas
457 Visas - Requests for data processing
Training Benchmark Update
New Occupations Lists from 1 Jan 2018
Transitional Arrangements for ENS/RSMS from March 2018
Training Levies from March 2018
Importance of Complete Applications:
In their Sept skilled Visa E-news, Immigration has once
more stressed the importance of lodging an entire application for all
employer-sponsored visas - together with 457, ENS and RSMS.
This would need the application to be a lodge with
all needed documents for a choice to be created.

In some cases, applications are being allotted very quickly and a

few migration agents have reported ENS and RSMS applications being
refused wherever all necessary documents haven't been connected.

Lodging a whole application will lead to a decision being created rather

more quickly. the time interval for a whole 457visa
application is presently three months versus ten months
for an incomplete application.

In addition, requests for priority processing can solely be thought

of if the application is decision-ready.
 Current processing Times for Employer
Sponsored Visas:
Processing times for employer-sponsored visas are longer than
was antecedently the case. At the instant, the indicative time
interval for 457 visas is six months. The indicative time interval for
ENS is ten months, whereas the time interval for RSMS Direct Entry
is currently twelve months.

However, Immigration has additionally expressed that they are

doing allocate cases out of received date order. this could mean that
a recently lodged application could be assessed
before an application that has been within the system for
several months. This makes predicting actual time
interval very tough.
457 Visas - Requests for Priority Processing

With the increased processing time for visa applications, many

employers are now requesting priority processing. Immigration
has indicated that they are receiving over 1,000 requests for
priority processing every month.
Immigration has indicated that the best way to ensure priority
processing is as follows:

Provide a detailed business case for priority processing - a

short email is not sufficient
Only complete applications will receive priority processing
It takes at least 2 business days for a priority processing
request to be considered
Training Benchmark Update
Major changes were made to the training benchmarks for 457
sponsorship approval and ENS nominations were made on 1
July 2017. If interpreted strictly, the new benchmarks would
exclude most training methods used by corporate Australia.
Immigration has indicated that they are taking a flexible
approach to assessing employers against the new benchmarks.
In particular:
Training provided to contractors may be considered, even if
they are not PAYG employees
A proportion of franchise fees paid by a franchisee may be
considered if training is provided by the franchisor
New Occupations Lists from 1 January 2018

New occupations lists will apply for 457 visas, and

possibly for ENS and RSMS visas from 1 January 2018.
This may also include new caveats on salary level, size of
the business and other restrictions on eligible positions.
Pending 457 applications which have not yet been
decided may be affected by these changes. ENS and RSMS
applications lodged prior to 1 January will not be affected
by changes to the occupations list.
Transitional Arrangements for ENS/RSMS
from March 2018
In March 2018, changes will be made to eligible occupations and
required work experience for ENS and RSMS applications.
Immigration has confirmed that transitional arrangements may
apply to "subclass 457 visa holders (or subclass 457 applicants) as at
18 April 2017".
As a result, these people may still have access to employer-
sponsored pathways, despite changes which were announced in
April.
At this stage, we do not have exact details on how the transitional
arrangements will work but will confirm as soon as we have further
information.
Training Levies from March 2018
Legislation to enact training levies for 457, ENS and RSMS visa applications
has been introduced into Parliament.
We understand that the training levy will apply to applications lodged from
March 2018 and will be substantial. Fees will be payable when lodging the
nomination and would be for the entire duration of the proposed 457
periods.
For instance, for a large business, the levy will be $1,800 per year for a 457
visa. In the case of a 4-year 457 visa, the total levy may be 4 x $1,800 =
$7,200. It is not yet clear what will happen to the payment if the
nomination is refused or withdrawn, or if the employee leaves prior to the
end of the 4 years.
The training levy will increase each year with CPI. Caps will apply which set
a maximum which is payable - the amount set in the draft legislation is
$8,000 for 457 visas and $5,500 for ENS/RSMS.
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