Skilling Australians Fund introduced

The Migration Amendment (Skilling Australians Fund) Regulations 2018 will commence on 12 August 2018. The Regulations establish the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF).

From 12 August 2018, employers seeking to nominate a worker for the following visas must pay the SAF nomination training contribution charge:

• Temporary Work (Skilled) (subclass 457) visa (for nominations to change sponsor for an existing 457 visa holder);
• Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) (subclass 482) visa;
• Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) (subclass 186) visa; and
• Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) (subclass 187) visa

The purpose of the charge is to require employers seeking to access skilled overseas workers to contribute to the skills development of Australians.  The money raised will be used to fund vocational education and training for Australian workers.  The SAF replaces the ‘training benchmark requirements’ that employers had to meet previously.

The amount payable by employers to the SAF will depend on a number of factors, including the sponsoring employer’s turnover in the 12 months prior to lodgement of the nomination application, as well as the number of overseas employees being sponsored.