The government has announced it will replace 457 visas with tighter two-year and four-year temporary skill shortage visas available across fewer occupations.

 

The government says the new visas have been specifically designed to recruit the "best and brightest" overseas talent, and will stop 457 visas being viewed as "passports to jobs that could and should go to Australians," the prime minister said earlier.

 

But Woodside managing director Peter Coleman had already warned that there had been a lack of consultation on the nearby 200 jobs removed, including some it simply wasn't practical to source from the local workforce, particularly some offshore roles.

 

"The processes in which this was announced had no consultation," he said.

 

"There were some particular skills or vocations that have been taken-off the list that are critical to us.

 

"Of everyone we have spoken to no one can tell us who was involved [in the decision] … particularly as it pertains to geoscientists and some of our engineering roles, which are very specialist."

 

He said some of the new rules were "quite random", such as dropping geoscientists and drilling engineers from the approved list.

 

"These are very specialist roles, and typically require a deep and broad international experience. 

 

"It is not clear to us, and there was no consultation with industry around the structure of the visa program, and more importantly those occupations that were left on or taken off the list, and we will be talking with government about getting some of those put back on the list."

 

He also warned that the impact of the changes could be deeper than the government realised.

 

"It concerns us because governments globally have a track record of quid-pro-quo, and I have experienced that in my period of time as an international oil executive," he said.

 

"What Australia applies here you can expect our major trading partners to apply there on Australians going there for training and experience."

 

Coleman is concerned about both the inflow into Australia, and the ability of Australians to enjoy an international experience that, like Coleman, they can bring home.

 

"You have to be careful on these things. If you want Australians to run industries and companies like Woodside, a very large company in a global industry, then by definition the people need experience globally, and there is nothing better than being there to get that experience," he said.

 

"The age requirement of 45 for senior executives [also] means you are starting to put in barriers that almost don't allow you to bring in some of the senior people, because they haven't reached the competency levels yet in their career by that particular age," he said.

 

He is further concerned about Woodside's ability to take on international students, who have chosen to come to Australia for study and an experience with the nation's largest pure play oiler.

 

Woodside has already warned that it has told the 2018 intake that it can only take the students on for a two-year program, with no certainty of a visa at the end of it.

 

"These are kids of who have made their way into the university system on their merits, paid full fees, and then don't have an opportunity to work locally at the end of it," he said.

 

Woodside has a staff of around 3500 direct employees, of which just 58 are 457 visa holders, and around one-third of those are students or graduates.

 

Woodside takes around 10% of its around 100 graduate hires each year from international students, and Coleman said it was part of the company's commitment to globalisation and the wider sector, which also helped Australians gain vital experience around the world.

 

 

Among further changes announced yesterday are an increase in 457 visa fees from $1060 to $2400, and an annual fee being imposed to up to $1800 per worker per annum.

 

The company will also need to pay a $5000 one-off levy for permanent skilled visas.

 

The new visa tax is expected to raise more than a $1.2 billion dollars over the next four years towards a new Skilling Australians Fund.

 

The fund will replace the National Partnership Agreement on Skills Reform, which was set to expire on June 30, and aims to support 300,000 apprenticeships and traineeships in high-demand occupations that rely on skilled migration.

 

However, observers have already questioned the government's figures, because a recent tightening of the roles around 457 visas is likely to see a dramatic reduction in skilled visa applications. 

 

Resources employer group AMMA said that while the energy sector's skilled migration needs had largely eased, there remained small pockets of skills gaps that required international specialists, so the new changes would have no impact on energy employers' international labour sourcing strategies, because they had no choice but to look overseas.

 

"The additional levy would be fairly negligible compared to the costs of global recruiting, relocation and accommodation expenses and indeed the salaries that internationally specialised technicians, managers and engineers would attract," a spokesperson told Energy News.

 

"Having said that, when you consider the additional restrictions and tightening of Australia's skilled migration programs introduced just weeks ago, AMMA would caution the government from making access to international specialist skills too restrictive and/or too expensive for employers. 

 

"The longer term impacts may lead to a less attractive investment environment for new energy projects, which we know from the recent LNG project construction boom relies on a responsive and accessible skilled program platform to supplement local skills capacities."

 

Liam Hayes, chief people officer with engineering firm Aurecon, said there was a risk his company may have to scale back its own program to hire and train graduates.

 

"If we had to redirect this investment to go to government, there's a danger that we won't have control of how it's spent and this may possibly hinder the closure of the skills gap," he said.