IMMIGRATION Minister Andrew Giles has hit back at claims he has contributed to the regional workforce crisis.
Member for Mallee Anne Webster last week voiced concerns that a ministerial direction issued by Mr Giles meant health-care and education workers in the regions were waiting more than two years for a visa.
Dr Webster, Opposition assistant spokesperson for regional health, said subclass 887 skilled regional visa holders had not been included in a direction to prioritise processing for the health and teaching occupations.
She said this put regional workers applying for the subclass 887 visa “at the bottom of the pile”.
However, Mr Giles said the former Coalition government had created a backlog of almost one million visas.
“They are now attempting to mislead regional communities into forgetting that worker shortages in our regions were created under their watch,” he told The Guardian.
“Where they failed to take action, this government has stepped up.
“We’ve almost tripled the number of regional visas compared to what the Liberals last delivered and it now takes only three days for a temporary skilled nurse or teacher to have their visa processed.”
Mr Giles said the ministerial direction prioritised permanent and provisional applications where the applicant is offshore, enabling more workers to come to Australia more quickly and fill skill shortages, including in regional Australia.
He said subclass 887 applications were not previously subject to any priority processing.
Subclass 887 visas allow people to work and study anywhere in Australia. To be eligible, applicants must hold or have held an eligible visa that expired outside Australia during the concession period and have lived for at least two years and worked full time for at least one year in a specified regional area.
Dr Webster said the direction had “left the regions in the cold”.
“Regional areas are crying out for these workers, but the immigration minister has carelessly imposed a penalty on the regions,” she said.
The Immigration Department has admitted that the subclass 877 visa was given a lower priority during processing, as applications are not made in relation to a specific occupation.
Those applying are however still able to work in regional Australia while they wait for approval.
“The subclass 887 visa is the second stage of a two-stage visa – it is only available to people who already hold an eligible provisional visa who are already working and living in regional Australia,” a departmental spokesperson said.
