​All people working in Australia have the same basic workplace rights and protections, regardless of citizenship or visa status. Contracts or agreements cannot take away your rights. Under Australian workplace laws, the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) protects and enforces the rights of visa holders.

Your employer can’t cancel your visa, even if you’ve breached your visa conditions. Only the Department can grant, refuse or cancel visas.

We have an arrangement with the FWO to support visa holders who approach them for help. Visa holders can seek help without fear of visa cancellation. This arrangement applies even if work-related visa conditions have been breached. This arrangement is the Assurance Protocol.

The Assurance Protocol
What is the Assurance Protocol?
Under the Assurance Protocol, we won’t cancel your visa if you have breached your work-related visa conditions because of workplace exploitation, provided:

you have sought advice or support from the FWO and you’re helping them with their inquiries
there is no other reason to cancel your visa (such as national security, character, health or fraud)
you have committed to following your visa conditions in the future.
Who does the Assurance Protocol apply to?
The Assurance Protocol applies to people on temporary visas with permission to work, such as:

Student visa (subclass 500 series visas)
Working Holiday visa (subclass 417)
Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462)
Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457)
Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa (subclass 482)
Temporary Work (International Relations) visa​ (subclass 403).​
For temporary visa holders who don’t have permission to work, we will consider each case on its merits.

How does the Assurance Protocol work?
The FWO will assess your eligibility for referral to us under the Assurance Protocol. This will occur after the FWO has identified or received a report of your case of workplace exploitation. If you’re eligible, the FWO will always get your permission first before referring your case to us. If you’ve met the conditions and there is no other reason to cancel your visa, we will give you a letter that says we won’t cancel your visa.

The Assurance Protocol only applies to visa cancellation considerations.

However, when the Assurance Protocol is applied, any breach of your work-related visa conditions will not be considered as a negative information by us when considering your future visa applications. This includes any current visa applications you may have already commenced.

What are some signs of workplace exploitation?
There are different forms of workplace exploitation. There are also other issues that visa holders may experience. These include:

threats to cancel your visa
wage underpayments
unfair deductions, deposits or ‘cash-back’ schemes
not receiving workplace entitlements, for example, paid leave or superannuation
having your passport taken and held by someone else
pressured or made to work beyond the restrictions of a visa
being pressured to pay an up-front payment or ‘deposit’ for a job
employers avoiding paying tax by making cash payments of wages to you
unpaid training
being classified as an independent contractor instead of an employee
unfair deductions from wages for accommodation, training, food or transport.
If you’re a visa holder working in Australia and you’re experiencing workplace exploitation you should ask for help from the FWO.

For more information about workplace rights for all visa holders working in Australia, see Visa holders and migrants.

You can get further help and Information by messaging us here or email SkilledMigrationGroup@protonmail.com
Website: https://www.AustralianTrades.com/
Website: https://AustralianImmigrationVisas.com.au/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/AustralianVisasMigration/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/australianimmigrationvisasmigrationagents/
Text/Phone +61434944499

Australian aged care providers can now apply to access the new Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement. The Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement streamlines the recruitment of qualified direct care workers from overseas to work in the aged care sector. Employers can use this where appropriately qualified Australians are not available.
To access this labour agreement, employers must first enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the relevant industry union(s).
The purpose of the Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement
Applying for the Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement
Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement terms and concessions
The purpose of the Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement
You can use the Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement to:
Sponsor overseas workers for the Temporary Skill Shortage (subclass 482) visa in direct care occupations such as:
Nursing Support Worker
Personal Care Assistant
Aged or Disabled Carer
You need to have made recent and genuine attempts to recruit workers from the domestic workforce pool.
Sponsor overseas workers for permanent residence under the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) visa program. Workers must have at least two years of full time work experience in Australia in a relevant direct care occupation. The two years of work experience is not tied to a particular employer or visa subclass.
Applying for the Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement
To access the Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement, aged care providers must first enter into an MoU with the relevant unions(s):
Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation
Health Services Union or
United Workers Union.
Once the MoU is established, aged care providers can submit the labour agreement request to the Department of Home Affairs. Online labour agreement request forms are available in ImmiAccount.
For more information about entering into an MoU, contact your relevant industry union.
To learn more about labour agreements, see Labour agreements. You can also email labour.agreement.section@homeaffairs.gov.au.
Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement terms and concessions
Access the following concessions to standard skilled visa requirements:
two year pathway to permanent residence through the Employer Nomination Scheme
streamlined visa nomination and priority visa application processing
no post qualification work experience requirement
English language concessions for workers with relevant community language skills
annual salary of at least $51,222 AUD or the Australian Market Salary Rate, whichever is higher.
Key visa application requirements:
hold a relevant AQF Certificate III or equivalent, or higher qualification. You can also have 12 months of relevant work experience or part time equivalence.
obtain a positive skills assessment from the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council or the Australian Community Workers Association if you obtained your qualifications overseas. This also applies if you claim work experience in lieu of the formal qualifications.
have an English language proficiency level of at least IELTS 5.0 or equivalent. Workers with target community language skills employed by culturally and linguistically diverse aged care providers need at least IELTS 4.5 or equivalent.
We will consider labour market testing requirements satisfied once aged care providers have entered into an MoU with the relevant union(s).
^ Skill and qualification requirements will differ from those stipulated in ANZSCO. These will be specified under the terms of each Labour Agreement.

The Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) Australian PMI dropped by 1.5 points to 52.5 in July, indicating a weaker rate of expansion compared to the previous month.
“The supply and labour constraints afflicting the Australian economy are weighing heavily on the manufacturing sector. Production and employment both fell in July, as manufacturers struggle with chronic labour shortages and supply chain interruptions,” Ai Group chief executive Innes Willox said.
“New orders rose this month, but our manufacturers simply can’t meet this demand without more workers. Manufacturing has a key role to play in reducing the inflationary pressures facing Australia. To unlock the industry’s full potential, we need to promptly address skilled labour shortages.”
Labour challenges, supply chain disruptions and high energy prices remain the major structural constraints on manufacturing.

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