Sponsors During COVID-19 and Immigration Law
The impact of COVID-19 still continues on and felt by both employers and employees across Australia. Some industries are hit badly, hurting the whole economy overall. These include tourism, entertainment and hospitality. No one really knows when the situation will improve and the economy recover.
Nevertheless, as with any other crisis, there are winners and losers. Some industries are actually experiencing growth and cannot cope with increased demand. While most businesses struggle to keep their staff as their turnover tank, some businesses are hunting for workers. These are for instance supermarkets, agriculture, logistics, health care, etc.
What Employers (Sponsors) Need to be Aware of During COVID-19
During this uncertain time, employers need to be aware and careful before they decide to implement any drastic measures in their business. For those who are struggling, taking action such as standing down your employees, cutting wages, pursuing redundancy, and/or participating in the JobKeeper program by claiming financial distress may affect any current and future dealings with the Department of Home Affairs with respect to Immigration Law. For instance:
If you employ 457/482 visa workers, cutting pay and/or reducing hours may mean a breach of your sponsorship obligations;
Claiming/participating in JobKeeper program means you are showing that you do not have the financial capacity (which is an assessment if you are sponsoring worker in temporary visa);
Redundancy or retrenchments may impact your ongoing nomination application that you do not have a genuine need for the position;
If you are nominating worker(s) in an occupation that has caveat(s), you may no longer be able to meet the caveat.
Sponsors in Critical Sectors or Industries
For those who are hiring workers (such as those in critical sectors/industries), you also need to be aware of your obligations and visa conditions of your prospective workers. With many announcements made by the Government (including the subclass 408 visa – Australian Government endorsed events stream), sometimes the information can be overwhelming. Few things to note and assess, for example:
Workers who hold subclass 403 in the Pacific Labour Scheme – in relation to their eligibility to remain in Australia and continue working, if their visa due to expire;
Exemptions for working holidaymakers – in relation to their six-month work limitation;
Employing workers who hold subclass 457/482 visa before your new nomination application is lodged/approved;
Employing workers with work limitation on their visa, or those who are renewing their visa but their current visa has a ‘no further stay’ condition attached (there is some legislative provision that automatically waives this condition, but this is not applicable to every circumstance).
Failure to note the above may cause employers/sponsors to breach their sponsorship obligations. Hiring worker(s) who has no permission to work and/or who holds no visa (unlawful) is also an offence. Severe penalties apply including criminal penalties in some circumstances.
We note that in the midst of abundant information available, it is sometimes hard to obtain accurate and tailored advice. That is why, good representation matters, more so in difficult times. Your main concern should be to survive (and prosper) during any crisis by growing your business, not to expose yourself to big risks by not performing good due diligence.
How Can Agape Henry Crux Help
We provide advice and assistance to employers (from start-up to corporations) to navigate through the complex legislation that sometimes is overlapping. As you may already know, some of the above examples are related to many areas of law such as Immigration Law, Employment Law, Corporate Law, etc.
Our firm has created a Special Coronavirus (COVID-19) Taskforce to help our clients battle through and find solutions during this Pandemic. Our team is equipped and trained to advise you on across a wide range of issues you may be encountering in the markets where you operate.
We speak fluent English, Korean, Burmese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Indonesian and Malay. If these aren’t your language, we can also help you arrange an interpreter.