DIMA Annual Report 1997-98
Sub program 1.3: Business and Temporary Entry
Objective
Description
Performance information
Financial and staffing resources summary
Performance outcomes
Objective
To enable the fast entry of genuine travellers and people of economic benefit to Australia, while ensuring that border integrity is maintained and public health standards are met.
Description
Business and temporary entry programs are designed to support the Government's economic and business mobility goals.
The sub-program is delivered through a range of flexible business and temporary entry categories which provide for either short-term entry or permanent entry tailored to meet the needs of the business sector and the Australian community.
Public health costs and risks are minimised through medical screening for entry to Australia.
The Business and Temporary Entry Branch coordinates policy and planning for the business and temporary entry programs and provides support for offshore and onshore service delivery.
[ Top Of Page ]Performance information
Outcomes are measured by the extent to which:
- business mobility is enhanced;
- entry selection contributes to Australian economic development;
- the business sector and the Australian community are satisfied with the processes;
- the greater proportion of health assessments are completed within the service delivery target; and
- the Minister is satisfied with advice provided.
Financial and staffing resources summary
1997-98 |
1997-98 |
1996-97 |
|
| Budgetary (cash) basis | |||
| Components of appropriations | |||
| Annual appropriations | |||
| Running costs | 15 279 |
11 877 |
n/a |
| Other program costs | 0 |
0 |
n/a |
| Total appropriations | 15 279 |
11 877 |
n/a |
| Less adjustments | 0 |
0 |
n/a |
| Total outlays | 15 279 |
11 877 |
n/a |
| Total revenue | 18 798 |
17 510 |
n/a |
| Staffing | |||
| Staff years (actual) | 175 |
137 |
n/a |
Due to program restructures in both 1996–97 and 1997–98, sub-program figures for 1996–97 actuals are not meaningful for comparative purposes to 1997–98 figures. They have therefore not been included in this table.
[ Top Of Page ]Performance outcomes
(i) Business mobility
Some business and temporary entry movements have slowed in 1997–98, mainly as a result of Asian economic pressures:
- 2.8 million visitor visas were granted, essentially the same number as in 1996–97;
- 218 000 short-term business temporary entry (sub-classes 456, 956 and 977) visas were granted (as opposed to 286 000 in 1996–97), a decline of 24 per cent;
- 33 000 long-stay temporary business entry (sub-class 457) visas were granted (as opposed to 22 000 in 1996–97), an increase of 30 per cent;
- 108 000 student visas were granted (as opposed to 113 000 in 1996–97), a decline of five per cent;
- 57 000 working holiday maker visas were granted (as opposed to 55 000 in 1996–97), and the program reached its cap in May 1998;
- 36 000 other temporary entry visas were granted (as opposed to 34 000 in 1996–97), an increase of 6.5 per cent;
- 5 900 visas were granted for sponsored skilled migrants (as opposed to 5 500 in 1996–97), an increase of 15 per cent; and
- 5 300 visas were granted for business migrants (as opposed to 5 800 in 1996–97), a decline of 15 per cent.
Business and temporary entry programs are demand driven. Growth in recent years has reflected the internationalisation of the economy, and the development of a wide range of social and cultural links. The increasing significance of trade in services, especially in tourism, education and the financial and legal sectors has also stimulated movements of people into and out of Australia.
The slowdown in numbers during 1997–98 mainly reflects the Asian situation. However, business and temporary entry movements from the rest of the world, especially Europe, South Africa and North America, continue to grow steadily.
Business mobility throughout the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region has been supported primarily through initiatives to enhance the short-term movement of business people:
- the APEC Business Travel Card, being trialed by Australia, South Korea, Philippines, Hong Kong and Chile; and
- a commitment by governments to expand the use of multiple entry visas.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Chile joined the expanded scheme in May 1998. Further discussions are proceeding with all APEC governments on proposals to facilitate long-stay temporary business entry, for intra-corporate transfers.
Although business tends to rely on temporary entry to fill most of its skilled needs, the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) and Labour Agreements are important elements in providing a sharper economic focus for the migration program. There is a trend for greater use of ENS onshore, with initial entry through temporary entry, and then business sponsoring permanent stay after a lag of one or two years.
After reviewing the ENS and Labour Agreements programs in 1996–97, regulation changes were made in 1997. The changes covered some tightening of policy criteria, such as the vocational English requirement, reducing the age to 44, the need for a three-year contract with an employer, and some streamlining of program administration.
[ Top Of Page ](ii) Entry selection
A number of permanent and temporary entry categories, such as business skills, employer nomination, labour agreement, independent, regional sponsored migration and temporary business entry, focus on benefits to the Australian economy.
Surveys of the investment and export performance of permanent business migrants demonstrate the positive economic impact of this class of migrant. Within three years of their arrival in Australia:
- 84 per cent were engaged in business, of which 75 per cent are new businesses;
- each new business employed an average of five people;
- 63 per cent of businesses are involved in exports; and
- the average money invested in the business was $0.73 million.
Chart 1.3 (1): Business migrant arrivals by country of last residence 1997–98
[ Top Of Page ]
Chart 1.3 (2): Business migrant 1997–98 arrivals
For the benefit of businesses located in Australia, entry programs have been designed to provide industry with flexibility to meet long-term needs where local skilled personnel are not available. In this respect:
- there are 60 current Labour Agreements in force, with the greatest number of visas granted in the information technology, hospitality and financial sectors. A notable initiative was the completion of agreements for tour guides and related occupations in the tourism industry;
- there were 581 visas under the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) issued against an allocation of 500 places; and
- there were 73 Regional Headquarters Agreements (RHQ) established by overseas companies. RHQ status provides streamlined visa processing. Most RHQs bring in workers using temporary entry arrangements. RHQs are estimated by the Department of Industry, Science and Tourism (DIST) to have created over 1 956 jobs for Australians and attracted over $940 million in investment in 1997–98.
The 1 November 1997 Migration Regulations removed the onshore availability of the business visitor visa (sub-class 456) and independent executive component of the business long stay visa (sub-class 457). These changes were a response to concerns about program integrity, especially the poor quality of many onshore applications and the lack of consistency between an applicant's background and business intentions in Australia.
The tourism industry is of growing significance to the Australian economy. Export earnings from tourism were $15.5 billion, representing 13.3 per cent of Australia's total export earnings.
The 1997–98 year has been a difficult year for international inbound tourism to Australia. Since December 1997, the numbers of arrivals have declined as a result of economic problems in Asia. The most severely affected countries are Thailand, South Korea and Indonesia. To an extent, the decline has been offset by steady growth in tourists from Europe and North America, assisted by their currencies strengthening against the Australian dollar. Overall the number of visitor visas issued in 1997–98 was 2.8 million, about the same as in 1996–97.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Hon Alexander Downer, announced on
11 December 1997 that China had given Australia Approved Destination Status (ADS), providing greater opportunities for outbound travel by Chinese citizens to Australia. The Chinese Government shares with Australia the desire to develop this major market in an orderly and controlled manner.
The Working Holiday Maker scheme promotes wider international understanding by providing young people with opportunities to holiday in Australia for an extended period and supplement their funds through incidental work. The Scheme was reviewed by the Joint Standing Committee on Migration (JSCM), and the report was tabled in September 1997. The Committee found the scheme is of considerable value to Australia and supports its continuation through the current capping mechanism. The report recommended, inter alia, that the scheme be diversified and that more young Australians be encouraged to take advantage of reciprocal rights to travel overseas.
[ Top Of Page ](iii) Satisfaction of business and other clients
Processes have been developed to engage business more actively in advising on their satisfaction with Portfolio programs and services.
The Business Advisory Panel (BAP) advises the Minister on business entry policy and programs. The Panel worked on the following tasks during 1997–98:
- an evaluation of temporary business entry reforms;
- a review of business skills Designated Investments;
- a review of the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme;
- an evaluation of business skills migration; and
- providing advice to DIMA staff on complex business applications.
The findings emerging from these reviews are that programs and services are generally working well, but that benefits could be extended by policy fine tuning and marketing. The reviews are expected to be completed in late 1998.
The Minister recently asked the BAP to examine all business entry programs with a view to 'examining the scope for adjusting current policy settings to achieve better outcomes without compromising integrity of the process'. This review is expected to be completed in late 1998.
Business needs to move people quickly and simply and, to improve performance and service, Business Centres were established in each State and Territory in July 1997. They are responsible for processing applications and dealing with inquiries relating to permanent and temporary business entry. The establishment of Business Centres has been received favourably by the business community.
There has been a marked improvement in standards of service, especially for regular clients. Workloads have increased during the year; for example, monthly temporary entry applications increased from 3 390 to 4 300. Cases finalised have increased from 2 300 per month to 3 600. Backlogs were cleared at all Centres by the end of June 1998, and productivity has increased by nearly 60 per cent during the year.
Minister Philip Ruddock at the opening of the Parramatta Business Centre with Centre Manager, Peter Vitnell.
The Review of the Student Visa Program (SVP) was undertaken during 1997–98. The review examined options to enable controlled and sustainable growth of Australia's education industry. The review process included meeting with 26 education providers, receipt of 106 written submissions, and meetings with an external reference group to guide the study.
The final package of measures will allow controlled and sustainable growth in student numbers, particularly from the newly-emerging markets in China and India. At the same time the Department must ensure that the integrity of the overseas student program, and the migration program as a whole, is not compromised.
The package will be implemented on 1 November 1998 and will only affect student visa applicants from that date. It will:
- further deregulate the SVP for students from gazetted countries;
- review the gazetted country regime and the special entry requirements for students from the People's Republic of China (PRC) annually;
- pilot the concept of the PreQualified Institution, designed to manage growth in student numbers from nongazetted countries;
- ensure that only genuine students access work rights in Australia; and
- increase compliance and other measures to ensure students abide by the conditions of their visa.
(iv) Health assessments
Medical screening is designed to ensure that the Australian community is protected against health costs and risks.
The Health Assessment Service (HAS) was transferred from the Department of Health and Family Services to DIMA, in July 1997. The Service has shown a progressive improvement in meeting the service target of 10 working days for providing medical opinions on health referrals from overseas.
By April 1998, 96 per cent of cases were actioned within 10 days and the current turnaround is five working days. During 1997–98, 65 000 cases were referred to HAS, compared with 70 000 in 1996–97. For applicants already in Australia, a contract with Health Services Australia (HSA) is operating.
Some concerns have been expressed by the community about health processing, especially about tuberculosis (TB) testing. Concerns were prompted by the death of an Indian student from TB in Queensland. Following this incident, a number of measures were initiated to tighten health checking, including:
- a comprehensive review of integrity of current procedures;
- checking of all students with visas from high risk TB areas;
- an immediate listing on movement alert list (MAL) of people deferred from entering Australia because of suspicion of TB;
- the introduction of a new computer system with an automated link between health assessment and MAL; and
- a re-examination of all visa issue delegations.
(v) Satisfaction of the Minister
The Minister was provided with a range of advice on emerging business trends and needs during 1997-98. Satisfaction with this advice is evident from the range of actions and initiatives that have followed, in particular:
- the establishment of Business Centres and the resulting improvement in standards of service to business;
- a strong performance by business migrants in establishing new business in Australia;
- an expansion and diversification of skilled migrants intake, under the RSMS scheme;
- a steady growth in use by the business sector of Labour Agreements and Regional Headquarters arrangements;
- the fine tuning of regulations and policies for temporary business entry to ensure that genuine business needs are met and program integrity is maintained; and
- a review of the students program to promote orderly development of new markets with improved program integrity.