Blog Archives

Recent participation by the Norwegian Australian Chamber of Commerce in the Forum “The Impact of COVID-19 for European Business in the Asia Pacific Region” hosted by the European Australian Business Council

Norwegian Australian Chamber of Commerce Member Company promotion video 2018

Meet Norwegian businesses in Australia in this NACC promotion and reference video featuring Norway's Ambassador to Australia, Paul Gulleik Larsen and NACC Members Ekornes, Flokk, DNV Global, Interock, Q-Free, Dream Internship, KPMG, Handelsbanken, Imatis, Wilh Wilhelmsen Investments WWI, Norske Skog, Polyglot Group, Yara, DOF Subsea, Innovation Norway, Fuelbox, EABC, Rollerski Australia, Nammo, Schweizer Kobras, Stentofon, Norsk, KingHill, Tiqri, Kongsberg, Nordic Bev, 50 Degrees North, Cooper Partners, Norwegian Embassy in Canberra.

Norway Asia Business Review down under

Norwegian Australian Chamber of Commerce is excited to connect with Norway Asia Business Review. NABR offers advertising opportunities for companies throughout South and Southeast Asia.

Norway Asia Business Review 2018 #3 Special Review is on energy. Read also the NACC story in interview with Norwegian Australian Chamber president Sophia Demetriades, pg 20; about the Norwegian technology company Wavetrain down under in interview with Mark Foster, pg 22; and more.

Norway-Asia-Business-Review-2018-03 (read online and download pdf)

Read NABR 2018 03 online at issuu

Norway Asia Business Review interview with Norwegian Australian Chamber of Commerce president Sophia Demetriades (image link)

Thank you to event sponsor Tieto Norway and Justin Gibbs of Fragomen for a very informative overview of the Australian Visa situation following recent changes including the abolition of the 457 visa and introduction of the Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) visa.

The system has become much more complex and the changes introduced to ensure that access to skilled work visas is restricted to occupations in genuine short supply and follows the Government’s agenda to put Australians first.

There are two main streams for the TSS visa, a short-term stream which allows for two years in Australia with one extension and a long-term stream that allow for a four-year term in Australia with multiple extensions.

The criteria for a TSS visa now require mandatory Labour Market Testing (LMT) demonstrating that there is no suitably qualified Australian available for the role. This advertising is governed by strict and technical rules on where the advertisement must be displayed, and for how long. Employers were strongly encouraged to seek advice early to ensure applications met criteria. Acceptable platforms for advertising now include job ads posted on LinkedIn but generally classifieds or social media are not acceptable.

Similar to the 457 visa, salary and terms and conditions of employment must be no less favourable than what an equivalent Australian would receive.

Other significant changes include the split of the occupation lists – now the Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL) and the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL), the introduction of the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy, revised English language requirements, introduction of mandatory policy clearances and minimum period of work experience.

The Department is very keen for companies to become Accredited Sponsors to help fast track low risk applications allowing the visa process to be one to two weeks as opposed to three to four months. For all approved sponsors, there are a number of important obligations and responsibilities and it is very important that companies ensure strict compliance. The Department is increasing its compliance and audit activities and there are also new powers on their way including ATO data matching and ‘Naming and Shaming’ of companies that do not comply.

There are in fact still many different visa categories, 99 to be precise, so navigating the correct category is important to ensure compliance and help facilitate business needs. For example, there was discussion about the different between ‘business visitor activity’ and ‘work’. The recommendation was to seek advice before proceeding as the consequences of getting it wrong can lead to serious consequences and be very costly.

Miles Ponsonby

NACC Event Perth 7 Nov 2018

Orkla market research internship, Sydney August 2018