The
Sub Class 457 Temporary Business Long Stay Visa; 176 and 886 Skilled Sponsored Visas; 475 and 487 Skilled Regional Sponsored Visas etc are misunderstood.
Every Australian State has access to a limited number of discretionary Australian Visas which it may use to sponsor skilled workers which it can not access within Australia. The chances of a pilot getting hold of one are about nil!
At one stage the West Australian Dept of Health was reputedly the largest single user of 457 Visas in Australia, followed by Queensland Health.
A pilot could be sponsored but if you think a 300 hour CPL or even an average airline ATPL was likely to get sponsored, think again. Any overseas pilot sponsored to Australia (by a State Government or private employer) would have unique skills or qualifications
for which a comparable pilot was not available in the Australian labour market.
The "cheap labour" claim is absolute, total rubbish. Overseas sponsored workers must be paid
at least the
Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT). In summary, the
minimum salary for an overseas worker is the TSMIT of $49,330, however the actual salary paid must be comparable to or the same as other workers performing a similar job.
With other employer obligations, overseas workers cost around 15% to 20% more than a comparable Australian worker - which is as it should be.
In general, workers in vocations with
ANZSCO codes of 400000 and above only may be sponsored. Aeroplane Pilot is ANZSCO Code 231111, however a potential Australian Sponsoring Employer must still demonstrate they are unable to attract and employ a comparably qualified pilot from within the Australian domestic labour market.
An overseas worker must also demonstrate Australian trade recognition. In the case of Pilots, that authority is CASA.
Believe one tenth of Union and media hype regarding overseas workers.
bluesideoops, if you are a non Australian citizen, common, garden variety GA or airline pilot with no special pilot skills/qualifications unavailable in the Australian labour market, don't get your hopes up for a gig in Australia.............