HR, coders and manufacturing: The occupations most affected by 457 visa changes

Updated

The Federal Government's changes to temporary migration visas would have affected less than 10 per cent of the visas granted in the second half of 2016, official data shows.

The list of occupations eligible for temporary visa status has been cut from 651 to 435 job types.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says the move is designed to put Australian workers first, though key industries have expressed fears about the difficulty they may face hiring top talent.

ABC News has crunched the numbers to see how many visas and which occupations are affected.

Removed occupations account for less than 10pc of visas

Data from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection shows that 24,270 primary 457 visas were granted between June and December 2016.

Of those, 2,083 were granted to workers in the 216 occupations that have now been removed from the visa list.

This represents 8.6 per cent of primary 457 visas.

That means nine out of 10 workers who were granted 457 visas in that timeframe would still be eligible for temporary work status under the new scheme.

Which occupations on the removed list were most commonly used?

Of the 216 occupations removed from the visa list, human resource advisers, production managers in manufacturing and web developers will be most affected, based on the number of 457 visas granted in 2015-16.

The chart below shows the top 10 removed occupations granted visas in 2015-16.

That's the last full year with data. For the second half of 2016, market research analysts, technicians and trades workers and sales reps for industrial products topped the list of removed occupations that had the most visas granted.

20 deleted occupations were not used in 10 years

For 20 of the occupations cut from the eligibility list, no visas were ever granted in the past 10 years.

That list includes turf growers, deer and goat farmers, boarding kennel operators, judges, magistrates and wool classers.

A further nine occupations removed from the list had seen less than five visas granted in the past 10 years. These were:

Commissioned Fire Officer

Electorate Officer

Migration Agent

Archaeologist

Hydrographer

Dental Prosthetist

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker

Defence Force Member - Other Ranks

Dog or Horse Racing Official

Search the full data for number of 457 visas granted to workers in removed occupations

Occupation July 2015 to June 2016 July 2016 to Dec 2016 July 2007 to Dec 2016 Human Resource Adviser 135 61 1,371 Production Manager (Manufacturing) 127 53 1,434 Web Developer 118 66 663 Training and Development Professional 111 61 1,271 Sales Representative (Industrial Products) 106 66 1,478 Market Research Analyst 105 69 1,051 ICT Support Technicians 101 42 582 Ship's Engineer 100 31 1,802 Retail Buyer 97 65 797 Procurement Manager 92 34 276 Ship's Officer 85 26 1,310 Electronic Engineering Technician 84 32 1,378 Importer or Exporter 78 42 833 Technicians and Trades Workers 77 69 836 Life Scientists 71 33 1,113 Telecommunications Technician 70 44 477 Horse Trainer 70 39 619 Building and Engineering Technicians 70 24 1,269 Policy and Planning Manager 69 47 795 Vehicle Painter 66 55 762 Research and Development Manager 65 47 1,793 Petroleum Engineer 63 28 1,570 Sales Representative (Medical and Pharmaceutical Products) 61 40 622 Travel Agency Manager 61 26 343 Construction Estimator 59 30 544 Marine Transport Professionals 59 21 819 Multimedia Designer 58 51 311 Driller 57 32 2,277 Mechanical Engineering Draftsperson 53 17 1,130 Production or Plant Engineer 50 39 1,124 Maintenance Planner 47 18 312 Industrial Engineer 47 17 745 Stonemason 46 13 427 Butcher or Smallgoods Maker 44 20 342 Electronics Engineer 42 34 1,171 Life Scientist (General) 41 29 359 Ship's Master 40 17 787 Graphic Pre-press Trades Worker 39 9 395 Floor Finisher 38 18 288 Public Relations Manager 37 20 229 Optical Dispenser (Aus)/ Dispensing Optician (NZ) 37 14 213 Geophysicist 37 12 789 Liaison Officer 34 16 215 Media Producer (excluding Video) 33 14 270 Civil Engineering Technician 31 20 878 Gas or Petroleum Operator 31 4 489 Food Technologist 30 26 241 Production Manager (Mining) 30 14 563 ICT Support and Test Engineers 29 7 281 Call or Contact Centre Manager 27 18 191 Nurseryperson 26 21 250 Wholesaler 26 12 199 Safety Inspector 25 17 548 Policy Analyst 25 6 192 Surveying or Spatial Science Technician 22 6 503 Corporate Treasurer 22 4 156 Legal Executive 21 12 107 Chemical Engineer 20 8 1,055 Financial Institution Branch Manager 20 6 161 Biotechnologist 19 8 143 Aeroplane Pilot 18 9 306 Licensed Club Manager 17 13 123 Vocational Education Teacher (Aus)/Polytechnic Teacher (NZ) 16 8 172 Vocational Education Teacher (Aus)/Polytechnic Teacher (NZ) 16 8 172 Sports Administrator 15 4 155 Telecommunications Cable Jointer 13 29 149 Medical Administrator (Aus) / Medical Superintendent (NZ) 11 9 156 Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (Avionics) 11 6 275 Electrical Linesworker (Aus)/ Electrical Line Mechanic (NZ) 10 0 878 Biochemist 9 5 581 Natural and Physical Science Professionals 8 6 288 Air Traffic Controller 8 5 64 Interior Decorator 8 4 57 Translator 7 6 160 Air Transport Professionals 7 5 141 Electronic Engineering Draftsperson 7 5 239 Helicopter Pilot 7 4 62 Materials Engineer 7 4 272 Microbiologist 7 4 64 Dressmaker or Tailor 7 4 56 Flying Instructor 6 4 125 Marine Surveyor 6 4 97 Intelligence Officer 5 4 64 Plastics Technician 5 4 75 Metal Polisher 4 8 56 Metallurgist 4 6 295 Project Builder 4 4 53 Regional Education Manager 4 4 33 Caravan Park and Camping Ground Manager 4 4 31 Amusement Centre Manager 4 4 40 Actors, Dancers and Other Entertainers 4 4 33 Music Director 4 4 42 Singer 4 4 21 Painter (Visual Arts) 4 4 22 Sculptor 4 4 52 Artistic Director 4 4 62 Art Director (Film, Television or Stage) 4 4 36 Workplace Relations Adviser 4 4 64 Conservation Officer 4 4 20 Hydrogeologist 4 4 12 Environmental Health Officer 4 4 173 Operating Theatre Technician 4 4 28 School Laboratory Technician 4 4 24 Telecommunications Network Planner 4 4 39 Metal Casting Trades Worker 4 4 61 Zookeeper 4 4 24 Small Offset Printer 4 4 32 Clothing Patternmaker 4 4 47 Light Technician 4 4 38 Optical Mechanic 4 4 75 Fire Protection Equipment Technician 4 4 35 Driving Instructor 4 4 20 First Aid Trainer 4 4 16 Other Sports Official 4 4 28 Insurance Investigator 4 4 22 Clinical Coder 4 4 20 Business Broker 4 4 12 Bed and Breakfast Operator 4 0 12 Betting Agency Manager 4 0 21 Railway Station Manager 4 0 8 Cinema or Theatre Manager 4 0 20 Music Professionals 4 0 32 Radio Presenter 4 0 20 Director of Photography 4 0 32 Film, Television, Radio and Stage Directors 4 0 35 Radio Journalist 4 0 32 Master Fisher 4 0 37 Exercise Physiologist 4 0 8 Nurse Researcher 4 0 32 Historian 4 0 28 Community Arts Worker 4 0 24 Pathology Collector (Aus)/Phlebotomist (NZ) 4 0 16 Electroplater 4 0 173 Pressure Welder 4 0 135 Engraver 4 0 20 Engineering Patternmaker 4 0 20 Kennel Hand 4 0 8 Screen Printer 4 0 34 Canvas Goods Fabricator 4 0 28 Wood Turner 4 0 12 Musical Instrument Maker or Repairer 4 0 20 Television Equipment Operator 4 0 21 Diver 4 0 121 Dental Hygienist 4 0 35 Dental Prosthetist 4 0 4 Emergency Service Worker 4 0 20 Funeral Workers 4 0 16 Flight Attendant 4 0 41 Jockey 4 0 33 Insurance Risk Surveyor 4 0 16 Stock and Station Agent 4 0 20 Wool Buyer 4 0 8 Parole or Probation Officer 0 5 16 Television Presenter 0 4 20 Author 0 4 24 Futures Trader 0 4 41 Education Reviewer 0 4 16 Intellectual Property Lawyer 0 4 8 Gunsmith 0 4 12 Communications Operator 0 4 20 Shearer 0 4 25 Sail Maker 0 4 16 Shoemaker 0 4 38 Broadcast Transmitter Operator 0 4 28 Dental Therapist 0 4 20 Prison Officer 0 4 43 Sports Umpire 0 4 8 Defence Force Senior Officer 0 0 0 Turf Grower 0 0 0 Deer Farmer 0 0 0 Goat Farmer 0 0 0 Commissioned Defence Force Officer 0 0 0 Commissioned Fire Officer 0 0 4 Commissioned Police Officer 0 0 8 Senior Non-commissioned Defence Force Member 0 0 0 Retirement Village Manager 0 0 0 Antique Dealer 0 0 8 Boarding Kennel or Cattery Operator 0 0 0 Actor 0 0 12 Entertainer or Variety Artist 0 0 16 Composer 0 0 8 Potter or Ceramic Artist 0 0 16 Archivist 0 0 20 Electorate Officer 0 0 4 Migration Agent (Aus)/ Immigration Consultant (NZ) 0 0 4 Park Ranger 0 0 8 Drama Teacher (Private Tuition) 0 0 8 Homoeopath 0 0 0 Judge 0 0 0 Magistrate 0 0 0 Tribunal Member 0 0 0 Archaeologist 0 0 4 Fisheries Officer 0 0 0 Quarantine Officer 0 0 24 Hydrographer 0 0 4 Plumbing Inspector 0 0 16 Blacksmith 0 0 16 Saw Maker and Repairer 0 0 12 Leather Goods Maker 0 0 16 Apparel Cutter 0 0 16 Clothing Trades Workers 0 0 16 Gallery or Museum Technician 0 0 16 Wool Classer 0 0 0 Mothercraft Nurse 0 0 0 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker 0 0 4 Defence Force Member - Other Ranks 0 0 4 Fire Fighter 0 0 8 Detective 0 0 0 Police Officer 0 0 0 Funeral Director 0 0 24 Travel Attendants 0 0 0 Dog or Horse Racing Official 0 0 4 Golfer 0 0 24 Conveyancer 0 0 8 Court Bailiff or Sheriff (Aus) /Court Collections Officer (NZ) 599212 0 0 0 Auctioneer 0 0 0

Notes

The official data recorded some occupations as having "less than five" visas granted. In those cases, the number of visas granted was assumed to be four to calculate these totals.

The changes will not affect existing visa holders. Numbers of previously granted visas are used to indicate demand for temporary workers based on past years.

Topics: business-economics-and-finance, immigration, government-and-politics, turnbull-malcolm, australia

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