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Tech start-up visa scheme to stay

Andrew Tillett
Andrew TillettForeign affairs, defence correspondent

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A niche visa scheme designed to allow businesses and start-ups to compete internationally to lure highly skilled foreigners to Australia will be made permanent after a 12-month pilot.

While fewer than 30 of the visas have been issued, the Morrison government believes the Global Talent – Employer Sponsored visa program has shown enough promise to continue.

Immigration Minister David Coleman champions the importance of the scheme based on his experience before entering politics when he worked with a number of internet businesses. Alex Ellinghausen

The retention of the visa scheme has been welcomed by start-ups and comes as the government and tech sector have otherwise been at loggerheads over national security laws.

Under the program, two visa streams are available to fill specialised positions. Established businesses with a turnover of $4 million can apply for up to 20 visas for foreign workers annually, while start-ups in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics field can apply for five.

Twenty-three firms have struck agreements of up to five years with the government to bring workers into the country under the streamlined scheme. These include Rio Tinto, Coles, Atlassian and Cochlear.

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Immigration Minister David Coleman champions the importance of the scheme based on his experience before entering politics when he worked with a number of internet businesses.

“The pilot showed the [scheme] has strong support from industry and highlighted the economic benefits of recruiting overseas talent directly to Australian businesses," Mr Coleman said.

“These highly skilled overseas workers bring with them unique skills and knowledge that are transferred to Australian businesses, allowing for the creation of further jobs for Australians.”

StartupAUS chief executive Alex McCauley, who chairs an advisory panel that endorses eligible start-up companies to access the visa scheme, said Australia was in a global war for talent.

He said the visas had been useful for companies seeking quite specific skills, such as quantum engineering, rocket science and artificial engineering.

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"For a long time start-up founders have thought the biggest thing holding them back in Australia is access to top talent," Mr McCauley said.

"These are people in demand all over the world. These are new economy jobs but they don't exist in big numbers in Australia yet. Demand is substantially higher than supply."

There had been criticism the scheme had suffered from a poor take-up rate, with the high cost of visas – up to $10,000 – deterring applications. Companies are required to pay into the Skilling Australians Fund.

But the government does not plan to relax those requirements, believing it is important companies contribute to the cost of training local workers for future opportunities.

Mr McCauley said the number of companies participating in the pilot scheme had been kept small to test it out and ensure it worked for industry.

"Now the government has made the scheme permanent we will try to get the word out," he said.

Andrew Tillett writes on politics, foreign affairs, defence and security from the Canberra press gallery. Connect with Andrew on Facebook and Twitter. Email Andrew at andrew.tillett@afr.com

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