Senate debates

Monday, 9 November 2015

Bills

Customs Amendment (China-Australia Free Trade Agreement Implementation) Bill 2015, Customs Tariff Amendment (China-Australia Free Trade Agreement Implementation) Bill 2015; In Committee

5:21 pm

Photo of Peter Whish-WilsonPeter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Chair, I cannot remember exactly, but I thought I was in continuation.

The TEMPORARY CHAIRMAN: You are.

Thank you. I outlined in my earlier statement a little detail around why the Greens are bringing these amendments.

I would like to now ask some questions about the amendments themselves. To quickly rehash, there are six amendments. Amendments (1) to (4) are fairly straightforward. They relate both to labour market testing and licensing requirements. Amendment (5) relates to labour market testing, and amendment (6) relates specifically to licensing requirements.

Minister, in relation directly to subclass 400 visa holders, which includes installers and services, I mentioned some of the stakeholders who had concerns that the current deal between Labor and the Liberals relating to IFAs does not cover the employment of Chinese workers who are employed by standard 457 visa sponsors, or direct employers, who are not part of an IFA, and that under the terms of CHAFTA these workers would not be subject to labour market testing. Can the minister confirm if labour market testing is required for this subclass and class of visas?

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