Having lost thousands of dollars in business due to staff shortages, hairdresser Elizabeth Stillisano is not sure what to do next or what lies ahead for the future of her small business.
Struggling to find suitably qualified staff locally, her attempts to bring in hairdressers from overseas have been stymied by an expensive, long-winded and ultimately unproductive process.
Speaking with Nadia Mitsopoulos on ABC Radio Perth, Ms Stillisano said although she had five qualified staff at her Bayswater salon, it was still hard to find senior hairdressers.
Since 2018 she has been looking to expand her team, and in 2021 she thought she had found the perfect candidate.
"I had a lovely lady, Leona from Canada, lined up," Ms Stillisano said.
"I started the application process in April of 2021 and our business was approved quite quickly as an approved sponsor."
The next step was to make a nomination for a staff member. She did so with Leona, who had nine years of hairdressing experience.
Becoming an approved sponsor
To qualify, employers must also prove that they have searched for suitable applicants within Australia for a minimum of four weeks on approved platforms.
The Department of Home Affairs requires employers to post advertisements on multiple job sites with a nationwide reach, including on the national Jobactive platform.
"We did have Australians apply but they didn't have the qualifications. They weren't suitable to fill the role," Ms Stillisano said.
"It is actually a three-year qualification in Australia to become a hairdresser. The only applicants who were qualified persons were from overseas."
But in March, her nomination for Leona was declined with a refusal letter from Home Affairs which said she had not tried hard enough to find an Australian worker.
The process cost them both several thousand dollars and took more than 12 months.
Labour market test doesn't cut it
Ms Stillisano said it was well known that there were skills shortages, and hairdressers had been in the top 10 of the government's national skill shortage list of trades for 20 years.
"It just seems a little redundant that we have to actually prove to the government that we are struggling to find hairdressers when we're actually, in fact, very high up on the skill shortage list," she said.
Ms Stillisano said many employers believed the requirement for labour market tests for industries on the national skill shortage list should be suspended.
She said although the federal government did a lot last year to help with boosting apprentice numbers, it still took three years for them to qualify.
"There's going to be a further 18 months or so shortfall where businesses are struggling to hire staff," she said.
Doris Dengel, a registered migration agent with ESS Worldwide, agreed that suspending the labour market test would be a good idea.
"I would think, certainly, temporarily suspending it would help," she said.
She said employers might have more success going through immigration agents such as herself.
"It certainly helps to, I think, cooperate with an immigration agent to avoid possible refusals because we do this on a daily basis," she said.
"We can certainly make sure — as much as we can, at least — we get a visa at the end and the worker can come over."
Sponsorships are temporary
One permanent resident, Pamela, said that it took eight years and cost $80,000 for herself, a cleaner, and her stonemason husband to get through the process of becoming a permanent resident and migrant worker.
"The cost is on the potential worker, unable to claim government assistance while looking to contribute to our country," she said.
Ms Stillisano was also keen to emphasise that the arrangements were not designed to take jobs permanently.
"The sponsorships are only for a short-term sponsorship, two years. So it's not like we're bringing overseas workers over to fill an Australian role for the next 10 to 20 years," she said.
In response, the Department of Home Affairs said "the government is committed to supporting the skills needs of businesses through access to overseas workers where Australian workers are not available".
The government regularly calibrates Temporary Skill Shortage visa settings to meet labour market needs.
However, "Labour Market Testing is a legislative requirement that must be satisfied before a Temporary Skilled Shortage (TSS) nomination can be approved."
With figures provided by the Department of Home Affairs, there were currently 94,600 TSS visa holders in Australia.
The reasons for refusals and the rate of refusal were not available in current reporting.
