Australian Research Body to Fight Government Visa Ban

The Research Industry Council of Australia (RICA) is fighting the terms of a recent government decision to abolish a visa program for overseas workers, which it claims will have a detrimental impact on the country's market and social research industry.

The 457 Visa program enables employers to sponsor skilled overseas staff to work in the country on a temporary basis. According to RICA, the government is wrong to remove two roles from the skilled occupation list - Market Research Analyst and Research and Development Manager - as overseas workers in these positions are relied upon by the Australian market and social research industry. RICA says individuals who work in these fields produce valuable information helping government, commercial and not-for-profit organisations make informed decisions based on the interests and needs of their constituents, clients and the public.

Lee Naylor, MD, The Leading Edge, says the country can't afford to lose the highly skilled talent organisations recruit from overseas, and that far from these people taking jobs from Australians, they complement the talent already employed in the country. He believes that without overseas talent, Australian companies will not be able to compete on the global stage.

Sarah Campbell (pictured), Executive Director of the country's Association of Market and Social Research Organisations, adds: 'There is a talent shortage for particular research positions in our country, with member company CEOs reporting that some jobs, requiring a very particular skill set, can be advertised in Australia for over 12 months before being filled by a 457 Visa employee. The removal of these two research positions from the eligible skilled occupation list is likely to hit our industry hard and RICA will be heading to Canberra to request that they be reinstated'.

Web sites: www.rica.com.au , www.amsro.com.au and www.amsrs.com.au .