SKILLED WORKER VISA

The PIV scheme comes as the Australian government also took aim at the sometimes perplexing visa restrictions around skilled migrants.

Employers have been crying out for temporary experts to take up the 457 visa which allows for skilled workers to enter Australia for up to four years.

An earlier Xinhua report quoted a joint statement from Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Minister Robb, and Immigration and Border Protection Minister Scott Morrison, detailing measures to fast- track the 457 program which has remained a source of frustration for business with claims and counter claims of subterfuge and trickery.

According to the statement, safeguards will remain in place to ensure that the 457 visa program is not rorted (frauded).

"It will continue to be a requirement that a foreign worker receives the same market rates and conditions that are paid to an Australian doing the same job in the same workplace ... The 457 program must be a means of filling genuine skills gaps in the local labor market while not placing unnecessary administrative burdens on business."