Following Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s announcement on 19 April 2017 about abolishing the 457 Visas, the Australian Childcare Alliance NSW has been able to review it along with the proposed replacement, the Temporary Skill Shortage Visa (TSS Visa).
Based on the Federal Department of Immigration and Border Protection's statistics, the total number of 457 Visas issued for “2411 Early Childhood (Pre-Primary School) Teachers” between 1 July 2010 and 30 June 2016 was 220 for NSW and 361 nationally. As of 30 June 2016, there were a total of 94,980 primary 457 visa holders across Australia, which represents less than 1% of the entire Australian labour market.
As of 19 April 2017, the new TSS Visa’s Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL) appears not to list any jobs related to early childhood education and care, but the TSS Visa's Medium and Long-Term Strategic Skill List (MLTSSL) does provide for “Child Care Centre Managers (ANZSCO Code 134111)” and “Early Childhood (Pre-Primary School) Teachers (ANZSCO Code 241111)”.
This can only be interpreted as being that the Turnbull Government recognises the need for early chilldhood education teachers from overseas remains legitimate and to be continued, and that childcare centre managers are recognised as a need as well.
Many ACA NSW members have been providing feedback indicating that finding good early childhood education teachers is generally not easy even at the best of times, and hence have used 457 visas when suitable Australian teachers cannot be found. Typically, such imported teachers are typically from New Zealand, Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland as they appear to be deemed by ACECQA as having the most similar early childhood education and care qualifications to Australia’s.
Notwithstanding, in the coming weeks and months, ACA NSW will be providing members with information and referrals about how to address labour shortages, finding and retaining excellent early childhood education teachers (and now managers) regardless of where they are found.