The Skilling Australia Fund (SAF) levy is delivering hundreds of millions of dollars to the Federal Government for training and skills development, yet demand for skilled workers in regional South Australia remains unmet.
Freedom of Information Request FA 22/04/00442 (FOI) reveals the total funds raised by the Skilling Australia Fund (SAF) for the financial years 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21. For each of these financial years, funds raised total more than $198m, $227m and $174m respectively.
The Skilling Australia Fund (SAF) levy is a fee imposed by the Australian government on employers who wish to sponsor skilled workers from overseas to work in Australia under the Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa program. The levy was introduced in March 2018 as part of the Australian Government’s reforms to the skilled migration program, with the aim of raising funds to support the training and development of Australian workers.
The SAF levy requires employers to pay a fee at the time of the nomination of a foreign worker for a TSS visa. The amount of the levy depends on the size of the employer and the length of the visa being applied for. For example, for a business with an annual turnover of less than $10 million, the levy is $1,200 per year for a visa lasting up to 2 years and $1,800 per year for a visa lasting up to 4 years. For larger businesses, the levy is higher. The visa categories in the FOI request include subclasses Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 186), Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (Subclass 187), Temporary Work (Skilled) (subclass 457 and 482), and the Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) (subclass 494) visas.
The funds collected through the SAF levy are intended to be used to support apprenticeships and traineeships in Australia, with a particular focus on priority occupations and industries identified by the Government. The levy is also intended to encourage employers to invest in the training and development of Australian workers, while also ensuring that skilled migration is used to fill genuine skill shortages in the Australian labour market. Despite this, vacancies across South Australia remain high.