There have been changes made recently to some conditions placed upon certain business visa subclasses which allow individuals to visit Australia to conduct business or to work in Australia for a short period of time under limited conditions. The visa subclasses affected by these changes are as follows;

• Business Visitor (Short Stay) visa (Subclass 456)
• Sponsored Business Visitor (Short Stay) visa (Subclass 459)
• Electronic Travel Authority (Business Entrant - Long Validity) visa (Subclass 956)
• Electronic Travel Authority (Business Entrant - Short Validity) visa (Subclass 977)
• eVisitor — Business Stream (Subclass 651)

These visas are not intended to be work visas and are in all cases subject to Condition 8112, stating “The holder must not engage in work in Australia that might otherwise be carried out by an Australian citizen or an Australian permanent resident.”

Australian immigration policy currently directs that work may be undertaken by holders of the above visas if the employment is in Australia’s interest, is highly specialised in nature and is not ongoing, or is an emergency or urgent need and is not ongoing.

While this policy and Condition 8112 remains unchanged, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) have recently announced two reforms. These include altering the length of time that employment is allowed to be undertaken whilst in Australia under any of these visas, and shifting the emphasis to the 456 visa subclass as being the one preferable for applicants wishing to undertake short term, specialised work.

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship has now extended the length of time of acceptable employment under policy for these visas from 21 days to six (6) weeks, in order to allow Australian businesses greater flexibility in procuring overseas labour to complete tasks.

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship has also given clear direction and new emphasis to the 456 visa subclass. Of all the above business visa subclasses, only the 456 and 459 subclasses require applicants to undergo a formal assessment. Thus, in order to satisfy policy makers and enforcers, the Department now encourages all applicants intending to undertake short term and specialised work in Australia to apply under subclass 456.

Note that those eligible for the ETA visa subclasses 956 and 977 and eVisitor visa subclass 651 may still enter Australia for the purpose of undertaking short term and specialised work at present. However, it is expected that they will apply under the conditions of the 456 visa in the future.