Australian government announces changes to 457 visa system

Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, via his personal Facebook page, announced (18-Apr-2017) the removal the 457 visa programme for skilled migrants. Mr Turnbull stated the government would replace the programme with a new restricted version which will ensure "foreign workers are brought into Australia in order to fill critical skill gaps and not brought in simply because an employer finds it easier to recruit a foreign worker than go to the trouble of hiring an Australian". As at 30-Sep-2016 there were 95,757 workers in Australia on primary 457 visas.