At-a-glance: 457 visa holders in Australia

Australia's skilled migrant visa scheme is set to be scaled back, after the federal government pushed legislation changes through the lower house today.

Australia's skilled migrant visa scheme is set to be scaled back, after the federal government pushed legislation changes through the lower house today.

As Australia's main mechanism for accessing skilled foreign workers, the 457 visa scheme is an important tool for the economy, but this morning the government passed its proposed 'crackdown' on alleged rorting of the scheme through the introduction of new legislation.

Earlier this year, former Prime Minister Julia Gillard criticised the scheme, saying it had gotten "totally out of control" during the Howard government years. We look at the pattern of foreign visa grants in the last 15 years to see if the data backs up this claim.

We also look at the most common 457 occupations and source countries. Finally, we compare 457 salaries with local salaries to find out whether 457 visas really are a method for companies to access cheap foreign labour at the expense of local workers.

The chart above shows the number of 457 visas granted by the Department of Immigration & Citizenship (DIAC) between 1998 and 2013. The growth has been significant, rising from around 30 thousand in 1998 to over 120 thousand in recent years.

On 23 February this year, Immigration Minster Brendan O'Connor stated that "the growth in the 457 program is out of step with skills shortages". While this quadrupling of 457 visa numbers over fifteen years may seem significant, it has been closely aligned with the growth in the Australian economy.

The chart above shows Australian GDP compared with the total number of 457 visas granted. As GDP rises, the numbers of 457 workers rise in concert with it.

This makes sense because the 457 scheme allows Australian business to tap into skilled foreign resources as the economy demands. Annualised figures suggest that the number of visas granted will increase by only 0.7% this year over last.

In the ten months from July 2012 to April 2013, cooks were the most common occupations receiving 457 visas, with 2,400 granted by DIAC. Chefs and restaurant managers bring the food-related occupations up to 4,760 grants in the top 15.

This growth in food-related occupations is very much a recent trend. The number of visas granted for ICT-related occupations has fallen significantly; down from 10 per cent of occupations in 2011 to less than 5 per cent this year.

With almost 12 thousand 457 visas granted to its citizens, India has displaced the United Kingdom for the first this year as the largest country of origin for 457 visa holders.

The UK is in second place with 11,310 and Ireland follows with 5,590. The developing Himalayan nation Nepal finds itself in the top 15 source countries for the first time.

Current 457 visa application rules state that an employer has to pay Australian market salary rates to workers on a 457. They are required to provide evidence of both market rates and proof of an offer to the applicant.

These market salary rules are to ensure that foreign workers are not exploited and also to ensure that they do not gain any cost advantage over local workers. As can be seen in the chart above, employees on 457 visas earn significantly more than non-457 workers. The chart looks at salary figures provided by the Bureau of Statistics and compares them with the average salaries of 457 visa holders.

Across all industries, 457 visa holders earn 34% more than local staff on average. This illustrates a huge gulf between 457 salaries and average local salaries. With an average annual base salary of $94,000, the average 457 visa holder sits comfortably above the 75th percentile of Australian full time salaries.

John Elliott is a freelance writer originally from Scotland but now based in Brisbane. He has a degree in Computer Science and works as a technology consultant. He also has an unhealthy fascination with data.