Ms Fiona Ward:

I will give the Senator an indication of some of the flexibilities we hope to include in the legislation.

One is on renewals. This will benefit both the employer and employees. A general employer permit is initially given for a two-year period and then can be renewed for up to three years. At the moment, the employee has to go through the same application process as if he or she was applying for a permit in the first place. We hope to streamline that process so it will be quicker for both the employee and employer. We will simply ensure the conditions on which the permit was received continue to be in place.

We also are considering the duration of employment permits. For example, in respect of the critical skills employment permit, we hope to move that to regulations. One has to have a two-year employment permit before applying for a critical skills employment permit. As I stated earlier, it is our premium permit. However, if an occupation is on the critical skills list but the contract on offer is for less than two years, the permit holder generally has to apply for a general employment permit. Such people then do not get the attendant benefits attached to the critical skills permit of immediate family reunification and immediate and broad access of their spouses and partners to the labour market. We are hoping to have a duration of one year, which would allow those permit holders to come in and to bring in their families immediately.

These are examples of some of the flexibilities we hope to bring into the system.