STATE SPONSORSHIP AND EMPLOYMENT CERTIFICATION TARGETS

183 Mr HAMILTON-SMITH (Waite) (30 November 2010). With reference to Budget Paper 4, volume 1, page 2.7, Highlights 2009-10, State's sponsorship and employment certification target—

1. Precisely how did DTED contribute to exceeding the State's sponsorship and employment certification target?

2. What was the total cost of the activity?

3. How many staff were allocated to this activity?

4. How many South Australian jobs were created?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Industry and Trade, Minister for Small Business, Minister for Correctional Services): I am advised the following:

1. The South Australian Government, through DTED's Immigration SA, exceeded its overall 2009-10 sponsorship/certification target of 3,500 with a total of 3,922 State sponsorship/certifications provided representing 9,580 people.

Certification processing is undertaken by the Employer Sponsored Migration Unit of Immigration SA. In 2009-10, the Employer Sponsored Migration Unit certified 1,281 applications from South Australian employers. This is a 30.45 per cent increase in certifications from 2008-09 to 2009-10 (982 certifications to 1,281).

In 2009-10, the General Skilled Migration Unit within Immigration SA processed 3,050 State Sponsorship applications 2,162 of which were approved.

In 2009-10, the Business Skilled Migration Unit within Immigration SA provided State sponsorship for 479 applications for provisional and permanent visas, a small increase on the 468 applications sponsored in 2008-09.

2. These costs in 2009-10 were approximately $953,786. The breakdown is provided in the table below:

*Temporary staff are used to backfill staff on leave and to handle peak demand times to remain within service standard delivery timeframes.

The South Australian Government does not charge a fee for the processing of sponsorship applications or employer nomination certification.

3. In 2009-10, there was three staff in the Employer Sponsored Migration Unit, three in the General Skilled Migration Unit and four in the Business Skilled Migration Unit whose activities enabled the provision of sponsorships and certifications required to participate in the three State Specific and Regional Migration mechanisms (10 full-time equivalents (FTEs)). A reception role assisted with general enquiries related to the program. There is also a Manager position for Immigration SA.

4. South Australia's participation in the State Specific and Regional Mechanisms is to assist employers to meet their current skills needs.

DTED's role as a Regional Certifying Body for the RSMS employer sponsored program involves South Australian employers identifying a skilled vacancy to be filled by a skilled migrant. In 2009-10, the Employer Sponsored Migration Unit certified 1,281 positions.

Under the State Sponsored Business Skills Program, business migrants on provisional visas are required to create a minimum of one FTE position to be eligible for permanent residency. According to Immigration SA's databases, employment created by sponsored business migrants for the 2009-10 financial year was 78 full-time and 186 part-time positions.