Problem
Bubble Bubble Toil and Trouble, also referred to as Bubble Bubble, is a bubble tea distributor in Box Hill, Victoria. Bubble Bubble has been wildly popular, as their tea is specially formulated to include many health benefits. Bubble Bubble hire food technologists to assist in these formulations.
Stephen Hung, off the popular Netflix show, is one of the directors and shareholders of the business. He tells you that the business is very profitable, with an annual turnover of approximately AUD$3 million over the last three financial years. The business recently purchased another two warehouses and plans to expand their business to interstate and New Zealand given its popularity.
Cherie is a Chinese citizen, a social media influencer, and Advertising Manager. Cherie has visited Australia many times in the past last five years through a number of Visitor visas and a Student visa to undertake English courses. She most recently arrived in Australia 7 months ago. She has worked as a Food Technologist at Bubble Bubble for the last 3 months. Cherie currently holds a Prospective Marriage Class TO (subclass 300) visa, but she has advised Stephen that her relationship with her fiancée has recently ended and she needs to explore other visa options so that she can remain in Australia to work for Bubble Bubble. Stephen is very keen to keep Cherie due to her social media presence which is indirectly great for Bubble Bubble.
Stephen comes to see you, a registered migration agent, for advice on whether he can sponsor Cherie for a Temporary Skill Shortage Class GK (subclass 482) visa.
Stephen informs you that Cherie has a Bachelor of Marketing from Peking University. In China, she worked for another bubble tea company for one and half years as an Advertising Manager but moved to Australia for love which unfortunately did not work out. She completed an IELTS test two years ago and achieved 5.0 (writing), 4.0 (listening), 5.0 (reading) and 4.0 (speaking).
He also informs you that six months ago, a disgruntled employee complained to Fair Work about being underpaid over a one-year period, five years ago. Fair Work conducted an investigation and found that there had been widespread underpayment affecting 10 employees over the same period. Stephen explains that initially Bubble Bubble denied the mistake, but eventually cooperated with the investigation and immediately organised backpay for all the affected staff. As a result of the incident, the business reviewed its processes. The finance department underwent extensive training in relation to payroll and the applicable awards and a new computer system was implemented to ensure that this mistake never happened again. During the process however, two people in finance and one person in the marketing team were made redundant last month. In light of Bubble Bubble's voluntary rectification measures, Fair Work decided to issue a letter of caution as a formal warning, without any penalties. Stephen is concerned about the implication of this if he sponsors Cherie.
1. You are required to prepare a letter of advice for Bubble Bubble Toil and Trouble, which answers the following questions that the client has asked you:
2. If Bubble Bubble decides to sponsor Cherie, will there be any hurdles stemming from Bubble Bubble's past mistakes?
3. What are the labour market testing requirements that Bubble Bubble will need to satisfy?
4. Are there any risks or concerns that you have about Cherie's ability to satisfy the visa application criteria?
5. What are the prospects of success of the sponsorship, nomination and visa applications based on the facts in the scenario?
6. If Cherie is granted the visa, will Bubble Bubble be able to sponsor her for a permanent visa.