Why Australians will soon have to fight for high-paying jobs under UK Free Trade Agreement

Australians will soon have to compete with Britons for high-paying jobs in Sydney and Melbourne under the terms of the UK free trade deal.

A UK Department for International Trade flyer has promoted how British professionals will get work rights in Australia as employers are no longer required to hire Australians first.

Lawyers from the UK will be able to practise in Australia without having to complete a university law degree again or be assessed by the Legal Profession Admission Board.

This will see Australians competing for highly-paid positions with solicitors earning average salaries of $130,177, tax office data showed.

‘UK lawyers will be able to practise in Australia without having to requalify as an Australian lawyer,’ the UK government flyer said. 

‘The deal will help facilitate the recognition of UK professional qualifications across many sectors, creating opportunity for our professionals while allowing British companies to attract and retain global talent.’

Australia, like Great Britain, has a legal system based on English common law.

Scotland, however, is based on a separate legal system based on Roman law.

With Scotland still part of the UK, automatically admitting all UK lawyers could prove problematic if Scottish lawyers aren’t versed in English common law.

Under changes to Australia’s 457 visa program in 2017, employers have been required to demonstrate they could not recruit a suitably qualified Australian before a foreigner could be hired.

Lawyers from the UK will be able to practise in Australia without having to complete a university law degree again or be assessed by the Legal Profession Admission Board. This will see Australians competing for highly-paid positions with solicitors earning average salaries of $130,177, tax office data showed. Pictured are British judges

But under the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement, employers in Australia will no longer have to give preference to an Australia if an applicant from the UK, aged under 35, applies.

‘Highly skilled professionals will now be able to work in Australia temporarily and Aussie firms will no longer have to prioritise hiring Australian nationals first,’ the UK government flyer said.

This angered Electrical Trades Union national assistant secretary Michael Wright.

‘On the face of it, this deal looks like a disgrace,’ he said.

‘Scott Morrison has sold us out like sponge cake. The requirement to offer jobs to unemployed Australians first will clearly be watered down.’

A UK Department for International Trade flyer has promoted how British professionals will get work rights in Australia as employers are no longer required to hire Australians first

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison this week signed a bilateral trade agreement with his UK counterpart Boris Johnson at 10 Downing Street in London. 

In a joint statement, they said it would ‘drive economic growth and job creation in both countries’.

The UK’s first free trade agreement since Brexit was finalised early last year will see agricultural tariffs for Australian exports eliminated after 15 years. 

But UK workers under 35 will be able to have automatic work rights in Australia much sooner and won’t have to do menial jobs like fruit picking to get a visa.

They will be allowed to stay for three years, with the age limit increased from 30. 

The UK deal means Australia now has 12 bilateral agreements with individual nations, including China, New Zealand, Singapore, Chile, Malaysia, Japan and South Korea. 

The UK was Australia’s biggest trading partner until the mid-1960s but before the pandemic, it was ranked seventh on the list with a 3.4 per cent share of two-way trade. 

Japan overtook the UK as Australia’s biggest trading partner in 1967, with China first taking the No.1 spot in 2007.