With fast-emerging economies like India needing its metals and minerals, Australia must hunt overseas for skilled workers to address a looming mining workforce shortage.

The Australian federal government, effective Monday, will fast-track applications for 457 work visas as well as increase the employer sponsorship period to six years from the present three. The work visa programme, which has been crucial in meeting skill gaps, lets foreign workers stay and work in Australia for up to four years.

The fast-tracking will see the 457 visas processed within 10 days. It takes an average of 22 days to process a 457 visa at present.

"These changes to the work visa programme will particularly benefit large Indian corporations operating in Australia in the areas of IT, mining and ports. It will help them bring niche skill sets to Australia for their current and new projects. This will accelerate filling of skill gap that currently exists," Deepak Raj Gupta, president of the Australia India Business Council's Canberra Chapter, told Business Standard.

India is now regarded as one of the top three source countries for permanent and temporary migration of skilled workers.

India's urban population is projected to rise from the present 340 million to 590 million in the next 20 years. Parallel to it will be the resulting huge demand for electricity generation. As such, India needs to triple its coal imports over the next decade.

Already, Indian firms such as GVK and Adani, had invested in a number of Queensland mining companies to give them a steady supply of coal that will fire their power stations.

Under the new criteria of Australia's work visa programme, businesses need to meet standards to qualify for the accredited status, including ensuring at least three quarters of their domestic workforce is Australian.

The number of corporate applications for 457 visas has seen a tremendous growth in recent years. Australia awarded 113,725 skilled migration visas in 2010-11, up from 107,868 in 2009-10.

Indian skilled workers are Australia's second-largest partners under the 457 work visa programme. Over the last two decades, 223,000 Indian nationals have arrived as permanent migrants to Australia. Over three-quarters of them were in the skilled stream of the programme.

"Over 60 per cent of our employees are on 457 work visa. It is difficult to get skilled IT workers in Australia. If priority processing can be brought down to two weeks, it will be very helpful," Raj Kurup, director Business Development, Australia South, Zensar Technologies Ltd, said, adding the mandatory figure of 75 per cent of the workforce being Australian should also be reduced.

India's GVK bought Gina Rinehart's Hancock Coal for $1.2 billion, while Adani acquired Linc Energy's coal tenements for $500 million.

New Hope Coal is expected to be the next $5 billion target of India with steel-making giant Tata believed to be leading the bidders' list for the company.