Under Australia immigration's new accreditation program, the period of time a skilled worker can stay in the country will be doubled from three to six years for selected businesses under updates to the 457 visa system.

Immigration is also fast-tracking applications for qualified with the new accreditation scheme starting November 7.

If a business has a local workforce which is at least 75 per cent Australian, been an active 457 visa sponsor over the past three years, and taking care of at least 30 overseas workers over the past 12 months, then it will benefit from the changes on visa sponsorships, according to Immigration Minister Chris Bowen.

"This will continue to ensure that the 457 program is responsive to the economic cycle and provides a flexible avenue for employers to fill immediate and short-term skill vacancies, while maintaining opportunities and conditions for Australian workers," Bowen said during a briefing with the media on Wednesday.

Bowen also said that the average processing time for processing 457 visa applications has gone down to 22 from 31 days in 2006-2007 and that his office aims to further reduce that to 10 days.

A total of 54,360 457 visas were granted in 2010-11, which is 38 per cent higher than the figures in the same period the previous year. Britain is Australia's most popular source country, with 11,820 citizens granted visas.