Work for an Australian employer

If you are coming to Australia to work, either for a short or long period, you will need an appropriate visa. While other visas may allow you to work, if the main purpose of your stay is employment, you are required to satisfy specific requirements in regard to your qualifications and work experience and often also in regard to your English language skills. Check the visa subclasses to see which one is the most appropriate, be it a temporary 400, 408, 482 and 494, or a permanent 186 and 191 visa.

TEMPORARY ACTIVITY VISA 408

This visa allows several activities: work in specific sectors, youth and cultural exchange programs, religious work, research activity, sports and entertainment activities, domestic work for executives, and superyacht crew entry.

TEMPORARY WORK SHORT STAY SPECIALIST SUBCLASS 400

This visa is granted to applicants who are going to do highly specialised work for a short period or are going to participate in an activity or work in Australia’s interests. The visa is usually granted for three months, but in exceptional circumstances, it may be granted for a period of up to six months. Family members can be included but they cannot work.

SKILLS IN DEMAND (SID) VISA 482

With a Skills in Demand visa you can work in Australia up to four years. You can bring your family with you (they can work and study) and you can travel in and out of Australia at any time. You must have a sponsor, that’s to say, an employer that will offer you a job. The employer must also satisfy some requirements and must meet sponsorship obligations that are in place to ensure that overseas skilled workers are protected from exploitation and that the visa programs are being used to meet genuine skills shortages and not to undercut local labour wages and conditions.
This Skills in Demand visa process has three stages; these steps must be done at specific times and with particular forms and documents:

Sponsorship application
The Australian employer must apply to become an approved sponsor; the business must be legally registered and lawfully operating.
Nomination application
The approved business sponsor must lodge an application for a position that needs to be filled and must be financially viable. The position must be genuine and paid according to the national market rate with a minimum threshold that is set every year by the Australian Government.
Visa application
The prospective visa applicant must lodge an application for a subclass 482 visa. The occupation must match the position proposed, and the applicant must have the skills to perform the duties and licensing or professional registration, if applicable. For example, you may need an electrical license with the New South Wales Fair Trading Department or any other Australian State, depending on where you are working. Applicants from some countries who are working in some occupations will require a skill assessment. The applicant must also sit an English test (some exceptions apply) and be free from medical conditions and criminal convictions.
We can help you arrange a skill assessment or any licensing required for your visa.

EMPLOYER NOMINATION SCHEME (ENS) VISA SUBCLASS 186

The Employer Nomination Scheme visa is a work visa that grants permanent residence to you and your family members. It is the ideal visa if you want to live and work in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, or some other cities. You are required to have a sponsor, that’s to say, an employer that will offer you a job. The sponsor must also satisfy some requirements.
This visa process has two stages; these steps have to be done at specific times and with particular forms and documents:

Nomination application
The business must be legally registered and lawfully and actively operating. The approved business sponsor must lodge an application for a position that needs to be filled. The position must be genuine and paid according to the national market rate, given there are specific indications to estimate the correct salary.
Visa application
The prospective visa applicant must lodge an application for a subclass 186 visa. The occupation must match the position proposed, and the applicant must have the skills to perform the duties. Professional registration or licensing may be required; for example, if you are a nurse, you will have to register with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). The applicant must also sit an English test and be under 45 years old (few exceptions apply). You must also be free from medical conditions and criminal convictions.
We can help you arrange a skill assessment or any licensing required for your visa.

SKILLED EMPLOYER SPONSORED REGIONAL (PROVISIONAL) (SESR) VISA SUBCLASS 494

A 494 visa is a five-year Australian temporary visa for you and your family members, if you are sponsored by an approved employer, who is located in a regional area. The condition of this visa subclass is that, once you obtain it, you must work for sponsors for a total of three years to apply for your permanent residence later with a visa 191. Regional areas exclude Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. This visa process has three stages; these steps must be done at specific times and with specific forms and documents:

Regional application: depending on the location, the appropriate regional migration authority must assess the employment proposal and approve it.
Nomination application: the Australian business must be legally registered and lawfully and actively operating, and the sponsor must lodge an application for a position that needs to be filled. The occupation must be on the appropriate immigration list for this regional visa 494, the position must be genuine and paid according to the national market rate.
Visa application: the prospective visa applicant must lodge an application for a subclass 494 visa. The occupation must match the position proposed, and the applicant must have the skills to perform the duties. The applicant must also sit an approved English test. There is a skill assessment required (few exceptions apply), and, depending on your occupation, a licensing or professional registration procedure may also be required. You must also be free from medical conditions and criminal convictions. We can help you arrange a skill assessment or any licensing required for your visa.

PERMANENT RESIDENCE (SKILLED REGIONAL) VISA SUBCLASS 191

This visa is an Australian permanent residence visa that can be requested after having held a 494 visa and lived and worked for sponsoring employers in a regional area for at least three years.

LABOUR AGREEMENTS AND DESIGNATED AREA MIGRATION AGREEMENTS (DAMA)

A Labour Agreement sets out the terms and conditions by which the approved sponsor (employer) may recruit, employ, or engage the services of overseas workers who are intended to be employed as holders of Skills in Demand (SID) 482 visas in its business. The Labour Agreement usually lasts for up to 5 years and may also include permanent residence with an Employer Nomination Scheme visa 186, if this has been agreed by the government.
The Labour Agreement is normally used when some positions do not fit in the standard visa pathways already available. There are company-specific agreements, that’s to say the agreement is negotiated with a single business, and there are industry-specific agreements, or state and regional agreements (Designated Area Migration Agreements), where requirements have been decided already by the government and usually cannot be changed.

What is a Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA)?
Some Australian States, Territories, or regions have signed an agreement with the Australian Federal Government that allows employers in these areas to sponsor skilled and semi-skilled foreign workers for jobs that they are unable to fill with local supply. The agreement is a Labour Agreement and is called DAMA. These DAMAs operate through an initial temporary visa process with a Skills in Demand 482 visa and, in some cases, with a permanent process through an Employer Nomination Scheme 186 visa transition stream. Every DAMA has different requirements and eligible occupations.
Currently, there are agreements with Northern Territory (Northern Territory agreement), South Australia (Adelaide City Technology and Innovation Advancement and South Australian Regional agreements), Western Australia (Goldfields, East Kimberly, South West, Pilbara and Western Australia agreements), New South Wales (Orana), Victoria (Great South Coast and Goulburn Valley agreements), Queensland (Townsville and Far North Queensland agreements).

Frequently Asked Questions

If I had consultation already and I know I have the requirements for an employer-sponsored visa and I find an available sponsor, should the sponsor proceed with a consultation as well?

We do advise you to do so. To be approved by the Department of Immigration, the sponsor must meet specific requirements too, so a consultation is recommended. It is your choice if you prefer to make a joint consultation during the same appointment.

In the case of sponsored visa applications, who is responsible for the payment?

For SID 482 visas, the sponsor must pay the sponsorship and nomination fees and the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy, as well as the agent’s fees for those stages or other recruitment fees, while the applicant may pay for the visa application. In case of an ENS 186 and SESR (provisional) 494 visas, the sponsor is obliged to pay for the SAF levy only. For all other visas, the payment will be decided in accordance with the two parties.

Can the agent speak on behalf of the applicant and convince the sponsor to apply for the sponsorship or raise the salary?

No. The agent is not responsible for the relationship between sponsor and applicant and cannot interfere with the negotiations, except for clarifying legal requirements so that the application is successful. The final decisions on salary and conditions of the contract are left to the two parties. If the agreements are not in accordance with the law, the agent will suggest possible changes. If, at the end of the negotiations, the chance of failure is high, the agent may decide not to continue with the application.