New legislation governing the Labour Market Testing (LMT) and advertising requirements to be undertaken before sponsoring a Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) Subclass 482 Visa holder came into effect on Sunday. The below legislative changes apply to nominations made on or after 12 August 2018.
Labour Market Testing Requirements
At least two advertisements that meet the following:
- Advertising must be undertaken within the 4 month period immediately prior to lodgement of the nomination application
- Advertising must be placed on one of the following mediums:
- a recruitment website with national reach in Australia; or
- in print media with national reach in Australia; or
- on radio with national reach in Australia
- The advertisement must run for 4 weeks and applications or expressions of interest must be accepted for at least 4 weeks from the time the advertisement was first published
- The position must be advertised to include:
- The position title or job description
- Clear statements of the required skills and experience
- Name of the sponsor or engaged recruitment agency
- Salary for the position if earnings will be less than $96,400
We encourage you to seek professional advice to understand how your business can remain compliant with LMT requirements, particularly as several restrictions apply for online advertising.
Alternative Labour Market Testing Requirements
In a number of circumstances, sponsoring employers can provide a submission demonstrating their reasons for sponsoring a TSS Subclass 482 Visa holder instead of meeting the above LMT requirements.
These circumstances are:
- A position in a profession which requires an internationally recognised record of exceptional and outstanding achievement – for example a sport, academia and research or a top-talent chef role
- A position for an intra-company transferee
- A position that is held by an existing Subclass 482 or 457 visa holder where the nomination has been submitted only because the annual earnings have changed or there has been a change in business structure requiring a transfer to a new sponsoring entity
- A position for which the annual earnings will be equal to or greater than AUD $250,000
- A position under ANZSCO Minor Group 253 – Medical Practitioners (excluding General Medical Practitioner, Medical Practitioners nec and excluding ANZSCO Unit Group 4111 – Ambulance Officers and Paramedics).
The legislation states that the submission must provide reasons why a suitably qualified and experienced Australian or eligible temporary visa holder is not readily available to fill the nominated position. We recommend that you seek professional advice if you choose to prepare a submission.
Support throughout the changes | Visa Tools
There have been significant changes to employer sponsored visas over the past year, however with the finalisation of the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) and LMT requirements employers can now plan for and manage their skilled migration needs with greater certainty.
Interstaff will be conducting training sessions to assist employers and Human Resources teams to understand how they can remain compliant with LMT and sponsorship obligations. Compliance training is particularly important if your business is seeking to become approved for priority visa processing through Accredited Sponsorship, or to maintain your status as an Accredited Sponsor.
We have also developed several visa tools to assist you or your business to understand the recent changes to employer-sponsored visas. View our Visa Tools here on our website or if you have any questions on how the changes impact your business, please get in touch on +61 8 9221 3388 (or National Free Call 1800 449 858) or visas@interstaff.com
Source:
Interstaff
Migration Institute of Australia
Department of Home Affairs
