Training Visa (Subclass 407)

Sponsorship

The employer must be an approved Temporary Activities sponsor.

To be eligible to apply for sponsorship, your organisation will need to meet the following requirements:

• an ‘Australian organisation’, a ‘foreign government agency’, or a ‘government agency’, that is offering to conduct a structured training program for the participant from outside Australia
• your organisation must be lawfully operating in Australia
• your organisation must have good business record and abide by Australian laws
• if you have previously sponsored workers from outside Australia to Australia, you must have a satisfactory record of complying with Australian laws
• the activities of your organisation or agency must be legal in Australia
• there must be nothing adverse known about your organisation or agency.

 

You must have capacity to comply with your sponsorship obligations.

 

Your sponsorship is valid for up to 3 years.

 

Nominations

You must lodge a nomination to provide workplace based training to applicants under the Occupational Trainee Stream. The nomination must provide details of the proposed workplace based training and the skills, qualifications and experience of the person who will undertake the training.

 

Eligible Occupations

This link provides the list of suitable occupations for the Subclass 407 visa. You must ensure that your nominated training relates to one of the eligible occupations for this visa.

 

Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (Subclass 457)

The Temporary Work Visa  is the most common way to sponsor a skilled worker. It is a 3-stage process

 

Business applies to become a sponsor

As an approved sponsor, you can nominate an unlimited number of subclass 457 visa applicants (or visa holders) as long as your sponsorship is valid. Sponsorship is valid for 5 years. You must be lawfully operating a business to apply to be a sponsor, regardless of whether your business is in or outside Australia. Your business must have no adverse information related to it.

 

You must demonstrate your contribution to the training of Australian workers by providing evidence of meeting the training benchmarks. These benchmarks were introduced to ensure that the employment of workers from outside Australia is not seen as an alternative to training Australian workers. If your business has been trading in Australia for more than 12 months, you must show you have contributed to the training of Australians.

 

You show this by meeting one of two benchmarks. You can choose which benchmark you will meet:

• A:  recent expenditure to the equivalent of at least 2 per cent of the payroll of the business, in payments allocated to an industry training fund that operates in the same industry as the business
• B:  recent expenditure to the equivalent of at least 1 per cent of the payroll of the business, in the provision of training to employees of the business who are Australian citizens and Australian permanent residents (your Australian employees)

 

All employers of subclass 457 visa holders have obligations as sponsors. Some obligations apply beyond the term of an employer’s approval as a sponsor. These obligations help ensure that overseas skilled workers are protected from exploitation. Sponsorship obligations also ensure that the program is being used to meet genuine skills shortages, and is not being used to undercut local labour wages and conditions

 

Obligations associated with being a Standard Business Sponsor

 

Business nominates a position

The position must be listed in this list.

 

The approved sponsor nominates a skilled worker to fill the position. The skilled worker must be paid the appropriate market salary which for the position in Australia.

 

You must demonstrate that the market salary rate for the position you are seeking to fill is greater than the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT). If the market salary rate for the position you wish to fill does not exceed the TSMIT, you will not be able to access the subclass 457 visa program. The TSMIT is currently $53,900 and is indexed annually.

 

Employee applies for the visa

This visa is valid for up to 2 years or 4 years, depending on which list the nominated occupation is on.

Short‑term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL): 2 years (with the option to renew one time for a further two years)

Medium and Long-Term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL): 4 years

Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (Subclass 187) RSMS - Permanent visa

The Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) enables employers in regional, remote or low population growth areas of Australia to nominate highly skilled workers from overseas, or temporary residents living and working in Australia to fill skilled vacancies in their business.

 

What is the benefit to the employer for sponsoring under the RSMS?

• The salary paid to the candidate is the same as what you would pay an Australian resident in the same position.
• The candidate is required to commit to the position for a minimum of 2 years, giving the employer a long-term skilled staff member.
• Any occupation can be sponsored under the RSMS provided it is a skill level 1 – 3 position with the ANZSCO framework. This includes trade level positions and management positions.
• The employer does not have to be an approved Standard Business Sponsor with DIBP.

 

What is considered to be a regional area?

Anywhere in Australia except the metropolitan areas of Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong, Brisbane, Gold Coast and Melbourne. All of South Australia, Tasmania, Australian Capital Territory and Western Australia are considered to be regional.

 

A list of eligible postcodes for the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme can be found by clicking here.

 

Which employers can nominate a candidate under the RSMS?

The employer must:

• operate an active and lawful business in regional Australia.
• have a genuine need for a paid employee to fill a skilled position
• offer a skilled position in the applicant’s field that is full-time and ongoing for at least two years
• pay a market salary rate
• comply with Australian immigration and workplace relations laws
• have no adverse information against you or your business
• nominate a skilled position. This position must be an occupation that is classified at skill level 1 to 3 in the ANZSCO List for Direct Entry stream

 

What is the minimum salary level to sponsor a candidate under the RSMS?

The employer must pay the market salary rate which is what you would pay an Australian resident in the same position. There is no minimum salary threshold as there is with the subclass 457 visa.

 

My business has  Standard Business Sponsorship in place and I have a candidate who has been on a 457 visa for the past 2 years. Can I nominate them?

Yes, you can nominate the candidate under the Temporary Residence Transition stream.

You will need to:

• offer a position which is consistent or similar to the position for which the candidate was sponsored under the subclass 457 visa program.
• Demonstrate the business continues or is committed to meet the training requirements under the subclass 457 visa program for the Temporary Residence Transition stream.