Employer Sponsorship Visa: Questions and Answers

Finding a sponsor in Australia means that you are looking for an employer to hire you as a skilled worker, and you can only work for your sponsor as long your employer is sponsoring your visa to work and live in Australia.

This is regulated by the Employer-Sponsored program. There are two main parts to the program:

1. TSS – Temporary Skilled Shortage visas. This is the common used part of the program. As a basic requirement, the visa applicant has to have a relevant qualification or work experience to meet the required skill level plus at least 2 years of relevant experience. Depending on the occupation, whether it is on the Short-Term List or the Medium/Long Term list will depend on how long the visa can be granted for. A visa where the occupation is on the Short-Term List can only be granted for a maximum period of two years and another two years can be applied for at the end of the two years.
2. 2. A visa on the Medium/Long Term List can be applied for up to 4 years and after the 3 years the visa holder can apply for Permanent Residence under the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS).

Sponsoring employers do not have the power to cancel or change a visa, as this is exclusively managed by the Australian Government. Sponsors have certain obligations which they are expected to meet. These include paying at least the minimum wage or the relevant ‘market salary rate’ under which the nomination was approved, providing a safe workplace, providing payslips, superannuation and taxation documents to the employee, legal pay rates, leave conditions, shift arrangements and dismissal processes to which Australian employees would be entitled. In other words, they need to pay same entitlements to overseas staff as they do for Australian employees.

Who can become a sponsor?

An Australian business as well as overseas businesses employer who is actively and lawfully operating a business in Australia, with a genuine need to fill a vacancy within the business and a satisfactory record of compliance with immigration law and other workplace-related law would be eligible. The employer would be expected to have financial documents as well as other documents to demonstrate they are actively operating to present as part of the application. Start-up business who are newly trading/operating are also eligible to apply for sponsorship approval.

Which jobs can be sponsored?

An employee can be sponsored if the vacancy corresponds to an occupation on the TSS List of Occupations. In cases where the employer agrees that the applicant can apply for ENS Direct Entry, the occupation has to be on the Medium- and Long-Term List of occupations.

In TSS applications (two or up to 4 years sponsorship visas) The employer has an obligation to advertise the vacancy for at least the minimum salary specified for the occupation in a government Gazette Notice. Specific countries who have a trade agreement with Australia Labour Market Testing is not required. These include Singapore, Korea, China, Japan, Thailand, Canada, Vietnam and NZ

How to sponsor a worker?

If you are an employer who is looking to sponsor an employee, there are different visa options for sponsoring in Australia, with different steps that need to be taken. For a general advice, talk to the team at AustraliaMigrate today, we will guide you through the process and ensure it’s all hassle-free, explain what it takes including the costs involved.