Guide to Sponsorship in Australia: Bringing Skilled Workers to Your Business

Are you looking to hire skilled workers for your business from overseas? If so, you may want to consider becoming a sponsor. As a sponsor, you can bring skilled workers to Australia who possess the skills and experience you need but are unable to find in the local labour market.

In this blog, we will provide an overview of what sponsoring entails, who can become a sponsor, who you can sponsor, and how to sponsor.

Overview of Sponsoring

The Australian Government is committed to protecting the health of Australians during the global pandemic and ensuring that skilled migration is calibrated to fill critical skills needs that support Australia’s economic recovery from COVID-19.

To ensure that job opportunities for Australian workers are prioritized, safeguards exist within employer-sponsored visas. These safeguards include requiring market salary rates to be paid to sponsored workers, mandating a minimum salary of $53,900, limiting eligible occupations to those in demand in the Australian labour market, requiring employers to contribute to the Skilling Australians Fund, requiring overseas workers to hold relevant Australian registration, licenses, and certificates, and imposing skills, English language, age, and work experience requirements for overseas workers.

For some visa types, you must show that you cannot find a suitable Australian worker. If you nominate an overseas worker, you will need to test the local labour market. In light of the economic impacts of COVID-19, employer-sponsored applications will be subject to further scrutiny to ensure that job opportunities for Australian workers are being prioritized.

Who Can Become a Sponsor?

Any legally established and operating business can apply to be a sponsor. You can learn more about different types of sponsorship and how to become a sponsor on the Australian Government’s website.

If your business or organization is party to a Labour Agreement, you can also sponsor overseas workers. A business or organization can hold different types of sponsorships simultaneously. For example, they may hold both a Standard Business Sponsorship and a Labour Agreement at the same time.

Your obligations as a sponsor and the support you must provide to the visa holder depend on your responsibilities as an employer and the type of visa you and the worker choose.

Who You Can Sponsor

If you are unable to find an Australian citizen or permanent resident with the skills and experience needed for the job, you might be able to sponsor a skilled worker to come to Australia temporarily or permanently.

You can sponsor someone who is:

• Living overseas who wishes to travel and work in Australia
• Already in Australia on another type of visa which does not currently allow them to work
• Already living and working on another visa in Australia

You can also take over the sponsorship of people holding a Temporary Work Skilled Visa (subclass 457) or a Temporary Skill Shortage Visa (subclass 482).

With limited exceptions, the job you sponsor the overseas worker to do must be on the Skilled Occupations List. If the job is not on the list, you might be able to negotiate a labour agreement. For high-skill niche roles that cannot be filled through existing visa programs, you could access the Global Talent Scheme.

If visa holders already have work rights or can apply for a visa on their own, you do not need to sponsor them. To bring someone to Australia for other temporary activities such as sports training programs, seasonal work, or as performers, you can sponsor them for another type of work visa.

How to Sponsor

There are different visa options for sponsoring, and the steps you need to take may differ between visas. You can learn about the general process of sponsoring a worker.

As part of the process, you will need to nominate a worker for the occupation you would like to employ them for. Keep in mind that there are costs associated with sponsoring.

Book your Migration Consultation today to get professional help with your work visa sponsorship application. Our experts are waiting to guide you every step of the way.

Remember:

This post is for general informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional immigration advice. Given the uniqueness of every case, engaging with a registered migration agent is highly recommended for bespoke guidance and to navigate the specific details of your situation effectively. Book a visa consultation with a Registered Migration Agent

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