The TSS subclass 482 visa was introduced on 18 March 2018. It replaced the 457 visa which will no longer be granted. While applications for the 457 Visa are no longer being accepted, applications that were filed before 18 March 2018 will still be processed. View the full list of 457 and 482 Visa differences here.

10 points on the TSS 482 Visa:

1. Stages and Streams
2. Labour Market Testing
3. Training Requirements and Sponsor Obligations
4. Genuine Need for Position
5. The Annual Market Salary Rate (AMSR)
6. Skills Assessments and Work Experience requirements
7. Providing Complete Documents
8. School Fees and Giving Birth in Australia
9. Alternatives to the 482
10. Pathway to PR in Australia

 1) Stages and Streams In The TSS 482 Visa

A key feature of the TSS Visa 482 is that it splits the list into three streams:

• Short-Term stream
  • $1,330, per applicant over the age of 18.
• Medium-Term stream
  • $2,770, per applicant over the age of 18.
• Labour Agreement Stream
  • $2,770 per applicant over the age of 18.

Short-Term stream:

• Only allowed visa for duration of up to 2 years
• Only one onshore renewal possible – this means that after 4 years on TSS the applicant will have to go offshore to apply again.
• Occupations listed on STSOL
• No pathway to PR provided for short term occupation (unless covid-19 concessions apply for 186 TRT Stream, this is a new temporary concession for 482 Visa short term to PR 186)

Medium-term stream:

• TSS visas granted for up to 4 years
• No limit on number of onshore renewals
• Occupations listed MLTSSL
• Offers a pathway to Australian PR after 3 years holding visa with the same employer through:
  • ENS Temporary Transition (subclass 186)
  • (Only for certain applicants)RSMS Temporary Transition (subclass 187)

This means that if you are applying through the medium-term stream, your 482 visa will be valid for up to 4 years. You will then be able to meet permanent employer sponsored visa requirements, which are not available to 2-year TSS visa holders. You should note that if you are applying under the Short-term stream, you will need to meet Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) requirements.

We have writtern a blog related to the GTE issue for student visa in the 7 Policy Reforms For Australian Migration

Labour Agreement Stream:

The Labour Agreement stream is for where occupations are not on the TSS list. The employer applies for a Labour Agreement to allow them to sponsor specific occupations not on the list or to access certain concessions to requirements.

This includes DAMA, industry labour agreements, GTEs and company-specific labour agreement.

2) Labour Market Testing

While there are many requirements for the labour market testing, the most important features include:

• Advertising in at least three instances or mediums (one of which must be Workforce Australia)
• Running the job ad for at least 28 days
• Job ads must have been run in the last 4 months before lodging nomination stage
• Mentioning the salary of the position in the advert (If salary is less than $96,400)
• You may be exempted from the Labour Market Testing, if International Trade Obligations apply.

However, once the Skilling Australians Fund is implemented, 28 days of advertisement will be required.

3) Training Requirements and Sponsor Obligations

Since the Skilling Australians Fund was implemented, the TSS 482 visa programme no longer utilises training benchmarks A or B which were used by the 457 visa. Instead, employers have to contribute towards the Skilling Australians Fund by paying the nomination training contribution charge upfront when lodging the nomination application. The levy will differ according to the length of the visa and size of business. There are a large number of requirements for approved 482 Business Sponsors and 482 visa holders to comply with. 

Conditions applicable for business include:

• Applicant works in the nominated occupation
• Business should retain all the records
• Cooperate with any inspections

Conditions applicable for the applicant:

• Primary applicant can only work for the approved sponsor
• There are a limited number of occupations with exemption to work rights
• They must inform Department of Home Affairs if applicant stops working
• Must find have new nomination within 60 days if employment ends
• Ensure equivalence between Australians and foreign workers

The department undertakes monitoring upon all approved business sponsors.

4) Genuine Need for The Nominated Position

There must be a genuine need for the nominated position, which must be on the 482 occupation list. A leading reason for refusals is failing to demonstrate that the position is genuine and required for the business. The 482 occupation list can be regularly revised by the department, so you will need to check the list to see if your occupation is there when you are lodging the 482 nomination application. It is highly advised that all applicants submit strong and supported nomination applications for the 482 Visa.

5) The Annual Market Salary Rate (AMSR)

The Annual Market Salary Rate (AMSR) replaces the market salary rate previously required for the 457 visa applications. The AMSR is now more defined with strict differentiation between monetary and non-monetary remuneration. The salary must be at or above the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT).This is the income threshold that is set by the Department of Home Affairs. Currently, the TSMIT is set at $53,900.

We advise that employers check with their migration agents or immigration lawyer to ensure the structure of the remuneration package for their sponsored employee meets AMSR requirements. Having too much of a non-monetary component as remuneration may result in the AMSR not being met.

6) Skills Assessments and Work Experience Requirements

Currently, a specified list of occupation and country of passport pairing are required to provide skills assessments for the TSS visa application. The list required to do skills assessments is mainly for trade related occupations plus for the occupation of program and project coordinator. The Department has not made any steps to extend this requirement so far. When the skills assessments are made compulsory (due to holding a specified passport when applying for a specified occupation), applicants will need to make sure they have enough time to complete the skills assessments before visa application is lodged, otherwise different options may need to be considered.

There is a new work experience requirements for the TSS 482 visa.

• TSS visa applicants will now need to demonstrate 2 years of relevant work experience before they can apply. 

This is a major change from the previous 457 visa requirements. Many international graduates may not have the 2 years of full-time and relevant work experience to apply for the TSS visa. This has been a major barrier to international graduates in Australia being able to seek employer sponsorship.

7) Providing Complete Documents

To avoid refusal of any application stage, it is important that all necessary documents are attached to your application. Furthermore, there have been cases where applications are refused due to only one or two documents missing from the employer or applicant. After the application is submitted, applicants may not be requested to provide further documents, especially for nomination applications, so it is advisable that all documents be attached to the online applications at the time of submission.

8) School Fees and Giving Birth in Australia

TSS visa holders need to be aware there if you have school age children enrolled in public schools, additional school fees may apply. For example in the state of South Australia, TSS 482 visa holders are expected to pay a levy for each child in school, which can amount to:

• Approximately $5900 per primary student per year
• Approximately $7000 per secondary student per year

Also, many temporary work visa holders are unaware that your health insurance coverage may not cover delivery or birth of newborn children in Australia. If you give birth to a baby in Australia while holding a TSS 482 visa, you may have to pay medical fees applicable to a foreign visitor, which will be a high amount.

9) Alternatives to The 482 Visa

If your Occupation is not on the list or you do not have the experience:

• Labour Agreement –The Labour agreement process is usually extended and would require professional assistance.
• Other temporary work visas such as the 407 training visa or 400 specialist temporary activity visas might be considered.
• Partner visa - might be an option if you have an Australian Partner.
• Or the Student visa – to increase your skills, as Australian has world class education providers

This is not the full range of options, but just some of the most common.

10) Pathway to Australian Permanent Residency (PR)

Permanent Australian residency is only available for the medium-term stream and not the short-term stream. For Medium-term Stream Visa:

• The pathway will be through the temporary transition ENS 186 (or RSMS 187 Visa, in rare cases)
• After working with the approved Sponsor for three years, applicants can apply for a Permanent Visa

Previous holders of the 457 visa may still be able to access a two year pathway to permanent residency. Legacy 457 visa workers may also be able to access an age concession.

Do you need help with a Sponsorship or TSS visa application?

At Work Visa Lawyers we are experienced in assisting applicants in all matters relating to Australian visa applications.

• If you are a holder of a 457 visa or intend to apply under the new rules, we can assist you.
• We assist businesses of all sizes that are looking to sponsor and nominate a visa applicant.
• Advise businesses how to meet the Labour Market Testing requirements.
• We advise visa applicants on their eligibility to make the 482 visa application or who are transitioning from a 457 or 482 to permanent migration.
• We assist permanent migration for eligible 457 visa holders through the ENS 186 visa pathway.
• Advise visa holders with responses to the Department meeting the 8607.
• Advise visa holders with responses to ‘Notices of Intention to Cancel’.
• Advise Employers of their ongoing sponsorship obligations.
• Assist employer with application for accredited sponsorship.

If you are a potential visa applicant, please book a consultation to discuss your visa options. We are experienced in all types of Employer Sponsored visas.

Our areas of expertise include Skilled Migration visas, Business Skills Migration visas, Employer Sponsored Work Visas, Partner and other Family Migration visas as well as the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) Review, Judicial Review and Ministerial Intervention.

If you require further information regarding your Australia visa options you can contact us through:

(08) 8351 9956 or +61 8 8351 9956

or   This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

There are always work needed from both sides for any employer sponsored visa in Australia.

- Employer Sponsored Visa nomination for employer

- Visa application for employee (main applicant)

As an employer trying to fill a skills shortage in your organisation, the requirements for sponsoring an overseas worker can feel overwhelming sometime. If you do not have a good team who is able to handle it, Work Visa Lawyers is here to help.

As skills shortages continue to get worse rather than better, I hope to set out some of the key steps in any employer sponsorship process to make the system easier to understand. Of course, this short blog could not include every possible requirement and is a starting point only.

We can summarise the “skeleton” of an employer sponsorship program as:

• Standard Business Sponsorship (if required)
• DAR endorsement (if required)
• Labour Agreement negotiation (exclusively for Labour Agreement Stream including DAMA)
• Nomination application (may require Labour Market Testing)
• Visa application stage

Before Diving In

The very first step before jumping in is determining which of the employer sponsorship streams is most appropriate for you and your business.

The most common visa options for employer sponsored visas include:

• Temporary Skills Shortage Visa 482 ( TSS 482 Visa) - This includes Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMA)
• 186 Employer Nominated Scheme ( Permanent) Visa
• 494 Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) Visa

The main factors for business to decide are:

• The nature of the role you are trying to fill
• How long you need to fill it

If you have already conducted recruitment efforts at this point and located the worker you are looking to sponsor, their age, English language ability, qualifications or years of work experience can influence which programs you are limited to.

The DAMA program is specifically designed to allow sponsorship of workers in areas of key need where the worker may be older or have a lower level of English language ability than is permitted under the other programs.

Labour Market Testing (job ads)

Labour Market Testing is an important part of the Government's systems for “putting Australian workers first”. The requirements have grown more rigid of the last 4 years and have moved further away from modern business practices.

Often the Standard Business Sponsorship is described as the first step of “sponsoring a foreign worker”. However, as Labour Market Testing takes a minimum of 4 weeks to run properly, this is often the first thing you want to do to get your new staff member onboard as soon as possible.

Generally, 3 online ads are the best way to go, one of which being on JobActive. There are requirements to include the salary if the worker will be paid under a certain threshold.

Most DAMA programs currently allow for 2 job ads that have been run in the last 12 months before submitting the linked nomination application.

Labour Market Testing is not required where International Trade Obligations override the Government’s interest in putting Australian workers first.

It is important to note that the 186 visa program does not formally require Labour Market Testing, however, conducting job ads can be a good way to demonstrate that the position being nominated is genuine in the Direct Entry stream.

Standard Business Sponsorship

If you are using the medium-term stream or short-term stream of the 482 visa program, or the employer-sponsored stream of the 494 visa program, your first application to the Department of Home Affairs will be a Standard Business Sponsorship.

This is centred entirely on your business and requires demonstrating that you are lawfully operating a business (two requirements: lawful and operating). The Department will also consider any adverse information and determine whether your business’ track record is suitable for the employer sponsorship program (this can include records of breaches of laws, especially employment laws, insolvency, or untruthfulness).

Designated Area Representative (DAR) endorsement

For the DAMA program, you need the endorsement of the Designated Area Representative (who would have negotiated the DAMA for the area) before you can “negotiate” a Labour Agreement with the federal government.

Requirements for DAR endorsement are thoroughly unique to the local area and the occupation(s) being nominated.

Generally they will require you to demonstrate that you have a business in the local area, a need to use the program, and will also want to check almost all requirements for the business and visa applicant before endorsing.

Labour Agreement negotiation (DAMA and other labour agreements)

Once endorsed by the DAR if required, the business then applies to the federal government to enter into the desired labour agreement.

If successful, the Department of Home Affairs will send you a labour agreement to sign, which might include a range of different terms depending on the particular labour agreement program being used.

Nomination application

For the sponsoring business, the nomination application is the one constant through all programs. Whether you are using the 482, DAMA, 186, 494 or any other employer-sponsored program: no-one escapes the nomination.

While the Standard Business Sponsorship is not related to any particular roles in the business, and the DAR endorsement and labour agreements can set out multiple roles the business is seeking to fill with overseas labour, the nomination identifies one single position and one single person who will be filling that role.

If you have 5 nurses to fill workforce shortages, that means you will be doing 5 nomination applications – one for each of them.

Visa application

Once all above steps have been successful or at least sent to the Department, the worker can submit their visa application.

This is the main stage where the worker’s qualifications, work experience and English language ability, as well as heath and character, are assessed by the Department. If partner and/or children are included in the application, the Department will be checking that they also meet their own requirements.

Applicant skills and English requirements are set, among other reasons, to ensure that foreign workers are able to enter Australia and fill the required skills shortage quickly and effectively.

Once it’s all over (or is it?)

Once you have the visa, the endpoint of all this, it is time for the worker to travel to Australia to join your business.

Once on-staff, it is important that you comply with all the sponsorship obligations. You can read more about sponsorship obligations here. Obligations will vary to some extent between 482, 186, DAMA and 494, but are largely overlapping for the 482 and 494, as well as the DAMA route of accessing those.

Put simply, it’s important to follow through on the range of commitments made to the Government throughout the sponsorship processes discussed above, most obviously paying the worker at least the guaranteed amounts you had set out. The Department can undertake monitoring activities to ensure this is being done.

Sources/further reading:

• https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/employing-and-sponsoring-someone/sponsoring-workers/learn-about-sponsoring/how-to-sponsor-a-worker
• https://www.workvisalawyers.com.au/services/employer-sponsored-visas/tss-482-visa/tss-482-sponsorship-obligations.html
• https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/employing-and-sponsoring-someone/sponsoring-workers/nominating-a-position/labour-market-testing
• https://www.workvisalawyers.com.au/services/employer-sponsored-visas/tss-482-visa/tss-482-nomination-labour-market-testing-lmt.html

Overview of Australian Skilled Migration and the Employer Sponsored 482 Visa Australia

Australia’s migration program is divided into four streams:

• Family
• Special eligibility
• Child
• Skilled migration program – for migrants with skills to boost productivity and fill gaps in Australia’s labour market

In 2020-21, a total of 160,052 visas were granted and the Skill stream comprised 50.7% of those grants. There are different visa types in the Skill stream such as Skilled regional Visa 491 or Skilled Nominated by State Visa 190, but Employer Sponsored Visa program makes up the largest majority (nearly a third) with 23,503 employer sponsored visas granted.

There are a few major streams for Employer Sponsorship program in Australia: 494 Regional Skilled Employer sponsored, Global Talent Visa which might ask a nominator is a company or an Australian organization, or DAMA, just to name a few

However, within the scope of this article, we will be talking about the Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) 482 visa program 

The Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) 482 Visa program was designed to address identified skills shortages, allowing businesses to enhance their workforce by sponsoring workers from overseas to live and work in Australia on a temporary 482 visa. 

The 482 Visa Australia is getting more popular and being focused by Australian Government in this financial year ending June 2023 to solve the skills crisis in Australia post-pandemic Covid-19.

According to the migration planning levels announced in April, there are 30,000 places added to Skilled Migration program which has 8,000 more allocations for Employer Sponsored Visas in 2022-2023 Financial year.

The government has also announced the new stream for TSS 482 Short Term Visa holders to be eligible to apply for Australian Permanent Residency 186 Visa.

Even though there are just over 200 occupations each on the Short-Term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL) and Medium and Long-Term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL) for the TSS 482 Visa program, certain occupations are clearly in greater demand than others.

Get access to 482 Visa Occupation lists here >>

Which Occupations are in high demand for Employer Sponsored Visa Australia?  

According to data collected in 2021, the most popular occupations in the Employer Sponsored Category can be grouped into 4 key sectors:

• Health (Registered Nurse or General Practitioner)
• Finance and Accounting (Accountants )
• IT (Software Engineer) or ICT Business and Systems Analysts
• Trades (Chef and Automotive like Motor Mechanic)

Most of these occupations are classified in the ANZSCO classification guide as Skill Level 1 (the highest level).

Only 2 of the top 10 occupations are Skill Level 2 (Chefs) or Skill Level 3 (Cooks and Motor Mechanics).

Nominations in the Employer Sponsored space appear to be skewed in favour of a level of skills commensurate with a Bachelor degree or higher qualification (or otherwise 5 years+ of relevant experience).

The majority of these occupations most in demand (except for Cooks) all come under the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL) meaning visa holders can be sponsored for up to 4 years with a pathway to permanent residency from the 482 Visa.

It is necessary to make sure your occupation for 482 Visa is listed in MLTSSL so that you may be eligible for Australian PR

Australia’s growing needs in the Information Technology field is reflected in the published statistics. By far the most common occupation group in the Employer Sponsored category is Software and Applications Programmers.

This is followed by Registered Nurses and Accountants, with ICT Business and Systems Analysts and University Lecturers coming close behind.

Employers across Australia have been calling out about their desperate struggles with skills shortages in critical, high-demand sectors. The demand for skilled workers in these key industries is clearly strong, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Half of these occupations can also be found on the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL), including:

• Accountant (General) (221111)
• Management Accountant (221112)
• Taxation Accountant (221113)
• Civil Engineer (233211)
• Geotechnical Engineer (233212)
• Structural Engineer (233214)
• Transport Engineer (233215)
• General Practitioner (253111)
• Resident Medical Officer (253112)
• Medical Practitioners nec (253999)
• Registered Nurse (Aged Care) (254412)
• Registered Nurse (Critical Care and Emergency) (254415)
• Registered Nurse (Medical) (254418)
• Registered Nurse (Mental Health) (254422)
• Registered Nurse (Perioperative) (254423)
• Registered Nurses nec (254499)
• Analyst Programmer (261311)
• Developer Programmer (261312)
• Software Engineer (261313)
• Software and Applications Programmers nec (261399)
• ICT Security Specialist (262112)
• Chef (351311)

One of the added advantages is the Department of Home Affairs gives priority processing to employer sponsored nomination and visa applications for an occupation on the PMSOL.

These occupations were calculated in the migration report of financial ending 2021 and these are not all the occupations that you can get permanent residency from a TSS 482 Visa.

Moreover, Covid-19 has made a lot of impacts on how the employer sponsored streams go. 

Please be minded that the more popular an occupation is for any migration program, the higher competitiveness you may face against until you meet the eligibility criteria.

Australia: the land of opportunity

A recent look at one of Australia’s popular job recruitment websites revealed more than 10,000 Civil Engineer positions advertised for Civil Engineers, 5000 for Software Engineers, more than 6000 for General Practitioners and an astounding 20,000 advertisements posted for Registered Nurses.

If you have sought-after skills, qualifications and employment background in the IT and health industries, there’s a good chance an Australian employer wants to hire you!

However, choosing the right occupation and work in a great location could be difficult to decide. There are actually many factors to come up with a decision of where to stay and work and what to do.

That is why Work Visa Lawyers are here to help.

If you are skilled workers, Please book an appointment to talk to one of our professional Immigration Lawyers or Registered Migration Agents about the Employer Sponsorship program in Australia.

DAMA program can access either the Labour Agreement stream of the 482 visa, or the Labour Agreement stream of the 494.

For the purposes of this article, I will focus on the DAMA 482 programs and comparing it with TSS 482 Medium Term stream and TSS 482 Short Term Stream.

For anyone who has been on TSS 482 Short term in Australia during the pandemic, you might be eligible for a PR Pathway to 186 Visa. Read TSS 482 Short to PR here !

LATEST AUSTRALIAN IMMIGRATION BLOS FOR APRIL 2022 HERE>

There is a lot of good news in Australia that has been fully open for tourists and all visa holders.

This leads to many new changes in various visa subclasses covered in today’s video such as:

• Skilled Migration program visa 491, 191 and state nomination update
• TSS 482 Visa and DAMA (Designated Area Migration Agreement)
• Skilled recognized graduate visa 476
• Visa 408 covid-19 
• Global Talent Visa
• Agriculture visa program
• Contributory Parent visa 143 and its substitutions

Overview

The DAMA program is currently a very hot topic, with many business owners currently interested in seeking migrant workers through the program or pursuing Australian migration through the program.

DAMAs are great for regional employers, as they facilitate filling skilled and semi-skilled positions which are facing a labour shortage in a designated area. They are adapted to the needs of the local economy and allow business’ to access the workers they need.

For overseas workers, the DAMAs present an opportunity for work and migration for workers who may not otherwise have access to the TSS and ENS programs. Skilled and semi-skilled workers in occupations which are not on the Short-Term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL) and Medium and Long-Term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL) may be able to access skilled Australian migration through the DAMA program.

What Is A DAMA?

A DAMA is an agreement arranged by a designated area’s government (such as the NT Government) and the federal government. Employers in the designated area can apply for a streamlined labour agreement to sponsor overseas workers for their business if they are unable to fill the position locally.

What Areas Have A DAMA?

Currently, the only DAMA actively accepting applications is the Northern Territory Designated Area Migration Agreement Mark 2 (“NT DAMA Mk II”). It is Mk II as it replaced the previous Northern Territory’s DAMA.

Warrnambool in regional Victoria has been approved for a DAMA, but this has not yet open for applications. Warrnambool City Council has indicated that details of this DAMA will be released in the first quarter of 2019, so we expect more information will be available soon.

Also, there are potentially more areas to be added in the near future including, Orana region of NSW, Pilbara and the Kalgoorlie-Boulder regions in WA, as well as Cairns in Far North Queensland.

Recent reports by the Advertiser indicated that a DAMA visa is also expected soon for South Australia immigration.

What Visa Are Included With The DAMA Program?

The DAMA program uses the “labour agreement” stream of the Temporary Skills Shortage visa (“TSS”) subclass 482 and the Employer Nomination Scheme (“ENS”) subclass 186 visa. Availability of each type depends upon the rules of the particular DAMA which applies.

For the Northern Territory, (the only designated area accepting applications at the time of publication) you can apply for the 186 visa under the DAMA stream if you have spent 3 of the last 4 years working for an employer on a TSS visa under the DAMA program. This requires your employer to nominate you for the permanent visa as well.

As such, the permanent ENS 186 visa is not accessible directly through the DAMA program.

The advantage over TRT for 187 and 186 is the concessions at the TSS stage, as well as the freedom to move between different DAMA sponsors in the NT, without resetting the time needed to reach the 3 years for permanent sponsorship. NT DAMA TSS holders can apply to become a permanent resident after 3 years working on an NT DAMA visa.

We expect that the other proposed DAMAs will include similar pathways to PR, based on the model created by the NT government.

What Concessions Are Available Within The DAMA?

As indicated above, the NT DAMA Mk II is the only DAMA which (at the time of publication) has published their guidelines. The DAMA visa requirements consist of concessions based on the original requirements of either the TSS or ENS visa depending on which visa you are applying through.

While the requirements of the short-term and medium-term streams of the TSS 482 visa can be difficult for regional businesses (as their requirements are designed to fit capital cities, as well as regional areas) the DAMA program includes concessions adapted to the conditions of the local labour market. Essentially, the DAMA requirements are to assist in processing applicants to regional areas that may not be able to fulfill the TSS or ENS criteria.

The concessions available under the NT DAMA include:

•          English requirement concessions (IELTS overall 5 with a minimum of 5.6 in speaking and listening only, NO minimum requirement for writing and reading)

•           Skills concessions for certain occupations

•           Broader occupation lists compared to the TSS short-term and medium-term lists. These are more adapted to the local needs of NT businesses

• Employment conditions are better aligned with local conditions – more flexibility in employment contracts compared to the rigid requirements for short-term and medium-term stream TSS.

•           10% TSMIT Concession (the requirement for annual salary to be no less than $53,900 is not appropriate for all occupations, so an adjusted minimum of $4,8510* applies to NT DAMA Mk II)

It is difficult to say which concessions will be available in the Warrnambool and South Australian DAMAs, however, we expect to see similar flexibility to better meet the practical needs of local employers and to facilitate migration of skilled workers in local occupation shortages.

*Note: for TSMIT concessions, all skilled migrants within the DAMA must still be paid the same or more as an Australian worker that would be doing the same occupation.

Does The Skilling Australians Fund Levy Apply To A DAMA Visa?

Yes, nomination applications for a TSS or ENS under the labour agreement stream attract the Skilling Australians Fund (“SAF”) levy unless the nominated occupation is for a religious worker.

For a TSS DAMA, the SAF will be $1,200 per year for a business with a turnover of less than $10 million and $1,800 for a business with a turnover of $10 million or more.

For an ENS DAMA, the SAF will be $3,000 flat for a business with a turnover of less than $10 million and $5,000 flat for a business with a turnover of $10 million or more.

What Are The Steps For A TSS DAMA Visa?

Applying for a visa under the DAMA program is a 4-step process.

The below is tailored to the NT program, however, similar steps would apply once another designated area is open for applications.

1.       The sponsoring business applies to the designated area body (such as the Northern Territory Department of Trade, Business, and Innovation “DBTI”) for endorsement of your business’ labour agreement
2.       The sponsoring business applies to the Department of Home Affairs for a labour agreement
3.       The sponsoring business applies to the Department of Home Affairs for the nomination of an individual worker under the labour agreement
4.       The worker applies for a TSS 482 visa under the labour agreement stream

What Are The Costs Involved In The TSS DAMA?

At the time of publication, the costs for all stages of an NT DAMA TSS application are:

•          Cost to apply for NT endorsement of labour agreement: Nil
•          Cost to request a labour agreement: $420
•          Department of Home Affairs labour agreement stream nomination           charge: $330
•          Skilling Australians Fund levy (due when lodging nomination application

Department of Home Affairs visa application charges:

•    A base of $2,455
•    $2,455 for each additional applicant over 18
•    $615 for each additional applicant under 18

As we have commented on the past in our review of 2018 and forecast for 2019, we expect to see more DAMAs appearing in different regional Australian areas. The DAMA is an attractive tool for regional areas to remedy labour shortages and support their local businesses who are unable to find the labour they need to best carry on their business.

Do You Need Help With An Australian Visa Application?

At Work Visa Lawyers our team of immigration lawyers and migration agents are experienced in assisting applicants in all matters relating to Australian visa applications, including state sponsorship applications. Our areas of expertise include Skilled Migration visas, Business Skills Migration visas, Employer-Sponsored Work Visas, Partner, and other Family Migration visas as well as Migration Review Tribunal, Judicial Review and Ministerial Intervention.

If you require further information regarding your Australia visa options you can contact us through:

(08) 8351 9956 or   This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Genuine Position Requirements for the ENS Subclass 186 Visa, TSS subclass 482 Visa, & RSMS Subclass 187 Visa. How To Prove Nominated Position Is A Genuine Position.

Australian Occupation Lists & Skills Assessments for TSS Subclass 482 Visa, Employer Sponsored Permanent Visa - ENS 186 - RSMS 187 - Vetassess (Direct Streams & Temporary Resident Transition Streams) 

We are often approached by clients who are confused as to whether their occupation requires a skills assessment in order to be eligible for a TSS subclass 482 visa or other employer-sponsored visa.

The new subclass 482 TSS visa has replaced the subclass 457 visa.

This is the 10 Things you need to know about the 482 visa.

Australian Immigration News Video May 2018 - SAF, TSS 482, Regional Visas

In an earlier article posed on 28 March 2018, we discussed the Government’s plans to introduce the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) which employers would have to contribute to before a work visa can be approved.

We can now confirm that the legislation which introduces the fund was passed by the Australian Senate on 8 May 2018.

What is the Skilling Australians Fund?

The Australian Government introduced the SAF to fund projects that support apprenticeships and traineeships, and will focus on training Australian workers in new skills.

"This fund will ensure an ongoing source of revenue to support Australian skills development and the take-up of apprenticeships and traineeships. The new fund will replace the existing training benchmarks, which have not been successful in generating training opportunities to allow Australians to fill skill gaps,” the government said in the Budget.

A new visa to attract highly skilled workers from around the globe is set to increase Australian visa options.

The Australian Government has announced that the new Global Talent Visa will come into effect from 1^st July 2018 and will be trialled for one year.

It is believed that the new visa will attract people with exceptional technical skills and talent, which can be transferred to the Australian work-force and in turn encourage business growth.

“Industry figures say globally mobile, highly skilled and experienced staff can act as ‘job multipliers’ in Australian businesses, helping them to hire more local staff and fill critical areas of need.”

 - Minister for Jobs and Innovation, Michaelia Cash

This is an older article. Click here to learn the current criteria for the Global Talent Visa

Highlights of the new Global Talent Visa Scheme

A key feature of the Global Talent Scheme is that it will be split into two streams:

• Established business stream
• Start-up stream

Successful applicants under both streams will have access to a 4-year visa within the Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) Visa Programme which came into effect on 18 March 2018, providing visa holders a pathway to permanent residency after three years and certain age cap concessions.

Applications will be simpler and have faster processing times.

The new visa scheme in its current form is not limited to a specific list of occupations.

The features of the two streams:

Established business stream

• Business must be publicly listed or have an annual turnover of at least A$4 million for each of the past 2 years
• Access up to 20 positions per year
• Available to accredited sponsors and other businesses
• If the position ends, the visa holder has 60 days to find a new sponsor and a new visa or depart Australia
• Business must show a good history i.e. no breaches of workplace or immigration law
• Business must demonstrate a track record of giving first preference to Australian workers
• Labour market testing for the specific position
• Applicants must meet health, character and security requirements
• They must have no family relationship with directors/shareholders
• Qualifications must be compatible with the highly skilled role
• Applicant must have at least 3 years work experience directly relevant to position
• Capacity to pass on skills and help develop Australians workers
• Position must have minimum annual earnings of A$180,000

 Start-up stream

• Business operates in STEM-related (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) field
• A ‘start-up authority’ must endorse the business
• Access up to 5 positions per year
• Business must show a good history i.e. no breaches of workplace or immigration law
• Business must demonstrate a track record of giving first preference to Australian workers
• If the position ends (eg the start-up ceases trading) the visa holder has 60 days to find a new sponsor and a new visa or depart Australia
• Labour market testing for the specific position
• Applicants must meet health, character and security requirements
• They must have no family relationship with directors/shareholders
• Qualifications must be compatible with the highly skilled role
• At least 3 years work experience directly relevant to position
• Capacity to pass on skills and develop Australian workers
• Minimum annual earnings at the market salary rate (this can include equity, but must have a cash component that is no less than the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (currently A$53,900)).

More developments in the Entrepreneur/Start-up space

There is increasing interest in the area of innovation and entrepreneurship. The South Australian State Government has also recently announced that, with the cooperation of the Federal Government, South Australia will be trialling a new visa to attract budding entrepreneurs.

The newly announced South Australian Entrepreneurs visa is consistent with the South Australian Government’s aim to make Adelaide the start-up capital of Australia. We will provide more details as they become available.

In Conclusion

The Government recognises that there is increasing competition internationally for people with high-tech skills and experience, and believes that the new Global Talent Visa will allow Australian businesses to access the best talent across the world, leading to business growth, innovation, skills transfer and job creation.

From now until the visa is introduced on 1^st July 2018, the initial settings will be refined, with an industry advisory group to provide ongoing guidance.

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