Subclass 494 - Labour Agreement Stream

Subclass 494- Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) Visa

The subclass 494 Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (SESR) visa allows employers to sponsor overseas workers to live and work in regional Australia on a temporary basis. This visa is designed to assist regional employers who are unable to meet their skilled Australian workforce needs from the local labour market. The visa is valid for a five-year period, with visa holders able to apply for a permanent visa if they meet the relevant criteria. The minimum requirements for SESR visas are as follows:

Labour Agreement Stream

Employer

In general, the business seeking to employ you must:

be party to a labour agreement. There are several labour agreement types including:
- Industry agreements, for employers in specific industries with ongoing labour shortages. The industries currently covered by labour agreements are: dairy; fishing; meat; minister of religion; on-hire; pork; restaurant (fine dining); advertising; and horticulture;
- Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMA), which is an overarching agreement between the Australian government and a regional, state or territory authority, giving access to more workers than a standard skilled migration program. There are currently DAMAs in place for: Orana, NSW; Northern Territory, NT; Far North Queensland & Townsville, QLD; Adelaide City Technology and Innovation Advancement & South Australia Regional, SA; Goulburn Valley & Great South Coast, VIC; East Kimberley, Pilbara, South West & The Goldfields, WA;
- Project Agreements (PA), for project companies with genuine skills shortages during the construction phase of resources or infrastructure projects;
- Company-specific agreements, for employers with a genuine skills need that cannot be met by Australian workers, and which is not already covered by an industry labour agreement, DAMA or PA;
- Global Talent Employer Sponsored (GTES) agreements, for employers sponsoring workers in highly-skilled niche positions that cannot be filled by Australian workers or through other standard visa programmes.

be actively and lawfully operating in Australia
meet any conditions for entering into the relevant labour agreement e.g. genuine need for skilled employees, inability to source suitable Australian employees

Note: The nature of the conditions that the business must meet will depend upon the relevant labour agreement. Please contact us for further details.

In addition, there must not be any adverse information known that is relevant to the business’s suitability as an approved sponsor.

NOTE: Adverse information includes (but is not limited to) contraventions of Commonwealth, State or Territory Laws relating to matters such as immigration, industrial relations or taxation; pending investigations or disciplinary actions; being the subject of administrative action for possible contravention of the law; insolvency; or having provided bogus documents or false/misleading information to the Department of Home Affairs (the DOHA).

Nominated Position

In general, and unless specifically exempt or a labour agreement concession applies, the position to be filled must:

be a genuine, full-time position that is included in the employer’s labour agreement

NOTE: Occupations included in a particular labour agreement may be subject to additional requirements (e.g. work experience, location, type of business operated by the sponsor, nature of position). Please contact us for further details based on your particular circumstances.

be in a designated regional area of Australia
be likely to exist for at least 5 years
have a salary that is:
- at least $53,900 per year (excluding any non-monetary benefits) unless concessions apply AND
- at least the annual market salary rate (AMSR) for the nominated occupation

NOTE: the AMSR for your nominated occupation (excluding non-monetary benefits) must also be no less than $53,900 per year. The AMSR is the salary that an Australian earns (or would earn) for performing equivalent work on a full-time basis for a year in the same workplace at the same location. You will be exempt from this requirement if your salary is more than $250,000 per year. Any permitted concessions to this requirement will be described in the labour agreement.

be subject to terms and conditions of employment that are no worse than those that apply (or would apply) to Australians performing equivalent work in the same location
have been subjected to ‘Labour Market Testing’ (LMT) i.e. the sponsor must have attempted to recruit a suitably skilled and qualified Australian to work in the nominated position. This requires the sponsor to provide evidence that it has advertised the position within the last 4 months, for at least 4 weeks, unless flexible arrangements apply

NOTE: Alternative LMT criteria apply in certain circumstances. Evidence provided in support of LMT must meet strict criteria regarding the location, type, content and duration of the advertisement. Please contact us for further information regarding the type of LMT required for the nomination.

Visa Applicant

In general, as the visa applicant you must:

unless a labour agreement concession applies, be under 45 years of age
have the relevant skills that the labour agreement specifies for the nominated position. This generally includes three years of full-time work experience in your nominated occupation (or a related field), unless a labour agreement concession applies

NOTE: Certain applicants will be required to undergo a formal skills assessment, which must be commenced prior to lodging the visa application. Please contact us for further details based on your particular circumstances

genuinely intend to work in the nominated position
have the level of English proficiency specified by the labour agreement
meet any mandatory licensing, registration, or professional membership requirements
meet the relevant health and character criteria

Any Questions?