Standard Business Sponsorship (SBS) is required if you wish to sponsor a foreign worker through the Temporary Skill Shortage visa (TSS visa – subclass 482) or Skilled Employer-Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 494).
Requirements and Benefits
To be successful in applying for the SBS, you must be able to demonstrate that:
- the business is operating lawfully (which can be in or outside Australia); and
- the business does not have any adverse information recorded against it (e.g. the business has been found guilty by a court of an offence).
For Australian businesses, you are required to further demonstrate that:
- the business has proven track record showing its commitment to employ local labour; and
- no discriminatory recruitment practices will be engaged for this position.
Once approved, SBS is valid for 5 years and allows you to sponsor an eligible employee to apply for the TSS visa (subclass 482) and Subclass 494 visa.
When you are an sponsor
Since SBS is approved, you are required to meet the following obligations:
- the foreigner workers are protected from exploitation;
- the visas were used to meet genuine skills shortage; and
You must notify the Department in writing if:
- there are any changes to the business structure, the business’s contact details, the business financial situation (e.g. becomes insolvent or is bankrupt);
- the foreign worker ceases employment with you, has a change in duties or did not commence working with you.
There are other obligations on SBS sponsors such as:
Assume all costs yourself
You must pay and assume all of the following costs yourself:
- cost of becoming a sponsor: AUD$420
- nomination charges
- migration agent costs associated with sponsorship and nomination applications
Australian employers which are Standard Business Sponsors are eligible to apply for accreditation to become an Accredited Sponsor.
Benefit
Accredited Sponsors receive faster turnaround on all subclass 482 visa applications from months to as fast as 5 business days.
The labour market testing requirements are less rigorous comparing to Standard Business Sponsors. Accredited Sponsors can satisfy the labour marketing testing by merely publishing advertisements on their own website, without the need to advertise on national recruitment websites/agency.
The sponsored employees of an Accredited Sponsor are not required to provide police clearance for each country they have lived in. This reduces the processing times for preparing such applications.
Requirements
Apart from meeting all requirements to be a Standard Business Sponsor, one of the following categories of requirements must be met:
1.Commonwealth, state and territory government agencies:
The workforce comprises 75% Australian workers.
2. Australian Trusted Traders
- You must be an Australian Trusted Trader;
- The workforce comprises 75% Australian workers;
- Written contract of employment for all TSS Visa (Subclass 482) which meets the National Employment Standards (unless their occupation is exempt from this requirement); and
- You have paid all Australian employees in accordance with an Enterprise Agreement or an internal salary table that mirrors the market salary rates for all occupation in your business at the time.
3. Low volume usage and high percentage of Australian workers (at least 85%)
The workforce comprises 85% Australian workers;
The Department has:
- approved at least 1 TSS visa nomination in the past 2 years; and
- approved more than 97% of the nomination application in the past one year;
The business:
- is not a sole trader or a partnership;
- has an annual turnover of at least AUD $4 million for the past 2 years;
- has been a Standard Business Sponsor for at least 1 year;
- has complied with all obligations for the sponsorship;
- has no adverse monitoring outcomes;
- has paid all Australian employees in accordance with an Enterprise Agreement or an internal salary table that mirrors the market salary rates for all occupation in your business at the time; and
- has written contract of employment for all TSS Visa (Subclass 482) which meets the National Employment Standards (unless their occupation is exempt from this requirement).
4. Start-up business
Requirements for start-up business are largely the same as Category 3 above, however the Department is able to use its discretion to waive some of the time related requirements (e.g. approved at least 1 TSS visa nomination in the past 2 years)
5. High volume usage and medium percentage of Australian workers (at least 75%)
The workforce comprises 75% Australian workers.
The Department has:
- approved at least 10 TSS visa (or subclass 457) nomination in the past 2 years; and
- approved more than 97% of the nomination application in the past 2 year;
The business:
- is not a sole trader or a partnership;
- has an annual turnover of at least AUD $4 million for the past 2 years;
- has been a Standard Business Sponsor for at least 2 year;
- has complied with all obligations for the sponsorship;
- has no adverse monitoring outcomes;
- has paid all Australian employees in accordance with an Enterprise Agreement or an internal salary table that mirrors the market salary rates for all occupation in your business at the time; and
- has written contract of employment for all TSS Visa (Subclass 482) which meets the National Employment Standards (unless their occupation is exempt from this requirement.
6. Major investment in Australia
The Department has:
- approved at least 1 TSS visa (or subclass 457) nomination in the past 1 year; and
- approved more than 97% of the nomination application in the past 1 year.
The business:
- have made a major investment in Australia (of at least AUD$50 million) which has directly generated Australian employment;
- is not a sole trader or a partnership;
- has been a Standard Business Sponsor for at least 1 year;
- has no adverse monitoring outcomes;
- has paid all Australian employees in accordance with an Enterprise Agreement or an internal salary table that mirrors the market salary rates for all occupation in your business at the time; and
- has written contract of employment for all TSS Visa (Subclass 482) which meets the National Employment Standards (unless their occupation is exempt from this requirement).
Temporary Activity Sponsorship (TAS) is required if you wish to sponsor a foreign worker through the
- Temporary Activity Visa (Subclass 408),
- Temporary Work (International Relation) Visa (Subclass 403) (Seasonal Worker Program stream or Pacific Labour Scheme) or
- Training Visa (Subclass 407).
- TAS is valid for up to five years with the option to renew after.
Requirements
To be successful in TAS application, you must be an Australian organisation (including corporation, partnership, association) lawfully established in Australia (except an individual, sole proprietor or sole trader).
Small or start-up businesses may be eligible to apply as long as evidence of active operation and a capability to comply with sponsorship undertaking can be presented.
Specific requirements and exceptions are imposed on some specific streams of the visas. Please contact us for a free consultation to confirm the most appropriate stream for your application.
Sponsor’s obligations
The sponsorship obligations framework requires TAS Sponsors to make sure that the sponsored employees:
- working conditions meet Australian standards;
- are not exploited by the TAS Sponsors; and
- are employed for the visa programmes’ intended purpose.
TAS Sponsors are also required to observe the following obligations:
- Obligation to cooperate with inspectors;
- Obligation to ensure same terms and conditions of employment for sponsored employees and Australian employees;
- Obligation to ensure sponsored employees work or participate in nominated occupation, program or activity;Obligation to keep records and provide records and information to the Minister;
- Obligation to keep the Department of Home Affairs informed when certain events occur (e.g. address changed, the sponsored employee doesn’t participate in the position, etc);
- Obligation to send a notice of an event or change to the Department
- Obligation not to recover, charge or transfer certain costs (e.g. migration agent fees, costs of becoming a TAS Sponsor); and
- Obligation to pay costs to locate and remove an unlawful non-citizen.
Cost
AUD$420
- Extending your sponsorship approval
- Your approval as a temporary activities sponsor is usually valid for 5 years.
- To continue to sponsor visa applicants for more than 5 years, apply to extend your sponsorship approval before it expires.
- If your sponsorship approval expires before you apply to extend it, you must reapply and be approved before you can sponsor another visa applicant.
Labour Agreements are contracts negotiated between an employer, employer group or industry group and the Commonwealth Government (represented by the Department) to allow the employer to sponsor a set number of foreign skilled worker subject to various requirements to work in Australia for the position prescribed in the Labour Agreements.
General requirements
The Labour Agreement must:
- set out the relevant skills shortage in the business and explain why these vaccines cannot be filled by Australian workers;
- provide a pathway of either permanent or temporary entry into Australia;
- provide a maximum number of foreign workers needed; and
- specify the age, skill and English requirements for the position in skills shortage.
Labour Agreements are generally in effect for five years and provide for visas to be granted under one or more of the following visas:
- Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa (subclass 482);
- Employer Nomination Scheme visa (subclass 186); and
- Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 494)
