Category: Uncategorized

3 Tips for Newly Established Australian Businesses Sponsoring Overseas Employees

Posted by Rebecca Berkovic on November 11, 2024

Your company began the recruitment process for an important role in the business. The best candidate with the skills and experience you need to fill the role turns out to not be an Australian permanent resident or citizen. However, you need this role filled by the best candidate.

Sponsorship enables an Australian company (or overseas company in certain situations) greater flexibility to hire the best and most skilled and experienced candidate for the role.

However, what happens if your company is a start-up?

What happens if you have been operating for less than 12 months?

If your company has been operating in Australia for less than 12 months, it is considered to be a ‘newly established’ business under the Migration Regulations. Newly established businesses are still able to sponsor skilled overseas employees for Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS)(subclass 482) and Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) (subclass 494) visas as a ‘standard business sponsor.’

Here are three tips in being able to sponsor:

Tip 1:

Bank Statement

If you are running a newly established business it is important to show that you will be able to afford to pay the salaries of your employees and show that you have sufficient cashflow to continue to operate your business.

Since you will not have built up significant financial records, providing a bank statement for the company will assist you in showing that you meet the requirements to register as a standard business sponsor.

Tip 2:

Business Plan

Having a detailed business plan for a newly established business is an important part of showing the Australian Department of Home Affairs that the business.

Tip 3:

Support from your Accountant

It can be helpful to enlist the support of your accountant and provide a letter of support for the business when applying to become a standard business sponsor. Your accountant can provide information about the business and cash projections

Do you need assistance registering your business as a sponsor to give you more flexibility in your hiring solutions?

Please feel free to contact Hartman Immigration.

Disclaimer:

The information on this website is intended only to provide a summary and general overview on relevant matters. It is not intended to be comprehensive nor does it constitute legal advice. You are advised to seek legal or other professional advice before acting or relying on any of the content contained in this website.

INCREASED FLEXIBILITY FOR THE TSS SUBCLASS 482 WORK EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT

Posted by Rebecca Berkovic on October 10, 2024

In order to be eligible for a Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS)(subclass 482) Australian work visa, it is necessary to meet the work experience criteria which requires the visa applicant to work in their nominated (or closely related) occupation for a minimum of two years prior to lodging their visa application.

Policy regarding this criteria previously stated that the work experience was required to have taken place in the last five years before lodging the visa application. However, the Australian Government recently broadened the work experience criteria and removed the requirement that work experience occurred in the previous five years.

This provides greater flexibility to visa applicants for the TSS subclass 482 visa applicants, enabling applicants to provide evidence of work experience in an extended timeframe.

In addition, the Australian Government also made the work experience criteria more flexible as policy for the TSS subclass 482 visa work experience criteria previously stated that casual employment would not count towards meeting the work experience criteria. However, the newly amended policy removes this stipulation and enables visa applicants to count work in their nominated (or closely related) occupation on a casual basis without the requirement for work to be continuous and full-time.

Need Assistance?

Please do not hesitate to contact us at info@hartmanimmigration.com.au for Australian visa assistance and sponsoring skilled overseas workers.

Disclaimer:

ADDITIONAL CHANGES TO AUSTRALIAN VISAS FROM 1 JULY 2024

Posted by Rebecca Berkovic on July 3, 2024

The Australian Federal Government is continuing with its host of reforms to Australian visas and additional changes have been introduced which came into effect on 1 July 2024.

The changes include the following:

Salary Threshold changes for subclass 482 and 494 visa applicants: The Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) will increase from $70,000 to $73,150.
Increased flexibility for subclass 457, 482 and 494 visa holders: From 1 July 2024, t visa conditions for subclass 457, 482, and 494 visa holders has been amended to allow visa holders extended flexibility and additional time to transfer their sponsorship to a new employer. The new visa conditions allow temporary work visa holders to case working for their sponsoring employer for up to 180 days at a time and a maximum time of 365 days in total over their entire visa grant period.
Working Holiday Visa requirements for UK citizens: From 1 July 2024, UK citizens on Australian Working Holiday Visa will no longer need to fulfill regional work requirements to apply for their second and third Working Holiday Visas.
No onshore Student visa option for Visitor and Temporary Graduate visa holders: Visitor and Temporary Graduate visa holders from 1 July 2024 will no longer be able to apply directly for a Student visa whilst onshore in Australia.
New Workplace Justice visa pilot: A new workplace justice visa pilot program is being implemented that will enable temporary migrants to remain in Australia for a period of time to undertake a ‘workplace justice activity.’ This visa will utilise the Subclass 408 Temporary Activity visa stream. The Workforce Justice Visa (WJV) will be implemented as a pilot program and the visa will in general be granted for a period of six and up to 12 months.

Need Assistance?

Please do not hesitate to contact us at info@hartmanimmigration.com.au for Australian visa assistance and sponsoring skilled overseas workers.

Disclaimer:

Innovation and Early Careers Skills Exchange Pilot

Posted by Rebecca Berkovic on June 19, 2024

The Australian Government has announced that as part of the Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement (A-UKFTA) the Innovation and Early Careers Skills Exchange Pilot (IECSEP) will be introduced to provide new opportunities for UK citizens to take their next career step in Australia through the introduction of a new Australian visa stream aimed at facilitating work in Australia for UK citizens.

The purpose of IECSEP is to build on the existing connections between Australia and the UK by establishing a new and streamlined mobility pathway for early career professionals and demonstrated innovators from the UK.

Program Streams:

There are two streams under the IECSEP:

the Early Careers Skills stream, which will allow participants to undertake a short-term placement, secondement, or intra-corporate transfer for up to one year in Australia.
the Innovation stream, which will allow highly skilled and experienced participants, with a demonstrated contribution to innovation, to undertake opportunities for up to three years in Australia.

Eligibility Criteria:

All IECSEP applicants must be able to demonstrate UK citizenship, and that they have adequate financial means to support themselves for the duration of their stay in Australia ($5,000 plus the fare to where the applicant is going to after Australia).

All IECSEP applicants must have a confirmed job in Australia to be eligible to participate in the IECSEP. Applicants will need to provide DFAT with either a letter of employment offer, or a copy of an employment contract, to prove their prospective employment in Australia when they submit their application.

To be eligible for the Early Careers stream applicants must:

be aged between 21 and 45 (inclusive) at the time of application;
hold tertiary qualifications;
have worked for at least 3 months in their current role, and the prospective employment in Australia; must be relevant to the applicant’s field of work in their current role; and
have prospective employment in Australia in an occupation defined at the ANZSCO Skill Levels 1, 2 or 3.

To be eligible for the Innovation stream applicants must:

have a demonstrated contribution to innovation;
be highly skilled;
be highly experienced; and
have prospective employment in Australia in an occupation defined at the ANZSCO Skill Level 1.

Application Information:

Total visas available under the IECSEP will be 1,000 in the first year, and 2,000 in the second year of operation, during which the program will be reviewed.

IECSEP is now open for applications.

The current round for the Early Careers stream will close at 11.59pm (GMT) on 31 December 2024.

The current round for the Innovation stream will close at 11.59pm (GMT) on 31 December 2024.

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) may close application rounds with respect of one or both IECSEP streams on a date before the advertised times above.

Benefit for Employers and Businesses:

The Australian Government has highlighted that the purpose of IECSEP is to recognise the importance of innovation and skills mobility to the economies of Australia and the United Kingdom.

The IECSEP will provide Australian employers with an opportunity to access innovative and early-career professionals from the UK, through the pilot of a new and streamlined temporary mobility pathway from the UK to Australia. UK organisations are intended to benefit from employee upskilling, as well as a way of providing key staff with an international career development opportunity.

Disclaimer:

Australian Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) (Subclass 482) Visa Set to be Replaced by the ‘Skills in Demand’ Visa

Posted by Rebecca Berkovic on January 9, 2024

As we welcome in the new year, it is expected that further Australian visa changes will be introduced by the Federal Government in 2024 in the wake of the December 2023 Migration Review. A major change proposed by the Australian Government is to replace the current Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS)(subclass 482) work visa with the ‘Skills in Demand’ visa.

Summary of the Skills in Demand Visa

The Skills in Demand visa is a proposed four-year temporary Australian work visa with three different visa streams targeting various skill levels and industries. The new visa is intended to offer pathways for all visa holders to apply for Australian permanent residency.

The Minister for Immigration, Clare O’Neil, stated in the Migration Review that the Skills in Demand visa is intended to include the following three visa streams:

Specialist Skills Pathway: This is for highly skilled workers with a $135,000 minimum salary.
Core Skills Pathway: This will have an updated occupation list and a $70,000 minimum salary threshold.
Essential Skills Pathway: This steam will target lower-paid workers.

Intended Increased Worker Mobility

As part of the Australian Government’s plan for increased overseas worker mobility and ability to change employers, the new provisions are set to include recognition of time spent with approved employers towards permanent residency as opposed to restarting the clock for Temporary Residence Transition when temporary visa holders change employers.

The Government has also announced that Skills in Demand visa holders will be entitled to a 180-day period to find a new employer whilst retaining the ability to work.

We will keep you updated with new developments regarding the introduction of the Skills in Demand visa and will advise if and when it replaces the TSS subclass 482 visa program.

Disclaimer:

Transferring Employers for TSS Subclass 482 Visa Holders

Posted by Rebecca Berkovic on August 24, 2023

Holders of Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) (subclass 482) visas are subject to the condition 8607 work restriction. Condition 8607 means that a TSS subclass 482 visa holder can generally only work for their sponsoring employer (or associated entities in certain situations). In accordance with condition 8607, TSS subclass 482 visa holders must also work in the occupation which is specified in the nomination provided to the Australian Department of Home Affairs (DHA).

If your business is interested in sponsoring a candidate who already holds a TSS subclass 482 visa, or you are a TSS subclass 482 visa holder transferring employers in Australia, it is possible to arrange this.

The process is as follows:

If the TSS subclass 482 visa holder will remain in the same occupation:

If the candidate will be remaining in the same position as they were for their previous sponsoring employer and therefore will continue to have the same ‘nominated occupation’ then the process involves two stages:

Your business as the new employer must either be registered as a standard business sponsor or apply to become a sponsor.
A nomination application must be lodged to select the candidate and it must the candidate must be nominated in the same occupation.

It is important to note that the candidate cannot commence work for your business until the new nomination has been approved by the DHA.

If the TSS subclass 482 visa holder will be changing positions/nominated occupations:

If the candidate will be changing roles and will have a different ‘nominated occupation’ in your business, then the following three stages will apply:

The new employer must either be registered as a standard business sponsor or apply to become a sponsor.
A new nomination application must be lodged with a different ‘nominated occupation’ selected.
The candidate will require a new visa application associated with the new nomination and the candidate will need to prove they have the skills and work experience to meet the requirements of the new occupation.

It is important to note that if the candidate has already resigned from their previous employer and sponsor, under condition 8607 they only have 60 days from termination of their employment to find a new employer and lodge a new nomination.

For advice regarding Australian visas and sponsoring skilled overseas workers, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@hartmanimmigration.com.au for Australian immigration assistance.

Disclaimer:

Ensuring Immigration Compliance when Hiring Overseas Workers

Posted by Rebecca Berkovic on August 9, 2023

In order to retain and attract the workforce that best assists your business to grow and develop, it is important to have the option to sponsor and hire overseas employees to work in Australia. In doing so, in order to protect the business and care for employees, it is crucial that organisations are aware of the changing Australian visa landscape and visa conditions of employees.

During the COVID-19 period, as the Australian Government focused on economic relief for Australian businesses, employers were given increased flexibility to hire overseas workers, including unlimited work hours for Student visa holders and entitlement of Working Holiday makers to have increased time with one employer.

It is important for Australian businesses hiring overseas workers to be aware that the Federal Government is now rolling back the flexible visa arrangements introduced during the pandemic. Changes to the temporary flexible measures include the following:

Student (subclass 500) visa holders have returned to being given a work limitation of 48 hours per fortnight whilst their course is in session, unless continuing to work in aged care where full-time hours are permitted until 31 December 2023.
Working Holiday makers have returned to generally being limited to working a maximum of 6 months with any particular employer, unless a limited exception applies.
Employers and labour hire companies will now be held liable for any facilitated breaches of the above and other visa conditions.

On 31 July 2023, the Australian Federal Government passed the Migration Amendment (Strengthening Employer Compliance) Bill 2023 (the Bill) which amends the Migration Act 1958 with the purpose of strengthening employer compliance measures and protecting temporary migrant workers from exploitation.

Main components of the Bill:

Creating a criminal offence where a person coerces, or exerts undue influence or undue pressure on a non-citizen to accept or agree to a work arrangement that would involve a breach of a work-related condition.
Creating a criminal offence where a person coerces, or exerts undue influence or pressure on a non-citizen to accept a work arrangement to avoid an adverse immigration status, or that would result in the non-citizen being unable to satisfy a work-related visa requirement.
Establishing a framework where the Minister can declare certain employers to be ‘prohibited employers’ for a specified period of time. Rather than just barring or cancelling the employer’s business sponsorship license, the prohibition applies to the employment of any temporary visa holder.
Mandating the use of the VEVO system for employers to determine whether a non-citizen is lawful and has the necessary permission to work.
Increasing civil and monetary penalties for individuals and business sponsors.

How can employers ensure compliance?

In order for businesses to ensure that they are protected from breaches of the Migration Amendment (Strengthening Employer Compliance) Bill 2023, steps that employers can take include:

Ensuring that the visa status of each overseas worker is known and recorded by the business.
Conducting a VEVO check for all overseas workers.
Ensuring that systems are in place so that the business is updated with any visa changes for overseas workers employed by the business.

For advice regarding immigration compliance and employing overseas workers, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@hartmanimmigration.com.au for Australian immigration assistance.

Disclaimer:

Eight Major Australian Visa Changes Occurring in July 2023

Posted by Rebecca Berkovic on July 7, 2023

On 1 July 2023, the Australian Government introduced a series of changes to the Australian visa system. The changes will affect Australian visas in the following ways:

Change 1- Increase in Temporary Work Visas Salary Threshold

The Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold for the Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS)(subclass 482) and Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) (subclass 494) visas has increased from AU$53,900 to AU$70,000 for nominations lodged from 1 July 2023.

Change 2- Work Restrictions for Student Visa Holders

From 1 July 2023, work restrictions for Student visa holders will be re-introduced with a cap of 48 hours per fortnight.

However, an exception to the 48-hour work limitation will apply to Student visa holders already working in the aged care sector on 8 May 2023. These Student visa holders will have unrestricted work hours.

Change 3- Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) Visas Changes

International students in Australia who have completed their degree in Australia in the field of health, teaching, engineering or agriculture may access extended subclass 485 visas from 1 July 2023. Acceptable qualifications must be on the prescribed list.

Visa periods will be increased to:

4 years for select Bachelor Degrees
5 years for select Masters degrees
6 years for all Doctoral degrees

First time applicants will be granted a visa with an additional period of two years added to the standard visa period.

Change 4- Work and Holiday Makers

As of 1 July 2023, Papua New Guinea became the newest participant in the Working Holiday Maker (WHM) Program, enabling up to 100 citizens of PNG to journey to Australia using the Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visa. Individuals who have completed a minimum of two years of post-secondary study in Papua New Guinea can now apply for the Work and Holiday visa.

For citizens from the United Kingdom, the age limit for the Working Holiday (subclass 417) visa has been extended from 30 to 35 years old.

In the context of the WHM Program, as of 1 July 2023, Condition 8547 has also been reintroduced for participants of the program. This condition applies to individuals holding either subclass 417 or subclass 462 visas and restricts visa holders from working with a single employer for more than six months. Relevantly, this change does not apply retrospectively, and any work carried out by a WHM prior to July will not be counted towards their six-month limit with the same employer.

Change 5- India-Australia Agreement

The Economic Co-operation and Trade Agreement between India and Australia commenced on 1 July 2023 with the following benefits:

Indian citizens are now eligible to apply for Work and Holiday visas.
Increased Post Study Work visa periods have been introduced for Indian citizens. Indian students graduating in Australia will be eligible for post study work visas as follows:
- upon completion of diploma or trade qualifications- stays of up to 18 months
- upon completion of bachelor degree (including honours)- stays of up to 2 years
- upon completion of masters by research and masters by coursework- stays of up to 3 years
- upon completion of doctoral degrees- stays of up to 4 years.
- Additional year of stay for high-performing STEM bachelor degree graduates (extended from 2 years to 3 years)

Change 6- Increased Immigration Target

On 1 July 2023 the Australian Government increased its intake of permanent migrants to 195,000 for this financial year, up by 35,000, in a bid to help businesses and industries battling widespread staff shortages and reduce reliance on short-term workers.

Change 7- Australian Citizenship for New Zealand Nationals

From 1 July 2023, New Zealand citizens who have been living in Australia for more than four years and arrived in Australia after 26 February 2011 will be eligible to apply directly for Australian citizenship without having to apply for a permanent visa. These changes apply only to New Zealand citizens holding a Special Category (subclass 444) visa (SCV). Protected SCV holders will continue to be eligible to apply directly for Australian citizenship.

From 1 July 2023:

All New Zealand citizens holding an SCV will be considered permanent residents for citizenship purposes
New Zealand citizens granted an SCV before 1 July 2022 will have their period of permanent residence for citizenship purposes backdated to 1 July 2022
New Zealand citizens granted an SCV for the first time on or after 1 July 2022 will be considered a permanent resident for citizenship purposes from the date of their SCV grant.

The above provisions will apply to New Zealand citizens in Australia. It will also apply to New Zealand citizens who are overseas but held an SCV immediately before last leaving Australia.

These provisions will apply to citizenship applications submitted after 1 July 2023.

Change 8- Increase in Governmental Visa Application Fees

From 1 July 2023, Australian Department of Home Affairs (DHA) governmental fees increased with visa application charges increasing from between 6 and 40 per cent across various visa categories. Some of the new governmental visa application charges include:

Visa Type	Subclass	Before	From 1st July 2023
Partner visa (Onshore / Offshore)	820/801 & 309/100	$8,085	$8,850
Skilled visas	189 / 190 / 491	$4,240	$4,640
Graduate	485	$1,730	$1,895
Student	500	$650	$710
Visitor (Onshore)	600	$380	$475
Visitor (Offshore)	600	$150	$190
Working Holiday Maker	417 / 462	$510	$635
Temporary Skill Shortage (Short Term)	482	$1,330	$1,455
Temporary Skill Shortage (Long Term)	482	$2,770	$3,035
Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS)	186	$4,240	$4,640
Significant Investor stream	188	$9,195	$13,860
Significant Entrepreneur stream	188	$4,240	$6,395
All other applicants	188	$6,270	$9,450

For advice regarding Australian visas, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@hartmanimmigration.com.au for Australian immigration assistance.

Disclaimer:

1 July 2023 Australian Visa Application Governmental Fee Increases

Posted by Rebecca Berkovic on June 23, 2023

The Australian Government has announced that visa application charges will increase from 1 July 2023.

The Migration Amendment (Visa Application Charges) Regulations 2023 – F2023L00831 legislative instrument introduced by the Australian Government sets out the 1 July 2023 governmental fee increases which are stated to be as follows:

From 1 July 2023 visa application fees will increase by the 2023-24 forecast CPI of 3.25%.
Visitor, working holiday, work and holiday, training, temporary activity, and temporary work (short stay specialist) visas will increase by a further 21% in addition to CPI.
Business innovation and investment visas will increase by a further 46% in addition to CPI.
The remaining visa application fees will increase by 6% in addition to CPI.
There is no increase apart from the CPI increase of 3.25% for Subclass 403 (Temporary Work (International Relations)) visas in the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) stream
The new visa application fee amounts will be rounded to the nearest $5.

For advice regarding Australian visas, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@hartmanimmigration.com.au for Australian immigration assistance.

Disclaimer:

Changes to Student Visa Work Hours

Posted by Rebecca Berkovic on May 17, 2023

For any business employing Student visa holders, it is important to be aware of the number of hours of work allowed under this visa type to ensure employer compliance with immigration laws.

Until COVID-19 hit, Student visa holders were only entitled to work 40 hours per fortnight whilst their course was in session. During COVID-19, the Australian Government relaxed work restrictions for Student visa holders. In January 2022, work hour limitations were removed entirely to support economic recovery efforts in Australia.

The Australian Government has now announced that from 1 July 2023, work restrictions for Student visa holders will be re-introduced with a cap of 48 hours per fortnight. However, an exception to the 48-hour work limitation will apply to Student visa holders already working in the aged care sector on 8 May 2023. These Student visa holders will have unrestricted work hours.

For advice regarding employment of overseas workers in Australia, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@hartmanimmigration.com.au for Australian immigration assistance.