WORK VISAS

There are many options for employers, employees, business persons and others wanting to work in Australia .

As always, with so many visa options and combinations, we aim to clarify matters for our clients by first showing them how the overall structure of the Australian visa system works. Many of these visas can be applied for from within Australia or overseas.

The following diagram has the main work visa categories and next to each one the visa (sub-class) number:

Brief Summaries Of The Work Visa Categories In above Diagram:

1. Job Offer In Australia

If you have a job offer in Australia or are looking for a job then your first decision is whether you want the job to lead to permanent or temporary residence initially.

A. Temporary Work in Australia

Visa for temporary work in Australia can last from several months up to 4 years (and can even be extended beyond the initial four years in some cases). The most common of these visas is known as the “457 visa” and about 50,000 of these are granted every year.

You need to be paid a salary competitive with local Australian wages for that job (minimum rates are pre-set by DIAC), have an occupation on an approved DIAC list (the list covers most occupations) and be offered a job with an employer which can be approved by DIAC to sponsor overseas workers.

This is a good, general starting visa for many workers and has the added advantage of being a “stepping stone” to permanent residence (PR) if you spend at least two years on the visa and, for that last 12 months of those two years, work for an employer who will then sponsor you for PR to work for them.

B. Permanent work in Australia

(1) The Employer Nomination Scheme

- allows Australian employers to sponsor employees who are foreign nationals for a permanent visa to work in Australia .

There are 3 ways to get this visa (the first way is not available if applying from overseas) once you have been offered an Australian job:

(i) spend at least two years on the 457 visa and, for that last 12 months of those two years, work for an employer who will then sponsor you for PR to work for them

(ii) have your skills and or qualifications in your occupation assessed as equivalent to Australian standards and prove three years experience in that occupation

(iii) be offered a salary of at least $A165,000 for your Australian job

(2) The Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS)

- for employers in regional Australia , to fill skilled positions they are unable to fill from the local labour market.

Under the RSMS, employers are able to nominate staff from overseas or temporary residents currently in Australia to fill full-time, permanent vacancies

(3) Labour Agreements

•  formal arrangements to recruit a number of overseas skilled workers (both temporary and permanent visas can be granted under the agreement. However, agreements are generally effective for 2 to 3 years)

Situations where it could be advantageous for an employer to consider entering into a Labour Agreement include:

•  an industry association has negotiated a wide agreement for the supply of needed skills

•  occupations are not on the list of approved occupations for the Temporary Business (Long Stay) visa (subclass 457) or permanent Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) yet a genuine skills shortage exists or occupations are not covered under the Australian Standard Classification of Occupations (ASCO)

•  a large number of sponsored overseas workers is proposed ( DIAC would usually want to discuss proposals for more than 50 overseas skilled workers).

(4) The Invest Australia Supported Skills (IASS) program

- designed to encourage international firms to choose Australia as a location for direct foreign investment. The agreements are effective for three years and employers can sponsor their employees (key expatriate managerial and specialist employees from within the company group who are essential to establish operations in Australia for both temporary and permanent visas.) Visa applications under an IASS agreement will receive priority processing.

2. Short Business Visits

There are several visas for business people to visit Australia for business trips conferences etc. These are covered in the “Business Visas” section of our website.

3. Special Activities

There are currently about 16 visas for specialised activities being conducted in Australia , ranging from sports people to visiting academics and religious workers (see the list above). If you think one of these visas may be relevant to you then please contact us.

4. Doctors

Overseas trained doctors (OTD's) are needed in Australia , particularly in regional areas where they can command very high salaries (reportedly up to $8000 a week).

OTD's can gain their initial temporary work visas on either the 457 visa (see above), the Medical Practitioner visa (422) or the Occupational Trainee Visa (442) .

DIAC says “ Doctors should generally apply for a Temporary Business (Long Stay) visa (subclass 457) but” the Medical Practitioner Visa “is an alternative visa for doctors registered to work in Australia . Employers must lodge a separate sponsorship application for each doctor sponsored.

In limited situations, such as where a rural community or local council is seeking to sponsor a doctor, this visa will be the most appropriate visa.

Occupational Trainee visa

Some doctors coming to Australia to undertake a supervised training program may be able to apply for an Occupational Trainee visa for up to 12 months. The doctor must be appointed to a designated training position that is not primarily service-providing in nature. Organisations providing occupational training programs must apply to nominate doctors for this visa.”

5. Nurses

As DIAC states, “Nurses are currently in high demand in Australia . There are excellent career opportunities with permanent and temporary work available in Australia . Most visa applications for nurses receive priority processing.” However, there are currently no specific visas just for nurses, as there are for doctors.

Obviously nurses need to be healthy, educated an experienced and will need to pass a health examination which includes a chest x-ray.

The Australian Nursing & Midwifery Council (ANMC) or the nurse regulatory body in the State or Territory in which they want to work allow nurses to work in Australia, by assessing them.

The ANMC's website has more information including links to State and Territory nurse regulatory bodies.
See: Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council (ANMC)

6. Regional Employment

Working in a regional area of Australia is made much easier if you are sponsored by a local government authority, family or employer there. Most of the visas for regional employment therefore fall under the work visa categories above or the “Skilled Migration” section of our website.

If you have a genuine interest in working in an Australian regional area, please contact us as it is not that easy to decide where to work (as there is much diversity between the regions) and how to go about it.

7. “Working Holiday” & “Work And Holiday ” Visas

The Working Holiday and Work & Holiday Programmes provide opportunities for people between 18 and 30 to holiday in Australia and to supplement their travel funds through incidental employment for up to 6 months at a time with the one employer.

As DIAC says: “Australia has reciprocal working holiday arrangements with Belgium, Canada, the Republic of Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.

Most working holiday-eligible passport holders are able to apply for a first Working Holiday visa anywhere outside Australia . However, passport holders from the following places can only lodge first Working Holiday visa applications in the place of their passport: Japan , the Republic of Korea , Malta , the Republic of Cyprus , Taiwan and HKSAR (including British National Overseas). Second Working Holiday visa applications may be made from any location either in or outside Australia .

Second Working Holiday visa

Working holiday makers, who have worked as a seasonal worker in an eligible regional Australian area for a minimum of three months while on their first Working Holiday visa, will be eligible to apply for a second Working Holiday visa.”

Australia 's Work and Holiday programme allows young professionals from arrangement countries to have an extended holiday in Australia by supplementing their travel funds through incidental employment.

Australia currently has reciprocal Work and Holiday arrangements in effect with Iran , Thailand and Chile . Arrangements with Turkey and Bangladesh were signed in December 2005 and March 2006 respectively.”

Some of this material has been sourced from the DIAC website but has been checked and or edited in all case by our firm.