Labour Agreement Sponsorship Australia
Labour Agreement sponsorships enable approved businesses to sponsor skilled overseas workers when the need for workers cannot be met in the Australian labour market and standard temporary or permanent visa programs are not available. They are generally in effect for five years and are granted under either the Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa (subclass 482) and/or the Employer Nomination Scheme visa (subclass 186).
Labour Agreement sponsorships are therefore challenging and heavily regulated instruments that require experience and knowledge to secure. Whilst there are a number of Labour Agreement companies who can tell you what type of sponsorships exist, very few really understand them, and fewer still boast our experience. IMMIGATE has negotiated, contracted and administered a diverse and sizeable number of approved Labour Agreements with the Department of Home Affairs, including acting for publicly-listed company Robert Walters.
Our expertise, experience and reputation stand us apart from our competitors and ensures that we are best equipped to help companies – including labour hire/payroll agencies – take advantage of all the benefits of a Labour Agreement (on-hire) by becoming an approved party to.
More about this visa program
Types of Labour Agreements
There are 5 types of Labour Agreements and we can advise and facilitate all five of these heavily regulated employment options:
- Company Specific Labour Agreements
- Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMA)
- Global Talent Scheme agreements (GTS)
- Industry Labour Agreements (such as on-hire, meat, restaurant, pork, fishing, dairy, minister of religion and advertising)
- Project agreements
Benefits
Being a party to a Labour Agreement with the Department of Home Affairs (DOHA), companies can gain access to a number of benefits in comparison to standard sponsorship agreements, which includes:
- A competitive advantage to access and secure overseas skills;
- 5 years’ agreement period (it was previously valid for 3 years);
- Full access to all of the occupations listed in the ‘eligible skilled occupation’ set by the Department of Home Affairs for some companies. This means that you can nominate skilled overseas workers in any listed profession/occupation.
- An additional source of income for labour hire companies without exploiting the overseas worker, cutting wages or breaching the requirements and obligations of the Agreement;
- Streamlined application lodgements. With the introduction of online submissions, the DOHA has made it easier for companies to apply for Labour Agreement sponsorships online rather than having to submit a pro forma business case as it was done in the past;
- Improved compliance requirements which have become easier to meet; and
- Quicker processing timeframes in comparison to standard sponsorships. The standard processing timeframes are an average of one week to get a sponsored working visa for your nominated workers in comparison to a few months.
Our Service
As part of this service, our team will work closely with you to:
- Conduct a thorough company assessment to check eligibility and suitability for a Labour Agreement;
- Recommend and assist in implementing the required steps to meet the criteria, including labour market testing, business profiling, consultation with stakeholders and unions, and related business terms and conditions;
- Assist in collating the required reports and all associated documents and information,
- Administer and coordinate the lodgement of visa applications with the DOHA post-approval; and
- Manage all compliance obligations and monitoring reports with the DOHA post-approval including renewals.
If you are a company with a genuine skills shortage and unsure of how to fill the void, don’t hesitate to get in touch to discuss your needs. We have helped a vast range of companies with Labour Agreement sponsorships in Australia.
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