In order for businesses to employ foreign workers they need to sponsor them under a Temporary Skills Shortage Visa (subclass 482) or a Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (provisional) (SERS) Visa (subclass 494). To be able to sponsor overseas workers, employers must first undertake labour market testing as part of the nomination stage of the application process.
What is labour market testing?
Labour market testing is a type of recruitment campaign conducted by the business to test the Australian market before making a job offer to a foreign national. It generally involves advertising the available position in Australia, ensuring employers try to find a suitable Australian candidate before seeking an overseas skilled worker.
What does labour market testing involve?
Employers must run two advertisements prior to offering a position to an overseas worker. There are specific requirements for advertising roles. These include:
The job must be advertised in Australia, in English and contain:
– the title or a description of the position
– the skills or experience required for the position
– the name of the approved sponsor or the name of the recruitment agency being used by the sponsor
– the salary for the position if the annual earnings for the position are lower than $96,400
Publishing the ads in any of the following for at least four weeks:
– a prominent or professional recruitment website with national reach
– national print media (newspapers, magazines)
– national radio
– on the business’s website if the sponsor is an accredited sponsor
In addition to the two ads, roles must also be advertised on the Government’s Jobactive website and include all the information contained in the other two ads. Jobactive advertisements must run for at least four weeks.
Labour market testing must be conducted correctly. Failure to do can result in the nomination application being refused.
Satisfying labour market testing requirements
To demonstrate that labour market testing has been conducted, businesses must provide a copy of the three job advertisements and prove they were live for a minimum of one month when submitting a nomination application. A recruitment activity report with responses received in relation to the advertisements also needs to be submitted with reasons as to why Australian applicants were not suitable.
When is labour market testing not necessary?
Labour market testing is not required for a subclass 482 nomination where an international trade obligation applies. This includes where the nominated worker is:
– a national of Chile, China, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, or Thailand
– a current employee of a company associated with the company seeking overseas workers and that associated company is in Chile, China, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, or any country that is part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
– a citizen of a World Trade Organisation member country or territory and has worked for the business in the nominated position in Australia on a full-time basis in the last two years.
In addition to the circumstances mentioned above, employers may have alternative arrangements available to them and they are not required to strictly follow labour market testing requirements. Alternative arrangements may be available in the following circumstances:
– The applicant has internationally recognised experience and is at the top of their profession or field. This may include elite athletes, world-renowned chefs or an exceptional academic or researcher
– The applicant is an existing employee on a subclass 482 or 494 visa and a nomination application needs to be lodged due to a change in salary or business structure
– Where the annual salary for the nominated position exceeds AUD$250,000
There may be other instances where labour market testing exemptions or alternative arrangements may apply. Businesses are encouraged to discuss possible exemption conditions with a registered migration agent.
If you would like to learn more about labour market testing or the subclass 482 or 494 visas, contact Visa Solutions Australia on 1800 828 008 or send us an email.
