Sponsorship Obligations

Part of the strengthened government approach to the 457 program is the imposition and monitoring of the obligations which attach to the grant of a sponsorship and which are deemed to apply (automatically) by the company signing the application forms and being granted a Standard Business Sponsorship (SBS). The main ones from an everyday standpoint are listed below

•  Obligation to cooperate with inspectors;

•  Obligation to ensure equivalent terms and conditions of employment (obligation to market salary usually either shown by comparing salary of local worker(s) doing same duties viz., site rate - or by objective evidence of market salary in the industry);

•  Obligation to keep records;

• Obligation to provide information to DIAC when certain events occur (change or cessation of sponsored employee, change in status (receivership or liquidation) of the legal entity sponsoring (including change of directors) http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/skilled-workers/sbs/obligations-employer.htm

There are other sponsorship obligations which sponsoring employers are deemed to have knowledge of and will be subject to as a result of the sponsorship relationship with the government. Potential and existing sponsors are well- advised to familiarise themselves with these obligations and to set in place systems to deal with these obligations because compliance or failure to comply may affect the right to sponsor in the future. Please refer to the Sponsorship obligations document Please refer also to the links within the attachment.

3-Stage approval procedure

Firstly the company must be approved as a Standard Business Sponsor (SBS) to show (by documentary proof- B/S and P/L etc) that it meets the criteria and has the capacity to sponsor.

Secondly the employer must nominate the position (unlimited), the nominee and advise market salary, skills and responsibilities of the position and

Lastly, is the part of the procedure to ‘match’ the visa applicant’s skills with the nominated occupation (the job title is often different from the nominated occupation). For certain countries and for certain occupations (trades only) there is a mandatory skill assessment requirement.

Matters Essential To Meet For Sponsorship

1. Lawfully operating

   The sponsor can be any type of lawfully operating business entity however the smaller or more specialist a sponsor is the more difficult it may be to meet some of the criteria viz., the training benchmarks.

2. Training benchmarks 

   Under the new regulations sponsors will be expected to meet the new training expenditure benchmarks A or B. Benchmark B is the requirement for all companies operating over 12 months to spend no less than 1% of payroll on out-sourced and verifiable training for its Australian and permanent resident workforce. Payroll includes employees only but the cost can include the wages and salaries of apprentices and trainees. If a company has not been operating for 12 months and it can provide evidence of an auditable training program together with an undertaking to commit for future years then that will meet DIAC requirements. If a proposed sponsor cannot meet this requirement then Benchmark A provides for a 2% payment to be made to an Industry Training Fund relevant to the business. 

   Training Benchmarks 

   Training Benchmarks (93 KB)

     Training benchmarks FAQs 

   Training Benchmark FAQ (26 KB)

    Matters Essential To Meet For Nomination

Employment conditions no less favourable that local employees (payment of ‘market salary’)

Minimum wage or salary level (MSL) has since 14 September 2009 been replaced by the requirement for Sponsors to pay the market rate. This is a rate calculated on the circumstances prevailing in the Sponsors workplace and generally is to be at a rate (and work conditions) no less favourable than would be enjoyed by local workers doing similar work with similar skills and experience.

If a sponsor has no local employees to establish the market (or site) rate, then objective evidence has to be provided from market surveys and other sources to establish the ‘market’ rate.

The nominated market rate can be no lower than the new threshold of $49330.00 (before super and any other allowances) and this is for a 38 hour week. If the award rate is below the market rate and there are no other local employees above the threshold doing the same job then the nomination will fail.

The sponsorship will usually be monitored by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) within 12-15 months of SBS approval and visa grant. This exercise is to check that the agreed terms of the appointment as approved and market salary, together with the other sponsorship obligations noted above are being complied with.

Matters essential to meet for visa application

This is the part of the procedure which the visa applicant must meet. Depending upon the occupation being nominated, the country of origin will dictate some of the criteria which must be met such as 457 skilled trade assessments and minimum English ( IELTS 5 in all 4 components).

Generally speaking, an applicant must have relevant skills and preferably experience to carry out the nominated occupation.  Certain occupations from certain countries (listed on the TRA web-site ) require a 457 skills assessment prior to visa grant . Applicants seeking nomination in occupations or industries required licensing must must show that they have the necessary licence or at least be eligible to do so.

Pathways to Permanent Residence (ENS & RSMS)

The 457 visa is one of the preferred pathways to sponsored permanent residency (PR) under the Employer Nominated Scheme (ENS). It is particularly useful for applicants already in Australia  (on-shore applicants), who for some reason or other are unable to obtain a skill assessment.  The two usual pathways for sponsored ENS PR are firstly, lodging a skill assessment in the chosen gazetted occupation, together with at least 3 years post-qualification experience or secondly, proving employment on a 457 visa (in the same or closely-related occupation) for 2 years (and at least 12 months with the proposed nominating company).

ENS together with RSMS (its regional version) have different requirements and conditions so please go to our Skills page or contact us with any questions or information you may require.

Processing & cost

As with all visa categories, processing times vary from office to office and from time to time, subject to DIAC workloads. Currently nominations are being processed within 2-3 weeks  and complete visa applications where the company is already a sponsor is between 3-4 weeks. Sponsorships lodged without query are being decided within 2-4 weeks, often sooner.

Professional fees and charges (including government application fees) will be advised upon request as they may vary in the circumstances.