Becoming a standard business sponsor allows businesses to sponsor foreign nationals to work in highly skilled occupations. This agreement is an agreement with the Australian government that allows certain Australian businesses to sponsor overseas citizens, allowing the business to fill skill shortages where suitably qualified individuals cannot be sourced locally. The Standard Business Sponsorship remains valid for 5 years and allows you to sponsor skilled workers under the following visa subclasses:
- Temporary Skill Shortage visa (subclass 482) (TSS)
- Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 494) (SESR)
Accredited business sponsorship is granted to larger Australian employees who possess a significant, regular and ongoing need for sponsorship. Accredited business sponsors receive streamlined processing on employer sponsored visas, thereby reducing processing times from months to days in certain instances. Accredited business sponsors are allowed flexibility with standard Labour Market Testing requirements (the process of advertising the position for a minimum of 28 days on 3 job platforms), with the business permitted to publish advertisements via their own company website. Lastly, visa applicants who would generally be required to provide police clearances, are not required to do so if the accredited sponsor attests to their good character. The above-mentioned benefits work to significantly reduce processing times and supporting documentation throughout the nomination and visa application process.
As of 1 July 2016, requirements to be granted accredited sponsor status are as follows:
- Be government agency, a publicly listed company or a private company with at least AUD$4 million annual turnover within the last 3 years
- Have an active standard business sponsorship for at least 3 years
- Have no adverse information
- Have sponsored at least 10 primary 482 visa holders in the previous 2 years prior to application
- Have a non-approval rate of at least 3%
- Have a majority Australian workforce comprising at least 75%
Please note, the above mentioned requirements are not an exhaustive list. Differing categories pertaining to business characteristics exist whereby additional requirements apply.
Categories are as follows:
- Commonwealth, state and territory government agencies
- Australian Trusted Traders
- Low volume usage and high percentage off Australian workers (at least 85%)
- High volume usage and medium percentage off Australian workers (at least 75%)
- Major investment in Australia
Applying for accredited business sponsorship is a beneficial pathway for lower-risk sponsors to gain access to priority allocation and streamlined processing, allowing the business to forward plan workforce populations aligned with the needs of the business.
Should you be interested in obtaining accredited business sponsorship status, contact Crystal Migration Legal Services for assistance.