A labour agreement (LA) is a formal agreement entered into between the Minister or the Employment Minister and a person or organisation in Australia. Under this agreement, an employer is authorised to recruit overseas workers to be employed by that employer in Australia.
The LA program is designed to provide a flexible solution to support Australian business where standard temporary or permanent skilled visa programs are not available, and the employer’s recruitment needs cannot be met through the Australian labour market.
LAs are generally in effect for five years and often include additional terms and conditions. Agreements are negotiated to ensure that where standard requirements are waived or concessions agreed upon, additional requirements are implemented, where practicable, to manage risks effectively.
The three most common types of labour agreements are Industry Agreements, Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMA), and Company-Specific Agreements. For the purposes of this article, we will only address Company-Specific Labour Agreements, as the other two (Industry and DAMA) have different requirements for third-party endorsement.
One of the required pieces of evidence you need to demonstrate before entering into a Company-Specific Labour Agreement is consultation with relevant stakeholders. These may include:
- the industry body
- the relevant union
- any community group the agreement impacts, such as schools or health services
So, what happens if one relevant stakeholder responds to your request stating that they don’t support your labour agreement request?
As a matter of policy, the fact that an industry stakeholder does not support a particular LA does not necessarily mean that the request will be declined. However, when facing a negative response, the first thing to consider is the reasons behind their lack of support:
- Did they clearly outline pitfalls in your LA request?
- Did they address legal points against your LA request?
- Did they only state general points?
- Are they open to negotiation? What are their conditions?
All these questions play a pivotal role in determining how much weight their support or endorsement will carry regarding the labour agreement request. While the initial strategy is to understand why they declined support and to identify potential points you might have missed, there are several strategies that may be implemented to overcome this negative position.
If you reach a deadlock during the LA process, it’s advisable to consult an experienced immigration lawyer or a registered migration agent you trust.