Overseas workers can provide a much-needed boost to the Australian workforce to keep businesses running smoothly. However, it is important to note that there are some requirements that must be met before an employer can sponsor an overseas worker. This article will provide information on what these requirements are and how employers can go about sponsoring overseas workers.

Devasting covid

The devastating impact of Covid on the hospitality industry has been widely documented. The Australian border closed during this period, leading to an unprecedented amount of shut down time for venues. When the borders finally opened to a trickle of temporary visa holders, hospitality was not considered a critical industry by the Department of Home Affairs for visa grants, and most venues couldn't reopen fully because there were no workers to staff them.

With the tourism industry taking off post Covid, venues are opening, and we are more or less trading as before. There’s more demand than ever for hotel, restaurant, and bar staff - but the relatively tiny pool of workers left in Australia (or willing to work in hospitality), cannot keep up with demand, and many venues are still only able to open part time - and just about all of them have "staff wanted" signs in their windows.

Some Good News

The good news is that temporary work visas are being granted again, and students visa holders and working holiday makers are starting to return.

Hospitality is a critical industry in Australia and the Department of Home Affairs has finally recognised this. As such, the Dept is currently fast tracking Chefs' visa applications! Hopefully, this is only the first of a series of initiatives the department will implement to assist hospitality.

How to Staff Up Quickly

The most common way that hospitality employers can lift staffing levels relatively quickly, is by sponsoring workers from overseas for temporary work visas - and the other viable option is hiring working holiday visa holders and student visa holders. 

We find staff for our hospitality clients and lodge a lot of Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) visas (Subclass 482) for them. Most of those are for overseas workers with the following occupations:

• Chefs
• Cooks
• Restaurant Managers
• Hotel/Motel Managers

Employer Sponsorship - how does it work?

The employer sponsorship scheme allows employers to fill vacant positions in their businesses with the most qualified candidates available, regardless of their nationality. 

Employers may only sponsor workers whose occupations are on a relevant occupation list, unless an employer enters into a special agreement, called a Labour Agreement with the Department of Home Affairs to allow them to sponsor workers whose occupations are not on a relevant list (more on this below).

An employer can sponsor overseas workers once the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) approves them as a Standard Business Sponsor (SBS), or if they have an approved Labour Agreement.

Labour Agreements can be described as a contractual relationship between the government, and an employer, which allows the employer to sponsor workers who require concessions for e.g.:

• occupations not on the immigration occupations lists
• English language
• age

Becoming an approved Sponsor is a relatively quick process, but arranging Labour Agreements is a complex legal process, best tackled by an experienced immigration law practitioner. We will examine Labour Agreements more fully in a future article.

Sponsorship - Subclass 482 Temporary Skills Shortage Visas

Once an employer is an approved SBS or approved Labour Agreement holder, they can sponsor workers for Subclass 482 (Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS)) visas, in non-regional areas and regional areas*, and Subclass 494 (Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional) visas in regional areas.

Employers must first prove that they cannot find Australian workers by providing evidence that a prescribed schedule of Labour Market Testing LMT), has netted no suitable candidates.

If a proposed employee’s occupation is on the Medium to Long Term Skilled Occupation List (MLTSSL) (e.g., Chefs) they can be sponsored for up to 4 years, in any area of Australia for a Subclass 482 TSS visa, with a pathway to Permanent Residence after 3 years of employment with their sponsoring employer.

If the proposed employee’s occupation is on the Short Term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL) (e.g., Cooks and Venue/Restaurant Managers), they can only be sponsored for two, two year Subclass 482 TSS visas, with (currently) no pathway to permanent residence. (We think that this may change with some new government initiatives, meaning that all sponsored workers will be able to be sponsored for up to 4 years, but this has not occurred at the time of writing). 

Sponsorship - Subclass 494, Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (SESR) Visa

For regional employers, the Subclass 494 SESR visa is an option. This is a five year Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional visa, which provides a pathway to permanent residence after three years on the visa. This visa also has a huge occupation list with over 600 occupations listed, including Chef, Cook and Restaurant Manager.

Sponsorship - Labour Agreements

For staff whose occupations are not on any relevant list (or you need e.g., age/language concession for an indispensable worker to move onto PR), a Labour Agreement may be the way to go to secure the staff you need. As discussed above, this is a very specialised area of immigration law and practice. Please contact us to discuss this possibility further if you believe a Labour Agreement may be a viable option for your business (enquiries@ahwc.com.au).

Another Option - Subclass 407 Training Visas

Another visa type that hospitality employers may like to consider is the Subclass 407 visa. This is a training visa which allows hospitality venues to train staff in various hospitality occupations, to bring their experience/qualifications up to Australian standards - which potentially could then allow the visa holder to apply for e.g., a Subclass 482 TSS or a Subclass 494 SESR visa which will provide a pathway to permanent residence later on.

Transition to Permanent Residence 

If a sponsoring employer wants to help their Subclass 482 visa workers become permanent residents (and their occupation is on the Medium to Long Term Skilled Occupation List (MLTSSL)), they can nominate them for a permanent visa after a prescribed period of time (usually 3 years), via the Employer Nominated Subclass 186 visa, in the transitional stream, provided they meet the other visa requirements (e.g., age, English etc). 

A Subclass 494 SESR visa holder can apply for permanent residence after 3 years via the Subclass 191 Skilled Regional visa. They don't need an employer nomination to apply for this visa, and there is no age limit.

Advantages of Employer Sponsorship

There are many advantages to sponsoring staff, but the most important is that a sponsored employee must only work for the sponsoring employer, which greatly helps with staff retention!

Please note though: If a sponsored worker is successfully nominated by another approved sponsor, they can commence working for the new employer once the new nomination is approved.

Other advantages of sponsoring staff are:

• Employer Sponsorship can help you quickly fill skills gaps in your industry or region.
• Employer Sponsorship can widen your talent pool to include non-Australian candidates, who may bring different skills and perspectives to your workplace. 
• Employer Sponsorship can increase innovation and competitiveness in specialist roles within your organisation. 
• Employer Sponsorship is a great way to retain existing staff who are currently on other temporary visas, such as working holiday visas and/or student visas.

Staff Advantages

The advantages for your sponsored staff are that (again depending on the occupation), they will be able to progress to permanent residence, if you are willing to nominate them from their Subclass 482 TSS visa to an Employer Nominated Subclass 186 visa (Subclass 494 SESR visa holders do not need an employer nomination to progress to permanent residence via a Subclass 191 Visa, which was introduced in November 2022). 

Generally, staff must be employed for at least three years by their sponsoring employer to be able to progress to permanent residence via the available permanent residence pathways.

Staff sponsored via a Labour Agreement may be able to progress to Permanent Residence, even though their occupations may not be on the published occupation lists.

*Depends on the occupation.

AHWC & Lorg Talent - We've got your staffing solutions covered!

Employing overseas employees can be very different; you'll need a plan before starting because it does require some special considerations like finding potential staff members (who might not even been looking) as well getting them Australian visas.



With our extensive overseas and Australian networks, our teams at AHWC Immigration Law and Lorg Talent have your staffing solutions covered, so just contact us today!

Maggie Taaffe (mtaaffe@ahwc.com.au)

Johnson Ong (jong@lorgtalent.com)