In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a significant impact on the Australian labour market, the Australian Government has changed the labour market testing requirement for all employer sponsored visas with priority on employing Australians.

Subclass 482 Temporary Skills Shortage and Subclass 494 Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) applications will require three job advertisements to be provided, one of which must be placed on the Government's Jobactive website. 

For subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme and Subclass 187 Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme visas, employers must have advertised the position on Jobactive. 

The Department of Home Affairs will also be scrutinising subclass 186 and 187 applications, focusing on whether in the past 12 months any Australian workers in the same position have:

  • been retrenched;
  • had their hours reduced; or
  • had a reduction in pay and conditions.

The Department will also be looking closely at the terms and conditions of temporary visa holders and whether the recruitment of temporary visa holders is beyond the ordinary scope of the business.

These changes apply to all nominations lodged on or after 1 October 2020. Exemptions to the labour market testing criteria still exist for the subclass 482 visa where it would conflict with Australia's International Travel Obligations and alternative submission requirements are still permitted for positions with annual earnings greater than $250,000 or where it is an intra-company transfer.

Job advertisements must be in English, listed for at least four weeks and include:

  • name of the employer or recruiter placing the advertisement
  • title, or a description, of the position
  • skills or experience required
  • salary (if the annual earnings for the position will be less than $96,000).

This publication does not deal with every important topic or change in law and is not intended to be relied upon as a substitute for legal or other advice that may be relevant to the reader's specific circumstances. If you have found this publication of interest and would like to know more or wish to obtain legal advice relevant to your circumstances please contact one of the named individuals listed.