Australia: Immigration services for the Information Technology (IT) industry in Australia

Immigration Services for the IT Industry

482 visa program

The IT industry is globally competitive. An IT business in North Sydney or Fitzroy is today competing with other businesses in Shanghai, Silicon Valley or Copenhagen. While the Australian IT sector is vibrant and dynamic it remains a small market and access to the best global skills and knowledge is critical.

Hammond Taylor works closely with an innovative mid-sized Australian infrastructure firm. The organisation is based outside the main IT centres of Melbourne and Sydney and are often challenged by skills shortages due to their location and the limited pool of suitable staff in Australia.

Hammond Taylor assisted the business to obtain a Business Sponsorship through the (formerly titled) Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) to source overseas staff on the Temporary Work Subclass 457 visa (now replaced with the TSS 482 visa program). To ensure continued access to the Subclass 457 program we work closely with the business to meet its ongoing obligations including training benchmarks, notifications to the DIBP, and other compliance obligations.

As part of our compliance services, Hammond Taylor provides training to key stakeholders including Human Resource staff and line managers about the sponsorship obligations and their responsibilities to act on behalf of the business. Staff are provided with quizzes and group discussion activities based on real-life case studies to understand their role in upholding the business's obligations.

Hammond Taylor maintains regular contact with the company's Human Resources staff to provide updates on ongoing changes to immigration requirements, current processing times, and facilitate the selection of staff who will meet immigration requirements. Regular audit services ensure that the business is maintaining compliance with immigration laws as well as their sponsorship obligations to guarantee future access to temporary skilled labour from outside Australia.

Ensuring ongoing access to critical skills to enable the business to meet client demands, innovate and grow is essential to building a successful IT business. Careful management of immigration obligations can help to meet these goals.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.