Becoming an Accredited Sponsor and receiving Accredited Sponsorship Status
Employers with Accredited Sponsorship status are afforded priority nomination & visa processing of all Skills in Demand (subclass 482) visas, (formally the TSS SC482 visa).
Most applications are processed in under five days.
Applying for Accredited Sponsorship is a worthwhile exercise for any businesses that utilise the Skills in Demand (subclass 482) visa program on a regular basis and also provides certain exemptions to the standard Labour Market Testing requirements.
Benefits Of Accredited Sponsorship
An accredited sponsor receives priority when the Department of Home Affairs processes Skills in Demand (SID) visa (subclass 482) nomination and visa applications.
The labour market testing requirements are more relaxed for accredited sponsors, with these businesses permitted to utilise advertisements placed on their own website, rather than through national recruitment websites.
Applicants for SID (formally TSS) SC482 visas being sponsored by an accredited sponsor do not need to provide overseas police clearances for every country they have resided in, if the sponsor can attest to their good character.
This significantly reduces processing times.
Speak with Ethos Migration Lawyers to get your Sponsorship Accreditation
The requirements for Sponsorship Accreditation:
- Have Australian workers comprising at least 75% of their workforce in Australia.
- Have Australian workers comprising at least 75% of their workforce in Australia
- Engage all TSS/SID visa holders as employees under a written contract of employment that includes at least the minimum employment entitlements as required under the National Employment Standards (NES) (unless their occupation is exempt from this requirement)*
- Have all Australian employees paid in accordance with an Enterprise Agreement or an internal salary table that reflects the current market salary rates for all occupations in their business*
*Additional evidence must be provided against these characteristics
- Have Australian workers comprise at least 85% of their workforce in Australia
- Are not a sole trader or a partnership**
- Have an annual turnover of at least A$4M for the last two years***
- Have been a standard business sponsor for at least one year***
- Have nominations approved for at least one primary TSS/SID visa holder in the last year***
- Have a nomination non-approval rate of less than 3% for the last year
- Have no adverse monitoring outcomes
- Have all Australian employees paid in accordance with an Enterprise Agreement or an internal salary table that reflects the current market salary rates*
- Engage all TSS/SID visa holders as employees under a written contract that meets NES where they apply*
*Additional evidence must be provided against these characteristics
** The Department may approve accreditation for large partnerships where it is a common business structure and where the employer meets all other criteria on a case-by-case basis.
*** The Department may approve accreditation for start-up businesses who wish to apply for accreditation but do not meet these requirements where special circumstances apply. These will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
- Have Australian workers comprise at least 75% of their workforce in Australia
- Are not a sole trader or a partnership**
- Have an annual turnover of at least A$4M for the last two years
- Have been a standard business sponsor for at least two years
- Have nominations approved for at least 10 SID 482 visa holders in the last two years
- Have a nomination non-approval rate of less than 3% for the last two years
- Have no adverse monitoring outcomes
- Have all Australian employees paid in accordance with an Enterprise Agreement or an internal salary table that reflects the current market salary rates*
- Engage all SID SC482 visa holders as employees under a written contract that meets NES where they apply*
*Additional evidence must be provided against these characteristics
** The Department may approve accreditation for large partnerships where it is a common business structure and where the employer meets all other criteria on a case-by-case basis.
Becoming an Accredited Sponsor and receiving Accredited Sponsorship Status means you will receive priority processing for 482 visa nominations and applications, relaxed labour market testing and exemptions for police clearances for your applicants if you can attest to their good character.
There are different requirements for the Accredited Sponsorship Scheme depending on what category your business may fall into.
You should discuss your businesses characteristics and particulars with your immigration lawyer or registered migration agent to assess your specific requirements to be eligible.
Accredited Sponsorship can be revoked by the Department of Home Affairs if you stop meeting the required characteristics for accreditation or if you gave a reference for one of your sponsored employee’s or their family members stating an incorrect criminal record.
