Skilling Australians Fund & New Labour Market Testing Requirements Start 12 August 2018
Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) Levy & New Labour Market Testing Requirements Start 12 August 2018
Further to the Skilling Australians Fund Bill passing the Senate on 8 May 2018 we have been advised that the Skilling Australians Fund is set to come into effect on the 12 August 2018.
The Skilling Australians Fund Levy will have the following requirements:
Subclass 482 – TSS Nominations
- For companies with a turnover of more than $10 million, a fee of $1,800 per year a TSS visa is to be held, or part thereof, will be required to be paid
- For companies with a turnover of less than $10 million, a fee of $1,200 per year a TSS visa is to be held, or part thereof, will be required to be paid
Refund provisions for the SAF Levy
The bill provides provisions for refunds of the levy paid in respect to TSS nominations, under certain circumstances, which are as follows:
- In cases where the employer’s sponsorship application is refused
- Where the employer’s sponsorship is approved, but an employee’s subsequent visa application is refused on health or character grounds.
- When an approved visa holder does not actually commence work with the sponsor.
- When a TSS visa holder leaves their sponsoring employer within the first 12 months of employment. The refund will only be for the balance of the years remaining on the visa.
The SAF and Permanent Residency Nominations
- For companies with a turnover of more than $10 million, a flat rate of $5,000 will be required to be paid
- For companies with a turnover of less than $10 million , a flat rate of $3,000 will be required to be paid
New Labour Market Testing (LMT) Requirements
All TSS (subclass 482) nominations require the employer to undertake Labour Market Testing and the new labour market testing requirements will be as follows:
1. The nominated position has been advertised in Australia
2. The advertisement was in English and included the following information:
- the title, or a description, of the position
- the name of the approved sponsor or the name of the recruitment agency being used by the sponsor
- the annual earnings for the position (unless the annual earnings will be greater than the Fair Work High Income Threshold, currently AUD 145,400).
3. A least two advertisements were published:
- on a national recruitment website (for example, jobactive.gov.au) – that is, a prominent or professional recruitment website that publishes advertisements for positions throughout Australia. A general classifieds website or an advertisement solely through a social media notification, such as Twitter or Instagram is not an acceptable method
- in national print media – that is, national newspapers or magazines that are published at least monthly and marketed throughout Australia
- on national radio – that is, radio programmes that are broadcast or syndicated nationally.
- if the sponsor is accredited – on the businesses’ website
4. Labour Market Testing must be conducted:
- for a period of four weeks
- no more than four months before the nomination is lodged
- in a way that the advertisements set out any skills or experience requirements that are appropriate to the position