Standard Business Sponsorship

To be granted a standard business sponsorship for e.g  the TSS Subclass 482 visa program, an organisation must satisfy the following criteria:

• Be lawfully operating a business in Australia;
• Attest to having a strong record of, or a demonstrated commitment to, employing local labour, and  declare that they will not engage in discriminatory recruitment practices; and
• Have no adverse information in relation to the operation of the organisation known to the Department of Home Affairs or FairWork Australia (or it is reasonable for the Department of Home Affairs to disregard such information).

Eligible Organisations

The following types of business entities are eligible to be granted approval to become standard business sponsors

• Sole traders;
• Partnerships;
• Proprietary companies;
• Public companies;
• Government departments;
• Statutory authorities;
• Not for profit organisations; and
• Educational institutions.

Providing that an organisation can evidence that it is lawfully operating and can satisfy the financial requirements, there are no restrictions on the size that an organisation must be to become an approved sponsor.

If approved, the sponsorship will be valid for a period of 5 years, during which time the organisation will have the ability to sponsor multiple expatriate workers for TSS Subclass 482 visas and Subclass 494 Regional Skilled Visas, amongst others.

Sponsorship Obligations

Once an organisation is an approved sponsor, they will be bound by their Sponsorship Obligations.

These include:

• Keep and maintain certain records and information;
• Provide information to the Department of Home Affairs when certain events occur;
• Not to engage in discriminatory recruitment practices;
• Not to recover certain costs from a sponsored employee; and
• If requested, pay travel costs to enable a sponsored employee to leave Australia.

Further information regarding sponsorship obligations can be found on our recent blog post:

Know your sponsorship obligations and how to remain compliant.

Overseas Business Sponsorship

If an organisation is lawfully operating a business outside of Australia and does not lawfully operate a business in Australia, it may be eligible to be granted an Overseas Business Sponsorship to allow it to send expatriate workers to Australia to:

• Establish, or assist in establishing a business operation in Australia with overseas connection; or
• Fulfil, or assist in fulfilling, a contractual obligation to provide goods and/ or services to an Australian business.

Accredited Sponsorship

Accredited Sponsorship enables faster processing for Subclass 482 nominations and visa applications lodged by companies and organisations that the Department of Home Affairs considers ‘low risk’.

There is also a more streamlined application process, and a reduction in the documents that accredited sponsors and their expatriate employees are required to provide when making employee nomination and visa applications.

To be approved as an  Accredited Sponsor, an organisation must first be an Approved  Standard Business Sponsor.

Advantages of becoming an Accredited Business Sponsor

Priority Processing

TSS Subclass 482 nomination and visa applications lodged under an accredited sponsorship receive priority processing from the Department of Home Affairs.

On average, decision-ready TSS Subclass 482 visa application lodged by accredited sponsors are finalised within 5 to 10 working days compared with between 44 to 76 days for Standard Business Sponsors.

Reduced Supporting Documentation

Accredited sponsorship allows organisations to provide a good character declaration for the nominated expatriate employee which waives the requirement for the individual (and any accompanying family members) to obtain police clearances.

The sponsoring organisation is also not required to provide an employment contract or evidence of market salary rates for the nominated employee in support of the TSS Subclass 482 nomination application, and evidence of advertising on the company’s website can be counted towards the Labour Market Testing evidence.

Accredited Sponsorship – Eligibility Criteria

To be granted Accredited Sponsorship, an organisation must satisfy the criteria for one of the following categories (see table below as well):

• Be a low volume user of the TSS Subclass 482 visa program with a high percentage of Australian workers; or
• A high volume user of the TSS Subclass 482 visa program with a medium percentage of Australian workers;
• An Australian Trusted Trader; or
• Have made a major investment in Australia.

Please find below a summary of the eligibility criteria for each category:

*The Department of Home Affairs may waive this requirement depending on the organisation and their background

Contact Seamus Taaffe directly on 0419 360 210, by email –  staaffe@ahwc.com.au or via our general enquiry page