Company Specific Labour Agreement

Labour agreements assist approved businesses to sponsor ‘Skilled Overseas Workers’ when there is a need to fill a vacant position that cannot be met in the Australian labour market. They provide solutions when the usual ‘Temporary’ or ‘Permanent’ visa pathways are not available.

There are five types of Labour Agreements namely;

  1. Company-specific labour agreements

  2. Industry labour agreements

  3. Designated area migration agreements

  4. Project agreements

  5. Global Talent Scheme (GTS) agreements

The first 3 are the most popular and in this ‘drop-down’ page will provide an abridged explanation of a ‘Company-Specific Labour Agreement’. Please see the additional ‘drop-down’ pages for abridged explanations regarding an ‘Industry Labour Agreement’ and a ‘Designated Area Migration Agreement’.

1. Company-Specific Labour Agreement​

This is for the employer that has a genuine need for skills that are not available in an Industry Labour Agreement or a Designated Area Migration Agreement and the business can;

  A. Demonstrate that they have an exceptional ‘Skills Needs’ that cannot be met by Australian workers.
  B. Provide evidence of their many and diverse recruitment efforts.
  C. Provide a detailed job description of the vacant position including tasks.
  D. Provide evidence that the ‘Overseas Skilled Worker’ meets all the required skills requirements (including licensing and/or registration requirements where necessary)

Important Considerations:

  E. The business must show that the ‘Overseas Skilled Worker’ will not make up more than one-third of the business’s total workforce.
  F. The business must show that it can support an ‘Overseas Skilled Worker’
  G. The business must be an Australian registered and with good standing.
  H. The business must have been lawfully and actively operating in Australia for at least 12 months.
  I. The business must show evidence of its financial viability.
  J. The business must show they have consulted with industry stakeholders about employing an ‘Overseas Skilled Worker’.

These may include;

  i. an industry body
  ii. the relevant union or
  iii. any community group the agreement impacts, such as schools or health services.

On application concessions can be granted to the standard visa eligibility requirements such as;

  i. a lower English language level
  ii. a lower salary, and
  iii. less work experience.

The business can request these concessions if they provide strong reasons as to why the usual standard visa criteria should not be applied and that any concession applied will not create inconsistent employment conditions and salary between the overseas worker and Australians in equivalent roles.

Salary and Employment Conditions

Labour Market Testing – Overview

When a business nominates an overseas worker, they will need to show that they tested the local labour market beforehand called ‘Labour Market Testing (LMT’).

Labour market testing (LMT) generally involves advertising the position in Australia and providing proof that this was done. The proof required will depend on which visa stream the ‘Overseas Worker’ is being nominated under, but this is usually of a specific type and in a specific area.

The advertisements must also stipulate the proposed salary and guarantee their earnings will be the same as that earned by an equivalent Australian worker in a similar occupation.

This is just a brief outline of the Department of Immigration regulations that apply in this category but for further information and ‘No Obligation Advice’ please drop a email to john@ascmigrationvisas.com.au and we’ll contact you within one business day.

There is a vast amount of regulations to be met in this category if your business intends to engage an overseas worker via this method. However if you engage us to process your requirements we will provide full guidance and support to both your overseas worker and the business.