On Sunday August 12th, the Skilling Australians Fund came into effect, as well as changes to Labour Market Testing. How will this affect you?
Well the minimum increase will be a $1,200 up front training levy cost (Skilling Australians Fund) for every visa lodged and that cost increases depending on the visa you choose and the turnover of the company.
What is the Skilling Australians Fund?
The Skilling Australians Fund is an initiative of the Australian Government which aims to support the vocational education and training (VET) sector to develop the skills required by employers and to support apprentices and trainees.
The purpose of the levy is to require employers seeking to access skilled overseas workers to contribute to the skills development of Australians. This means that a ‘nomination training contribution charge’ is applicable to nominations on a variety of visas, in addition to the normal fees payable in the process of nomination and application.
The ‘nomination training contribution charge’ will apply to nominations for the following subclasses:
- Subclass 457 Temporary Work Skilled visa holder (refers to nomination to change sponsor for existing 457 visa holder)
- Subclass 482 Temporary Skill Shortage visa holder or, applicant for this visa
- Subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme visa
- Subclass 187 Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme visa
The base amount for organisations with less than $10 million annual turnover is $1200, in any other case the base amount is $1800.
Fees for Subclass 482/TSS visa and nomination transfers for existing 457 visa holders
Businesses with a turnover less than AUD$10 million per annum:
- Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) /482 visas – AUD$1,200 per year.
- Permanent Residence under the Employer Nomination Scheme or Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme / Subclass 186/187 visas – AUD$3,000 one off payment.
Businesses with a turnover over AUD$10 million per annum:
- Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) /482 visas – AUD$1,800 per year.
- Permanent Residence under the Employer Nomination Scheme or Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme / Subclass 186/187 visas – AUD$5,000 one off payment.
We have been advised that the following amounts will be applicable for any application post implementation.
| Visa Period | < $10 million turnover | > $10 million turnover |
| One Year | $1200 | $1800 |
| Two Years | $2400 | $3600 |
| Three Years | $3600 | $5400 |
| Four Years | $4800 | $7200 |
For example, the upfront costs for an individual on a four year visa with no dependents through a company with less than 10 million turnover:
$2400 for government charges
$1200 x 4 years – total of $4,800 training levy charges
$2000 average qualified migration agent costs
That’s a total up front of $7,400.
This cost increases an extra $4,200 for a company turning over more than 10 million a year, meaning it becomes a total upfront cost of $11,600.
Further information around this can be found on a previous blog https://www.pendragon.net.au/skilling-australians-fund/
Fees for Subclass 186 ENS visa including Temporary Resident Transition and Direct Entry Streams, and Subclass 187 RSMS visa
If the annual turnover of the nominating organisation is less than $10 million, a once-only charge of $3000 applies.
If the annual turnover of the nominating organisation is more than $10 million, a once-only charge of $5000 applies.
Changes to Labour Market Testing
The required period for advertising of the position to the local labour market has increased from 21 days to 28 days, and the advertising now must have taken place within the four month period immediately before the lodgement of the nomination (previously six months was acceptable.) All of the other recent changes to the Labour Market Testing requirements, such as placing two advertisements and including the salary (or at least a salary range), location and position title, are now mandatory.
