There are companies in the Australian marketplace with what is called a 457 0n-hire Labour Agreement with the Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP). 
These companies have the ability to become surrogate sponsors for skilled internationals who have been offered positions in Australia with companies who do not wish to, or may not have the ability to sponsor people for a 457 visa.
What is a subclass 457 visa and what are the rules around employment on this visa?
The 457 visa allows a person to come and live and work in Australia, just like an Australian, for up to 4 years on each visa. To obtain this 457 visa a company must be your sponsor. The sponsoring company must have the approval to be a 457 sponsoring entity from the Government (DIBP). You can be sponsored directly by the company offering you the position if they are approved and able to sponsor 457 visas, if not, you might like to look for companies that have the ability to sponsor you through an on-hire agreement with the Government (DIBP) they effectively become your surrogate sponsor for the period of the contract.
There are some stipulations around the employment such as; you must be paid the market salary rate e.g. the same rate that would be paid to an Australian and you must work within your sponsored skill set at all times e.g. if you are an IT SAP consultant, you cannot work as a manger for a retail outlet unless you are managing the implementation of the SAP system.
The beauty of working through an approved 457 on-hire company, like Pendragon, is that if you lose your job, if you want to swap jobs or the contract comes to an end, you can look for further work within your skill set but you do not have to look for a new sponsoring company as the on-hire company already holds a legitimate sponsorship for you. This means you can change jobs according to your circumstances as long as you are mindful that the rate of pay and the position is the same or similar…
How can we help?
So if you have looked at or have considered SAP contract work in Australia but have come up against the 457 visa sponsorship or work visa issue please don’t hesitate to contact us for further information. Having been in this industry for close to 20 years, we have one of the best teams to talk to…
Phone: 02 9407 8700
Website: https://www.pendragon.net.au/individuals/visas/
Free assessment to see if you are eligible for sponsorship through Pendragon: https://www.pendragon.net.au/contact/
