Businesses seeking to fill short-term work tenures with overseas nationals can do so through temporary visas. The main temporary visas include:
Working Holiday Visa - 417 and 462The Working Holiday Visas are targeted at young applicants from certain countries to holiday in Australia for up to 12 months and supplement this by short-term work. Employers looking to fill short-term vacancies can hire applicants on working holiday visa’s but need to be mindful that they can only work for up to 6 months with the one employer. | Temporary Work (Short Stay Activity) - 400The Temporary Work Visa is used by businesses when they are required to utilise foreign nationals for short-term, highly specialised and non-ongoing work or even to participate in a cultural or social event. This visa usually allows the holder to stay in Australia for up to six weeks (or up to 3 months in some cases). The holder can apply to bring their family with them on the visa. | 457 Long Stay Work Visa (4 years)This is the most commonly used visa for employers looking to sponsor overseas workers to work in Australia on a temporary basis (up to 4 years). This visa is aimed at assisting employers in filling nominated skilled positions in Australia. The 457 visa involves a 3 step process: 1. SponsorshipThe employer applies for approval as a standard business sponsor 2. NominationThe employer nominates an occupation for a prospective 457 visa holder 3. Visa ApplicationThe person nominated to work in the nominated occupation applies for the subclass 457 visa |
Approved sponsors are subject to monitoring and individuals can be fined up to AUD 6,600 for infringement of each failure!
Sponsorship obligations are listed on the Department of Immigration and Border Protection site (DIBP):
Contact us to see if your employee is eligible under any of these visa streams and let us guide you through the process.