Accredited Sponsorship
Accredited Sponsorship status is granted to those larger Australian employers that possess a significant, regular and ongoing need for visa sponsorship. Applications lodged by Accredited Sponsors receive preferential treatment by the immigration department resulting in faster turn-around times.
Another benefit given to accredited sponsors is a longer Standard Business Sponsorship duration, with approvals being given for 6 years compared to the standard 5 years. In addition to priority processing of nomination and visa applications, sponsors approved with accredited status will also be eligible for streamlined processing of nominations in some instances, including most ANZSCO level 1 and 2 occupations where the base salary will be greater than $75,000.
Requirements
The requirements for accredited sponsor status, as of 1 July 2016 are:
- be a government agency, a publicly-listed company or a private company with at least AUD four million annual turnover for the last three years;
- have been an active 457/TSS visa sponsor for at least three years (with no more than a 6 month break in the past 36 months), with no adverse information (based on monitoring, including formal warnings and sanctions);
- have sponsored at least 10 primary 482 (TSS) visa holders in the 24 months prior to the application for accreditation;
- have lodged an agreed level of decision-ready applications over the previous two years;
- have a non-approval rate of less than 3% for the previous three years;
- have Australian workers comprising at least 75% of their workforce in Australia
- Accredited sponsorship may be available to businesses who do not meet all of the above requirements in limited circumstances
Benefits
- Accredited sponsors receive streamlined processing on all 482 visa applications, reducing the processing time from months to days in some cases
- The labour market testing requirements are more relaxed for accredited sponsors, with these businesses permitted to utilise advertisements placed on their own website, rather than through national recruitment websites
- Applicants for 482 visas on the basis of sponsorship by an accredited sponsor do not need to provide police clearance certificates for every country in which they have resided provided the business can attest to their good character, again significantly reducing processing times
WHO CAN APPLY FOR ACCREDITATION?
In order to qualify for Accredited Status, a sponsor must meet all the requirements for Standard Business Sponsorship and meet all of the following additional characteristics of one of the four categories:
Category 1: Commonwealth, state and territory government agencies
- Have Australian workers comprising at least 75% of their workforce in Australia
Category 2: Australian Trusted Traders
- Have Australian workers comprising at least 75% of their workforce in Australia
- Engage all 457 and TSS Visa holders as employees under a written contract of employment that includes at least the minimum employment entitlements as required under the National Employment Standards (unless their occupation is exempt from this requirement)
- Have all Australian employees paid in accordance with an Enterprise Agreement or an internal salary table that reflects the current market salary rates for all occupations in their business
Category 3: Low volume usage (of the 457 and 482 programmes) and high percentage of Australian workers (at least 90%)
- Be a publicly-listed company or a private company with at least AUD four million annual turnover for the last two years
- Have been an active 457/TSS sponsor for at least two years
- Have no adverse monitoring outcomes
- Have sponsored at least one (1) primary 457/TSS visa holder in the two years prior to the application for accreditation
- Have a non-approval rate of less than 3% for the previous two years
- Have Australian workers comprising at least 90% of their workforce in Australia;
- Engage all 457/TSS holders as employees under a written contract of employment that includes at least the minimum employment entitlements as required under the National Employment Standards (unless their occupation is exempt from this requirement)
- Have all Australian employees paid in accordance with an Enterprise Agreement or an internal salary table that reflects the current market salary rates for all occupations in their business
- Have provided details of all business activities undertaken by their business to the department
- Have provided details of all Principals / Directors of their business to the department
Category 4: High volume usage (of the 457 or 482 (TSS) programmes) and medium percentage of Australian workers (at least 75%)
Characteristics are the same as Category 3 with two differences:
- Have sponsored at least ten (10) primary 457/TSS visa holders in the two years prior to the application for accreditation
- Have Australian workers comprising at least 75% of their workforce in Australia
Note: The Department may approve accreditation for start-up businesses that do not meet these requirements, in limited circumstances (e.g. part of a government entrepreneurship program/award winner). These will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. For migration purposes, a start-up business is a business that has been operating in Australia for less than 12 months.
Common Scenarios
We don’t have an Enterprise Agreement or internal salary banding system for all occupations in the business.
This is a common scenario for many businesses. In this instance, we recommend carrying out a job analysis of the different roles performed within the organisation and benchmarking the relevant employment classifications. TSS Immigration can provide direction and guidance to the organisation to prepare a comprehensive document outlining the salary scales.
We already have a valid standard business sponsorship application. Do we have to wait until it expires to apply for accredited status?
If the business has been an active sponsor for two years, the business can apply to vary their current sponsorship to obtain accredited status. At this time, TSS will assess the business against the accredited sponsorship criteria to ensure it is eligible.
Our Service
Accredited sponsors receive priority processing of all nomination and visa applications lodged. This is particularly important in the current immigration climate where subclass 482 (TSS) nomination and visa applications can take over 3 months to be processed. Where businesses are eligible, we recommend applying for accredited status to obtain streamlined service and faster turnaround times for subclass 482 (TSS) visa applications.
As part of our services, we will assess the eligibility of the application for accredited status and provide you with detailed advice on your business' chances of success. If our services are engaged, we will guide you through the entire process, from collating and gathering the required documents, preparing your application, liaising with the Department of Home Affairs and relevant third parties as necessary and finally, lodging the application. TSS can also assist in the event that the Department requests further information or the circumstances of your business change.
As soon as an outcome is received, you will be notified and reminded of your obligations as an accredited sponsor moving forward.