The Government is making changes to Australia's public employment services system. These changes affect the way businesses nominate overseas staff for employer-sponsored visas, subclasses 482 and 494.
Background
Visa applications for the Temporary Skills Shortage (subclass 482) and Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (subclass 494) visas must be supported by employer-nomination applications. Labour Market Testing is a key feature of these nominations.
The idea behind Labour Market Testing (LMT) is making sponsors show genuine efforts to employ Australian staff before nominating overseas workers. In simple terms, employers are required to advertise the position for 4 weeks before nominating the visa applicant. Strict guidelines must be adhered to satisfy the LMT criterion. One of them is publishing one advert on the Government's public online job board Jobactive, plus two adverts on other platforms.
The Change
Jobactive has been a problematic website. Technical issues have made it difficult for employers and job seekers to use it effectively. The Government has decided to replace Jobactive with Workforce Australia - a new online job board managed by the Department of Education, Skills and Employment. Jobactive is decommissioned effective 4 July 2022 and replaced with Workforce Australia.
From 4 July 2022, a sponsor wishing to nominate a worker for a Subclass 482/494 visa and perform LMT, is required to place an advert on Workforce Australia, instead of the Jobactive website. Existing adverts on Jobactive will appear on the Workforce Australia website.
Transitional arrangements are in place, allowing sponsors who have already posted adverts on Jobactive to satisfy the LMT requirements.
Potential Issues
The Jobactive website was unavailable from 30 June to 4 July, while the transition to the new platform was taking place. This shutdown can cause significant issues to sponsors because LMT adverts must be available for at least 28 days. Adverts already running on Jobactive during the shutdown period may need to be extended or renewed on the new Workforce Australia website.
Workforce Australia requires the person placing a job advert to identify using their Australian Digital Identity. This can complicate the LMT process for sponsors, if they have not set up their Digital ID. This is particularly the case with overseas businesses. It is likely that sponsors will prefer to rely on Agents and recruiters to assist them with meeting the strict job advertising requirements.
For more information please Contact Us or email elan@ryshermigration.com.au
Elan Rysher is a Registered Migration Agent and Qualified Student Counsellor. He is the main Writer for ImmiUpdates and the founder of Rysher Migration. Elan has many years of experience working in immigration, finance and health. Being a former migrant himself, Elan is passionate about helping others fulfil their Australian dream.
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