TSS 482 Visa (Temporary Skill Shortage Visa)

A Temporary Skills Shortage visa (TSS visa) helps Australian employers hire skilled workers from abroad if they are not able to employ an Australian resident with the skills or experience they require. Individuals who travel to and work in Australia on a TSS visa may be able to take advantage of a pathway to permanent residency.

Businesses seeking to sponsor a TSS visa receipient must be registered as either a Standard Business Sponsor (SBS) or an Overseas Business Sponsor (OBS).

Applicants for TSS visas can be physically located either inside or outside of Australia at the time they submit their application. Holders of certain Bridging Visas (BVA, BVB, BVC) are permitted to apply for a TSS Visa if eligible.

NB: The old 457 visa has been abolished and was replaced with the TSS visa (Subclass 482). There are several distinct streams for applications for the TSS 482 visa: Short-Term stream,  Medium-Term stream and Labour agreement stream.

Related news:  All Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) SC 482 visa holders will be eligible for ENS visas sponsored by their employers.

Three steps towards a TSS Visa

Step 1: The prospective employer applies to be a registered sponsor. The business must be lawfully operating and compliant with all relevant labour and employment laws and practices.

Step 2: Once registered as a sponsor, the business must submit a ‘nomination application’. This outlines the details of the position they intend to fill, including the nature of the role, remuneration offered, expected duration of the job and details of what efforts have been made to hire Australian workers.

Step 3: The nominated employee submits their TSS visa application, attached to the role specified by the sponsoring employer. The employee will have to provide proof that they have the skills and experience needed to fill the role, as well as meet the other requirements for applicants for an Australian work visa.

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Am I eligible for a TSS 482 visa?

Medium TSS Visa vs Short TSS Visa

Medium and Long Term TSS Visa (482)
Short-Term TSS Visa (482)
 TSS Visa -Regional (ROL)
Is my business eligible to sponsor under the TSS 482 visa program?

3 Streams

The TSS 482 visa has three distinct streams:

  • Short-term stream – this stream allows employers to bring in temporary skilled workers from abroad to fill roles which appear on the Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL) for up to two years (four years if an international trade obligation applies)
  • Medium-term stream – this streams allows employers to bring in highly-skilled workers from abroad to fill critical roles which appear on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL) or the Regional Occupations List (ROL) for as much as four years(each time),. Successful applicants become eligible to apply for permanent residency after living and working in Australia for three years.
  • Labour Agreement stream – this stream allows employers to bring in skilled workers from overseas through the provisions of a labour agreement with a member of the Commonwealth, and where suitably skilled workers can not be found within the Australian labour market. Permanent residence options can be negotiated.

When initially registering an application for recognition as a TSS sponsor, employers are required to specify the length of sponsorship that they wish to be eligible to provide:

  • 1 year or 2 years for the short-term stream (unless an international trade obligation applies-up to 4 years); and
  • 1 year, 2 years, 3 years or 4 years for the medium-term or labour agreements stream.
Am I eligible for a TSS 482 visa?

TSS 482 Visa SAF Levy (Employer)

Any employer who sponsors a worker for a TSS 482 visa is required to pay an additional fee called the Skilling Australians Fund levy:

Businesses with turnover of less than AUD 10 million per year will be required to make)
  • an upfront annual payment for each employee on a TSS 482 visa of AUD 1,200
Businesses with turnover of AUD 10 million or more per year will be required to make:
  • an upfront annual payment for each employee on a TSS 482 visa of AUD 1,800

Labour Market Testing (LMT) for TSS

Employers who wish to bring in a skilled worker from abroad on a TSS 482 visa must demonstrate that they have tried to fill the position from the Australian workforce before they will be permitted to sponsor an application from an overseas worker. They must show that they have advertised the position through at least two mediums with national reach, unless a trade obligation applies.

Salary level for TSS

Employers are required to show that if they bring in a skilled worker from abroad that worker will be protected and the local labour market will not be adversely affected. Sponsors are expected to do this by demonstrating that the overseas worker will be paid a salary above the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT), which is set by the Department of Home Affairs each year and is AUD 70,000 plus superannuation (from 1 July 2023).

Caveats

For some types of occupation, there are caveats which specify a minimum salary that is higher than the TSMIT or set other conditions. For example, sponsored individuals filling the role of ‘Corporate Services Manager’ can only do so if the nominating business had in the previous 12 months a turnover of more than AUD 1,000,000.

Can my business sponsor under the TSS 482 visa program?

Work experience requirements for TSS 482 visas

Applicants for TSS visas must have at least two years‘ work experience in the occupation for which they are being nominated, or in a related field. Recent Bachelor’s degree graduates are generally not eligible unless they have an additional overseas application and post-graduate work experience.

Applicants are also required to meet their occupation’s ANZSCO Skill Level.

What is condition 8607?

Condition 8607 is a rule which applied to everyone who is granted a TSS visa as their primary Australian visa. It has similarities to the old condition 8107 which subclass 457 holders were subject to.

This rule means that anyone holding a TSS visa who wants to change their occupation (not employer) is required to receive a new nomination and apply for a new visa before they can begin work in that new occupation.

Repeat TSS 482 visas

On the whole, it is possible to apply for a TSS 482 regardless of whether the applicant is inside or outside Australia. However, the applicant must be physically located outside Australia if they are applying for a short-term TSS 482 visa and:

  • they have had more than one ST stream TSS 482 visa;
  • they were physically located in Australia when their most recent TSS 482 visa application was submitted; and
  • there is no reason under any international trade obligation (ITO) that would exempt from a requirement to be outside Australia when applying

Individuals who have held two previous short-term TSS visas can apply from outside Australia if the second of their TSS visas was applied for while they were in Australia. They should note however that their immigration history will be considered by caseworkers in accordance with the Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) requirement for this visa.

Transitioning from subclass 457 to TSS

  • Approved sponsoring employers for subclass 457 visas are also allowed to sponsor skilled workers from abroad for TSS visas.
  • Secondary visa applicants of holders of 457 visas can submit a TSS application as a dependent. Any TSS visa that is granted will have an expiry date linked to that of their primary visa holder. Any dependent spouse, partner or child that is included in a TSS visa application will be granted unrestricted work and study rights if successful.
  • Holders of subclass 457 visas who want to change employer don’t need to apply for a new TSS visa providing that their visa is not expiring. However, their new employer will need to submit a TSS 482 nomination application and link it to the 457 visa. To continue working, it is essential to submit an application for a new TSS visa before the 457 visa expires.
  • Subclass 457 visa holders who want to change occupation or who require a new visa must submit a new TSS visa application which references a new TSS nomination application.
  • Individuals who are awarded a 457 visa on the basis of an occupation from the MLTSSL list can be awarded a visa for 4 years. They will then be eligible to apply for a permanent 186/187 visa after 3 years on that 457 visa if nominated by their company.
  • 457 visa holders working in STSOL occupations can apply for a two-year TSS visa, followed by an additional two-year TSS visa from within Australia.
Additional information:
  1. Jobs like chef and restaurant manager are on the STSOL list. However, while it is possible to be sponsored by a restaurant for two years on a 457 visa and have that visa extended by two years, it is not possible to submit an application for a permanent visa unless the relevant role is added to the MLTSSL list or is in a designated regional area and on the TSS ROL list.
  2. Retail manager is an occupation which is still eligible for 187 visa applications relating to regional areas, however it is not on the 482 visa Medium to Long Term list.
  3. Most recent graduates will be ineligible for sponsorship due to the two year full-time work experience requirement. However, formal training and work experience which has been undertaken while on a Student visa may, in some circumstances, be considered to count towards this requirement.

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