Businesses turn to labour agreements to hire overseas workers

Recent tightening of the sponsorship requirements is forcing employers to seek alternative options to enable them to sponsor overseas workers. Labour Agreements (LA’s) may offer a solution in circumstances where standard sponsorship requirements cannot be met by an employer.
Briefly, a labour agreement is a formal arrangement negotiated between an Australian employer and the Australian Government. Applying for a visa under a labour agreement is the only migration pathway for employers seeking to recruit overseas workers for semi-skilled positions, or skilled positions where concessions to mainstream visa requirements are sought.
Whilst LA’s offer some concessions including the ability to sponsor workers in semi-skilled positions, an employer must nonetheless ensure Australian workers get priority. In addition, an employer must ensure:
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