Employer Nomination Scheme

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Created on Tuesday, 20 August 2013 15:49

Written by Editorial staff

You may have heard of the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS), but may be in the dark about what it actually does.

Basically, the ENS allows business owners to sponsor overseas workers, or those that are already employed in Australia on temporary visas, to live and work in Australia.

According to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), the ENS (subclass 186) contains three different "streams".

The Temporary Residence Transition Stream is for people who already hold 457 immigration visas and have worked in Australia for a minimum of two years.

If you have a worker that fits this mould, and you would like to offer them a permanent position at your company, you may want to ask migration agents about applying for a visa in this stream.

The Direct Entry Stream, states the DIAC, is for those who are brand-new, or at least relatively new, to working in Australia.

The Agreement Stream is for people who have been sponsored by an employer under "a labour or regional migration agreement".

You may use the ENS to fill positions in your business that are suffering from skills shortages. These positions must be listed on the Consolidated Sponsored Occupation List, or CSOL.

If you are a business owner, you may want to have a look at this list and determine whether your sector or the position you are trying to fill is represented on it.

You can also get in touch with migration agents in Australia, who will be able to answer any questions you might have about the CSOL.

It should be noted that this list is subject to regular review, and was last altered on July 1, 2013. At that time, the occupation of "Anatomist or Physiologist" was removed.

Live In Melbourne reveals that, in addition to being one of the occupations listed on the CSOL, the position must be equivalent to three years full-time employment in order to qualify for the ENS.

There are a number of other obligations the employer must fulfill, such as ensuring they pay the overseas worker as much as they would an Australian staff member.

The worker being nominated for entry into the country under the ENS must also fulfill a number of criteria in order to be eligible.

For example, the DIAC states that the worker must be under the age of 50 and meet certain qualifications and English language requirements.

If you would like to know more, Australian migration agents should be your first port of call!