Tasmania celebrates a diverse workforce and is actively working to attract skilled migrants to support its economic growth and address skill shortages in vital industries.
Skilled migrants bring valuable skills and experience that can benefit your business and Tasmania’s economy.
You can use various visa options to employ skilled migrants who are already in Australia or from overseas. Use our resources to work through the options that work best for you and your prospective employees.
Considerations before sponsoring someone
There are a few things employers should consider before sponsoring a migrant worker:
- Identify your skill gap and create a candidate pool
- Advertise widely and do labour market testing
- Check the Skilled Occupation list to find eligible visa types
- Get familiar with Home Affairs eligibility criteria (such as age, skill assessment, English level etc)
- Get familiar with relevant standards, obligations and salary information
- Identify the suitable visa pathway for your candidate
- Get familiar with the paperwork and timeframes involved
- Start the visa process
- Be prepared to support the migrant worker in the workplace and community
More information is available from the Department of Home Affairs and our handy checklists:
- Employing overseas workers
- Hiring someone in Australia
- Checklist for sponsoring a migrant worker
- Advertising strategy checklist
Further visa assistance and information
Department of Home Affairs - Business and Industry Regional Outreach (Tasmanian Office)
For advice about ways to hire skilled migrants from onshore or offshore, the Department of Home Affairs has a Business and Industry Regional Outreach Officer based in Tasmania to provide you with possible solutions: BIRO.VIC.TAS@homeaffairs.gov.au
Migration advice
If you need migration advice, you can engage a registered migration agent from the Migration Agents Registration Authority or consult with a registered lawyer.
Important links from the Department of Home Affairs
Visa Entitlement Verification Online
If you want to hire a migrant already in Australia and check their visa details and conditions (i.e. whether they are legally allowed to work in Australia), you can use the Australian Government’s Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO). VEVO will tell you the start and expiry date of the candidate’s visa and any conditions or work restrictions on their visa.
If you have an occupation that you cannot recruit to locally, you should first check if there is a migration pathway for this occupation. By searching the occupation name on the Department of Home Affairs’ Skilled Occupation List, you may find possible visa pathways to source or retain the talent you are after.
To help plan for your recruitment of a skilled migrant, you can check visa processing times.
Skilled migrants generally pay for their visa applications themselves. If you want to have an idea about the potential cost involved in this process, you can check the visa pricing estimator.
Employers pay for application cost to be a sponsor, to nominate a worker for a skilled visa and the Skilling Australians Fund levy to contribute to the broader skills development of Australians.
Common terms
Here are some terms and acronyms you will come across when considering sponsoring a migrant worker.
ANZSCO
The Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO)classifies occupations in Australia and New Zealand and specifies the definition and qualification requirements.
AMSR
Annual market salary rate (AMSR) is the ongoing market salary rate for an occupation and can be determined based on information stipulated by the Department of Home Affairs.
Employer Sponsored Visa
These visas allow skilled workers to live and work in Australia for a nominating Australian employer. There are both temporary (subclass 482, 494) and permanent employer sponsored visas (subclass 186).
LMT
Labour Market Testing (LMT) generally involves advertising the position in Australia.
Skills Assessment
A Skills Assessment is a critical step in applying for a visa and involves assessing and validating qualifications and work experience to determine eligibility for skilled migration to Australia. A skills assessing authority is an organisation that checks that skills meet the standards set to work in a relevant occupation.
TSMIT
Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) is the minimum guaranteed annual earnings a worker sponsored by an employer can be paid.