| 11 December 2023 Great news for those people who have struggled and cursed the dreaded Workforce Australia website when preparing an advertisement to meet the labour market testing (LMT) requirements. The Australian Government removed the requirement to advertise on Workforce Australia on 8 December 2023 for all applications lodged after this date. This means employers must now conduct two valid advertisements, instead of three. Further, the Government also announced that overlapping advertisements (for the two valid advertisements) for the 28 day period are allowed. A recap of the new LMT requirements applicable for all applications lodged after 8 December 2023 where an exemption does not apply is below: The Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa (subclass 482) and the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 494) nominations require the position to be labour market tested unless the applicant or the occupation is exempt. Labour market testing evidence that meets the following criteria will generally be considered sufficient: • the nominated position has been advertised in Australia for a consecutive period of 28 days within the previous 4 months before lodgement of the nomination • the advertisement is in English and must include the following information: 1. the title or a description of the position 2. the skills or experience required for the position 3. the name of the approved sponsor or the name of the recruitment agency being used by the sponsor 4. the annual earnings for the position (if the intended annual earnings are lower than $96,400 AUD). Please note that a salary range is acceptable. • At least 2 advertisements that would include: 1. placement on a prominent or professional recruitment website with national reach that publishes advertisements for positions throughout Australia 2. if the sponsor is an accredited sponsor, placement on the business’ website. 3. in national print media (that is, newspapers or magazines with national reach that are published at least monthly and marketed throughout Australia) or on national radio with national reach 4. Advertisements, including on websites are expected to have run for at least 4 weeks 5. Applications of expressions of interst for the advertised position must have been accepted for at least 4 weeks. Please note: 1. the nominated position may be advertised in the same medium (such as newspaper advertisements, on two separate occasions) or in any two different mediums simultaneously, or on two separate occasions 2. the nominated position may be advertised over two or more overlapping periods totaling a minimum of 4 weeks 3. advertising may have been undertaken by a third party if authorised to do so by the sponsor (for example, an associated entity or a contracted party, such as a recruitment agency) – there no requirement that the sponsor placed the advertisement themselves. Evidence of a total of 2 advertisements must be provided at the time the nomination is lodged |
Delays in visa processing.
September 5, 2024
Visa processing times are getting longer. There are several reasons for this, such as the changing priorities of the government but the most well-known one
