Eligibility

For an employer to be eligible to nominate a position under subclass 494, the business must:

• be an approved standard business sponsor
• be operating an active and lawful business in regional Australia
• have a genuine need for a paid employee to fill a skilled position
• offer a genuine, skilled position that is full-time and ongoing for the duration of the visa (five years)
  Note: the five years employment is calculated from the date of grant of the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) (subclass 494) visa by Department of Home Affairs to the overseas nominee
• nominate a skilled position on the applicable occupation list; for applications to the Department of Home Affairs go to LIN 19/219: Occupations for subclass 494 visas on the Federal Register of Legislation website
• offer no less than the market salary rate and employment terms and conditions that accord with those provided to Australian citizens and permanent residents in a similar position
• offer no less than the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT), currently the TSMIT is $53,900 per annum
• ensure that the position has been advertised in accordance with the labour market testing requirements on the Australian Government's Department of Home Affairs website
• comply with all relevant Australian immigration and workplace relations laws.

For an overseas national to be sponsored under subclass 494 they must have the skills, qualifications and language required for that visa stream.

The employee must have:

• qualifications and skills relevant to the nominated occupation
• a positive skills assessment by the relevant assessing authority; for the full list of occupations and assessing authorities, go to the Federal Register of Legislation website, there are very limited circumstances in which this is not required
• competent English (IELTS 6.0 in each band or equivalent)
• three years’ post-qualification relevant work experience
• not yet turned 45 years of age, except if transitional arrangements or limited exemptions apply.

For more information on the eligibility criteria, go to the Department of Home Affairs website.