TAS Regional Certifying Body

The Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (SESR) (Provisional) Subclass 494 visa enables Australian employers in regional and low population growth areas to sponsor (nominate) skilled overseas workers where they have been unable to fill vacant positions with Australian citizens or permanent residents. This includes current visa holders already living in Australia but wishing to move to the regional area where the nominated position is located.

The Department of State Growth is Tasmania’s Regional Certifying Body (RCB) for SESR. It assesses all Tasmanian applications and provides advice to the Department of Home Affairs on whether the employer nomination should be supported. It is up to Home Affairs to make the final decision on the visa application.

This visa has two streams. The Employer Sponsored stream and the Labour Agreement stream. Tasmania’s Regional Certifying Body (RCB) advice is only necessary for the Employer Sponsored stream.

Applications must be submitted by either the sponsoring employer or a migration agent. Nominees are not permitted to submit SESR RCB applications on behalf of the sponsoring Employer.

The Tasmanian RCB is not able to provide migration advice and recommends employers to engage with migration agents for professional migration advice and guidance.

The RCB application process involves two steps:

Step 1. The sponsoring employer or migration agent submits an RCB application via this website online.The application is assessed according to the RCB documentation submitted and an outcome provided by email to both the employer/migration agent and Home Affairs. The current SESR (Provisional) Subclass 494 visa RCB processing time is up to 28 days.

Step 2. RCB Advice is valid for three months. An employer/migration agent needs to lodge this Advice together with the Home Affairs required documentation as an ImmiAccount e-lodgment. Support from the RCB does not guarantee nomination approval by Home Affairs (who may also request further information).

Eligibility

Sponsoring Employers

To be eligible for Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (SESR) (Provisional) Subclass 494 the sponsoring business/employer must:

• be an eligible business (well-established and located in Tasmania)
• be or have applied to be a Standard Business Sponsor
• pay the Skilling Australians Fund levy when you nominate an applicant

Nominees

To be eligible for Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (SESR) (Provisional) Subclass 494 the nominee/sponsored employee must:

• be nominated to work in an occupation on the relevant skilled occupation list
• have at least 3 years relevant work experience in your nominated occupation
• have a relevant skills assessment (unless exempt)
• work only for the sponsoring business or an associated entity (unless exempt)
• be under 45 years of age (unless exempt)
• meet minimum standards of English language proficiency

Criteria

The Tasmanian RCB will provide advice to Home Affairs relating to:

• whether or not the nominee is being paid or will be paid at least the annual market salary rate (AMSR) for the nominated occupation/employed offering;
• local skill shortages and the context of the occupation within the business; and
• information on the actual business presence and its operations in Tasmania.

Home Affairs will assess all other aspects of the application including the Labour Market Testing (LMT), etc.

Apply

Documents required:

• Form 956 (Migration Agent requirement only)
• Employment contract (fully signed and dated)
• Organisational chart (for the Tasmanian business/office location only)
• Proof of domestic recruitment efforts (LMT & summary)
• Employer’s Financial Documents (P&L statement)
• Nominee's CV (current/up-to-date)

- Employment contract

The nominated position should be permanent and full-time. The contract should clearly state which industrial award or workplace agreement is applicable and a position description that stipulates the required qualifications, skills, experience and responsibilities of the position. Please refer to the Fair Work Ombudsman website for information and resources on employment contract templates and industry awards.

- Organisational chart

The organisational chart needs to show exactly where the nominated position fits within the business and include all employees directly employed by the business (subcontractors not required). It is also essential to specify how many people are working in each position and their status of employment (e.g. full time, part time or casual).

- Proof of domestic recruitment efforts

Provide evidence that you have made a genuine effort to recruit locals (Australian citizens/permanent residents) but were unsuccessful.

Be sure to include copies of at least 2 advertisements through reputable sources including on-line (eg. Seek, Indeed, etc), University of Tasmania Career hub, Tasmanian vocational institutions, Jobactive and local newspapers/related publications. Social media advertisements are not favourable.

Include a brief summary recruitment efforts explaining the number of applications received, how many candidates were shortlisted for interview and why no local applicants were suitable for the position.

- Financial documents

The business's most recent Profit and Loss Statement and the most recent Balance Sheet. Please do not submit annual reports, Business Activity Statements (BAS), bank statements or other lengthy documentation.

Processing may be delayed or an application declined if information provided is incomplete or not included.

Contact Details

E-mail: [e-mail].

or

Online Enquiry