What are the Current Industry Specific Labour Agreements?

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Table of Contents

• Existing Australian Industry-Specific Labour Agreements
• Common Elements for All Industries
• Dairy Industry
• Fishing Industry
• Meat Industry
• Minister of Religion
• On-Hire
• Pork Industry
• Restaurant (Premium Dining) Industry
• Advertising Industry
• Horticulture Industry
• Aged Care industry
• Key Takeaways
• Frequently Asked Questions

If your business is looking to hire new employees but cannot find a sufficient supply of Australian workers, you may be eligible to engage foreign workers under an Industry Specific Labour Agreement (ISLA). These agreements can enable you to sponsor skilled overseas workers when there is a shortage of skills or labour in your industry sector. This article outlines: 

• existing ISLA’s;
• common elements and requirements across these industries; and
• details about each type of agreement.

Existing Australian Industry-Specific Labour Agreements

If your business is engaged in an industry covered by an ISLA, this may open a pathway to sponsoring an overseas worker. ISLAs consist of terms and conditions that are unique for each industry. There are currently nine industry-specific labour agreements, including:

• dairy;
• fishing;
• meat;
• minister of religion;
• on-hire;
• pork;
• restaurant (premium dining);
• advertising; and
• horticultural.

Common Elements for All Industries

There are some common requirements you will need to fulfil to engage an employee under an ISLA, irrespective of which one covers your business. This includes:

• the employee meets specific English language requirements under the TSS visa subclass 482, or the relevant requirements under the ENS visa subclass 186;
• the employee is nominated in one of the specified ANZSCO occupations contained in the ISLA;
• the nominated position is genuine and full-time; and
• the intended earnings for the nominated persons are in line with the market salary rates in Australia and also satisfy the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT), which is currently $53,900.

Once you satisfy the above elements, you can nominate the worker for up to four years. 

Dairy Industry

You can sponsor workers under the dairy industry labour agreement if the genuinely intended occupation is either Senior Dairy Cattle Farm Worker or Dairy Cattle Farm Operator.

To meet the occupation and visa requirements, the worker must also have certain qualifications and a certain number of years of experience, which depend on the occupation selected.

A permanent residency pathway is open to workers employed under this agreement through the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) visa (subclass 186) after a three-year transition period.

Fishing Industry

The fishing industry labour agreement lets you sponsor skilled workers in the following occupations:

• Deck Hand;
• Fishing Hand;
• Master Fisher;
• Ship’s Engineer;
• Ship’s Master;
• Ship’s Officer; and
• Seafood Process Worker.

The English requirements for the Deck Hand and Fishing Hand occupations are lower than the other occupations. Accordingly, the employer must provide access to interpreters and resources in English and their native languages. Additionally, the employer must ensure the employee has a sufficient level of English to comply with OH&S requirements. 

The qualifications and experience levels required for each occupation can be found in the relevant Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO). 

A permanent residency pathway is open to workers employed under this agreement through the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) visa (subclass 186) after a three-year transition period.

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Meat Industry

If you wish to sponsor a worker under the meat industry labour agreement, you can only do so under the occupation of ‘skilled meat worker’. Workers must also meet varying English requirements depending on the visa they are being nominated within.

A permanent residency pathway is open to workers employed under this agreement through the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) visa (subclass 186) after a three-year transition period.

Minister of Religion

If you wish to sponsor a worker as a minister of religion, the worker must align to the occupations of Minister of Religion or Religious Assistant. In addition, your organisation must be defined as a ‘religious organisation’. You can determine this by factors such as:

• • activities;

• • member’s practices;

• • tax requirements; and

• • the organisation’s charitable status. 

English requirements will vary depending on the visa pursued, and there are exceptions to meeting these requirements. Skills and experience levels apply. However, they vary between the two occupations.

A concession is available where non-monetary benefits can be considered in the calculation of TSMIT. If a vow of poverty has been taken, a full exemption is available if the nominee will be provided with all their living needs.

There is a permanent residency pathway open to workers employed under this agreement through the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) visa (subclass 186) after a three-year transition period. There is also an immediate permanent residency pathway for the most senior Minister of Religious position in the organisation or the State. 

On-Hire

The on-hire industry labour agreement allows you to sponsor foreign employees temporarily for certain occupations. You can assign the employee to work for a third party, but you must remain the direct employer. The requirements include that:

• • the worker is sponsored on a Temporary Skill Shortage visa (subclass 482) for an ANZSCO occupation on the relevant occupation list and meets the requirements;

• • the worker meets the English requirements equivalent to the short-term stream of a 482 visa;

• • the worker is paid by the business directly and not any third parties;

• • the annual earnings for the full-time worker are above $65,000;

• • you show evidence of labour market testing; and 

• • you must also provide a signed copy of the contracts between you and the worker and the third party they will work for.

Pork Industry

You can sponsor a worker under the pork industry labour agreement for Senior Stockperson (piggery) occupation. English requirements depend on the visa stream chosen. 

The qualification and experience required for this occupation are:

• • minimum visa work experience requirement; and

• • Certificate III in Agriculture or equivalent, plus 3 years of recent and relevant work experience in a medium-to-large-size commercial piggery; or

• • Certificate III in Agriculture, plus 18 months of relevant work experience; or

• • 5 years of recent and relevant work experience. 

A permanent residency pathway is open to workers employed under this agreement through the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) visa (subclass 186) after a three-year transition period. 

Restaurant (Premium Dining) Industry

To sponsor a worker under the restaurant (premium dining) industry labour agreement, you can sponsor them as a Cook, Chef, Cafe or Restaurant Manager, or a Trade Waiter in an Australian premium quality premium-dining restaurant.

English requirements vary depending on the visa stream chosen. Qualifications and experience differ depending on the occupation chosen. A concession is available for a discount of up to 10% on the TSMIT, where you can demonstrate that equivalent Australian workers do not receive annual earnings of $53,900.

There is a permanent residency pathway open to workers employed under this agreement through the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) visa (subclass 186) after a three-year transition period. 

Advertising Industry

To sponsor a work under the advertising industry labour agreement, your business must have endorsement from the Media Federation of Australia (MFA) and The Communications Council (TCC). You will need to nominate workers within the following occupations:

• • Advertising Specialist;

• • Graphic Designer;

• • Copywriter;

• • Multimedia Designer; and

• • Web Developer.

The workers must receive minimum full-time annual earnings of $85,0000. For skill requirements, the worker must show at least 3 years of relevant experience for the 482 temporary visa or 6 years for the 186 permanent residency visa. The worker must also meet English requirements, equivalent to the short-term stream 482 visa requirements. In addition, the business must provide evidence of labour market testing when applying for the labour agreement. 

A permanent residency pathway is open to workers employed under this agreement through the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) visa (subclass 186) after a three-year transition period. 

Horticulture Industry

You can sponsor a worker under a horticulture industry labour agreement under the Temporary Skill Shortage (482) visa for 31 occupations. There are also options for permanent residency:

• • under the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (SESR) (subclass 494) visa program with a permanent pathway to a Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa (subclass 191) available after three year period; or 

• • under the ENS (subclass 186) visa program after a three or four-year transitional period on a TSS visa.

There are additional benefits to this agreement through applicable concessions:

• • a discount of up to 10% on the TSMIT where you can demonstrate that equivalent Australian workers do not receive annual earnings of $53,900;

• • a broader range of monetary payments and non-monetary benefits to count as guaranteed earnings; 

• • different English concessions apply depending on which visa the worker will be applying for.

However, note there is an age limit of 50 years for this pathway.

Aged Care industry

From 5 May 2023, Australian aged care providers can request an Aged Care Labour Agreement to recruit and sponsor experienced direct care workers in the following occupations:

• Nursing Support Worker (Assistant in Nursing) (ANZSCO 423312);
• Personal Care Assistant (Personal Care Worker) (ANZSCO 423313); and
• Aged or Disabled Carer (ANZSCO 423111).

Employers can sponsor overseas workers on the following visas:

• Temporary Skill Shortage visa (TSS) (subclass 482) for up to four years; and
• Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) visa (subclass 186) after a two-year transition period.

Aged care providers who have entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a relevant union will have satisfied the labour marketing testing (LMT) requirements.

For subclass 482, overseas workers must have the following:

• a relevant AQF Certificate III or equivalent or higher; or
• 12 months of relevant full-time work experience or part-time equivalent; or 
• a positive skills assessment if the applicant obtained qualification overseas or is claiming work experience in lieu of a relevant qualification.

There will be no minimum post-qualification work experience required if the overseas worker has:

• IELTS 5.0 (or equivalent) with minimum component scores of 5.0 for speaking and listening and 4.5 for reading and writing – workers employed by culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) aged care providers; or 
• IELTS 4.5 (or equivalent) with no component minimum, provided the overseas worker is fluent in the target community language.

Note that there is no applicable age limit for this pathway.

A permanent residency pathway is open to workers employed under this agreement through the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) visa (subclass 186) after a two-year transition period. However, there is an age cap of 45 years old.

Key Takeaways

An industry labour agreement may be a sensible option for your business, depending on the alignment of your industry and the occupations of your workers. There are strict terms and conditions set under each agreement, as well as many requirements for nominations under each agreement (e.g. skills, qualifications, experience, English, salary, tasks/duties, age). The benefits of having this agreement in place are that you can nominate several employees for periods of up to four years, and most agreements have permanent residency pathways. 

If you need help sponsoring foreign workers, our experienced immigration lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 1300 544 755 or visit our membership page.

Frequently Asked Questions