A Guide to Labour Market Testing
Author: Elias Ashak
Before nominating an overseas worker for a position in Australia, all sponsors are required to make efforts to recruit a suitably skilled Australian to fill the position. If you wish to nominate an overseas worker for a Temporary Skill Shortage subclass 482 work visa, sponsors must satisfy the Department that they have adequately tested the local labour market and that there are no locally qualified, skilled or experienced Australian citizens or permanent residents readily available to fulfil a position.
CareerOne helps several clients hire skilled migrants who have benefited by using our national job board to post their job adverts. It has come to our attention the most common questions regarding labour market testing that are raised include:
Why does my employer have to do labour market testing?
Immigration expects employers to determine if a local applicant can fill a position, prior to nominating an overseas national.
How long does the employer need to advertise?
LMT must be undertaken within the 4 months before the nomination application is lodged. The sponsor must show that they have placed two advertisements that have been ‘live’ for at least 28 consecutive days prior to lodging the nomination.
Where can the advertisement be placed?
It is a requirement that a minimum of two national job boards must be used. Although there are many national recruitment websites, CareerOne has had positive feedback from its current migration agents and clients that we have been an excellent choice as we are a cost-effective option and satisfy all the requirements for Labour Market Testing. We recommend veering away from social media websites as they don’t meet LMT requirements for all visas. We also advise that even though unpaid (free) advertising is accepted on certain websites, the application has more chance of not being approved.
What information needs to be in the advertisement?
The advertisement needs to be in English and state the job title description, the job skills, any relevant job qualifications and experience (if applicable), the name of the sponsor or name of the recruitment agency your business is using, the employment type must state Full time and the offered salary.
What Labour Market Testing evidence is needed?
To satisfy the LMT requirement under the new current rules, a business sponsor at the time of lodging their 482 nomination must provide the following information:
- Copy of the job advertisement
- Paid invoice for the advertisement (if the advertisement has been paid for)
- Number of applications received in connection to the position
- Reasons why other applicants were not suitable for the role advertised
Points to note:
- Nominations cannot be lodged without evidence of LMT. What this means is that if the sponsor can’t provide at least four weeks of advertising that meets the requirements above, then the nomination application must be delayed until they can.
- The Department of Home Affairs has very strict surveillance these days. You either meet the requirements or you don’t. If you don’t, you will be refused.
