Employer Nomination Scheme Visa
(Subclass 186)

Employer can nominate a skilled worker for this visa if:

• they actively and lawfully operate a business in Australia
• they have a genuine need for a paid employee to fill a skilled position
• they offer a skilled position in the applicant's field that is full time and ongoing for at least two years
• they pay a market salary rate
• they comply with Australian immigration and workplace relations laws
• there is no adverse information known about the business or any person associated with the business.

Employer must nominate the applicant in one of the three streams and meet the requirements of that stream. 1. Temporary residence transition stream This stream is for employers who have already sponsored the applicant for a or Temporary Skill Shortage (subclass 482) Visa:

• The employee must have worked in the nominated position in the business, on a Temporary Work (Skilled) visa as a primary visa holder, for two to three years before the nomination is made.
• The nomination must identify an occupation (for the position) that is listed on the Combined List of Eligible Skilled Occupations and has the same four-digit occupation unit group code as the occupation being carried out by the employee.
• The nominated position must be full time, ongoing and available for at least two years and be consistent with the position in which the applicant has already worked in the business, unless exempted (may be applicable to certain medical occupations).
• The employer must have met the subclass 457 visa training requirements in each year it has been a standard business sponsor.

Training requirements The employer must meet the following training requirements:

• If the business has been trading in Australia for more than 12 months, the business must show that it has contributed to the training of Australians. It must meet one of two benchmarks:
  • Training Benchmark A: recent expenditure equal to at least 2 per cent of the payroll of the business in payments allocated to an industry training fund that operates in the same industry as the business and a commitment to maintain that level of expenditure for the term of approval as a sponsor
  • Training Benchmark B: recent expenditure equal to at least 1 per cent of the payroll of the business, in the provision of training to employees of the business. The expenditure must be an expenditure that can count towards the benchmark.
• If business has been operating for less than 12 months, you must demonstrate that you have an auditable plan to meet this training benchmark.

2. Direct entry stream This stream is for employers who want to nominate an applicant to fill a position that is:

• an occupation on the Combined List of Eligible Skilled Occupations
• full time, ongoing and available for at least two years.

3. Agreement stream This stream enables an employer to nominate an applicant through a labour agreement that has been negotiated with the government before the lodgement of the nomination.

The employer must provide terms and conditions of employment that are no less favourable than those that would apply to an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident doing equivalent work in the same workplace. Terms and conditions include the nominated position's salary, hours of work and leave entitlements (among other things). The salary paid to an Australian worker under these terms and conditions of employment is known as the market salary rate. The employer must prove that it will pay its skilled worker the market salary rate. Depending on whether the employer has an Australian doing similar work, the employer can do this by:

• reporting the terms and conditions that apply to an Australian worker who is already employed in a similar job in a similar location in the workplace
• referring to an industrial award or enterprise agreement that outlines terms and conditions for Australians performing similar work in similar locations
• providing relevant data from reputable remuneration surveys
• providing evidence of the salaries of employees performing equivalent work in similar locations.

The applicant might be able to get this visa if s/he:

• has been nominated by an approved Australian employer. If the nomination has been granted, the visa application must be made within the six months from the date of nomination approval.
• is under the age of 50 at the time of application, unless exempted
• has the required skills and qualifications for the position
• has appropriate English language skills at the time of application lodgement, unless exempted
• meets the health and character requirements
• meets the requirements of the stream in which the application has been made.

This visa has three streams: 1. Temporary residence transition stream The employee might be able to get this visa under the Temporary Residence Transition stream if the employee:

• holds a Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457)
• has at least vocational English (unless exempt from this requirement)
• has worked for two years in the same position with the same employer, while holding subclass 457 visa as the primary visa holder, and the employer has an approved nomination for the employee for a permanent position under this stream.

The visa applicant’s skills do not need to be assessed because s/he has already worked for the nominating employer for two years in Australia. 2. Direct entry stream The visa applicant might be able to get this visa under the Direct Entry stream if one of the following applies:

• have been nominated for a position under this stream and that nomination has been approved
• have never, or only briefly, worked in Australia
• hold a Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457) but do not qualify for the Temporary Residence Transition stream
• are applying directly from outside Australia.

At time of application lodgement, the applicant must provide evidence of meeting the following requirements:

• have at least competent English (unless exempted from this requirement)
• have at least three years of relevant work experience
• have a positive valid skills assessment in the nominated occupation (the skill assessment must be conducted by the relevant assessing authority listed in the Combined List of Eligible Skilled Occupations.

3. Agreement stream The visa applicant might be able to get this visa under the Agreement stream if sponsored by an employer through a labour agreement which requires an agreement to be in place for the particular industry or occupation. The visa applicant must meet the age, skills and English language requirements stated in the agreement.

The visa applicant can show that s/he possesses adequate English skills by providing the following evidence at the time of application:

• achieving the vocational or competent test scores in a specified English language test, for the Temporary Residence Transition stream or the Direct Entry stream respectively, that has been conducted within three years prior to the date of application lodgement
• holding a valid passport issued by the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, New Zealand or the Republic of Ireland and evidence of citizenship of that country.
•  Minimum score for English Language proficiency level across the various type of test

Note: *From 1 January 2015 and only for a Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) test taken on or after 1 January 2015.

The visa applicant must meet certain health requirements. The results of health examinations are generally valid for 12 months. The visa applicant must meet certain character requirements and provide a police certificate from each country s/he has lived in for 12 months or more during the past 10 years after s/he turned 16 years of age. Health and character requirements applies to the main applicant and all the dependent family members listed in the application, whether they are migrating or not.

The main applicant can include the following people in the visa application at the time of lodgement:

• partner
• dependent children

These family members must meet the requirements for including family members in the application. The application must include documentary evidence of their relationship to the main applicant and they must be able to show that they meet health character requirements.

This is a permanent residence visa. It lets the visa holder and any family members who have also been granted this visa to:

• stay in Australia indefinitely
• work and study in Australia
• enrol in Medicare, Australia's scheme for health-related care and expenses
• apply for Australian citizenship (if eligible)
• sponsor eligible relatives for permanent residence
• travel to and from Australia for five years from the date the visa is granted.

No, skills assessments obtained for a subclass 485 visa will not be accepted as these types of skills assessments are not considered full skills assessments for permanent skilled migration purposes.

A skill assessment is only valid until the expiry date specified on the assessment outcome, or for a period of three years from the assessment's date of issue, whichever occurs first.

Yes, an applicant might be able to combine the employment in 457 visa with two employers if the applicant satisfies the following condition. If, during the two years prior to nominating for ENS visa, a new standard business sponsorship was required at any stage of their subclass 457 visa, the applicant will need to provide evidence that the previous standard business sponsor and the current standard business sponsor might be considered the same employer of the nominated person.

The visa applicant might be exempted from skill assessment and work experience requirements if the visa applicant:

• was nominated as an academic by a university in Australia
• was nominated as a scientist, researcher or technical specialist at ANZSCO skill level one or two by an Australian government scientific agency
• has a nominated earnings at least equivalent to the Australian Taxation Office top individual income tax rate (currently AUD 180,001)
• is in Australia as the holder of a Special Category visa (subclass 444) or New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship visa (subclass 461) and has worked with the nominating employer in the nominated occupation for the past two years (not including any period of unpaid leave) in the three years before applying for this visa.

An applicant older than 50 years of age can still apply for this visa if the applicant:

• is nominated as a senior academic (University Lecturer or Faculty Head) by a university in Australia.
• is nominated as a scientist, researcher or technical (scientific) specialist at ANZSCO skill level one or two by an Australian government scientific agency.
• is a medical practitioner who has been working in the nominated occupation as the holder of a subclass 422 or subclass 457 visa for at least four years immediately before applying and at least two years of that employment was located in regional Australia and the nominated position is located in regional Australia or has been working in your nominated occupation as the holder of a subclass 422 visa before becoming the holder of a subclass 457 visa for two years in the four years immediately before applying and at least two years of that employment was located in regional Australia and the nominated position is located in regional Australia.
• is applying through the Direct Entry stream and s/he holds a Subclass 444 (New Zealand citizen) or Subclass 461 (New Zealand citizen's family member) visa and s/he has been working for the nominating employer for at least two years in the last three years immediately before making the application.
• is applying through the Temporary Residence Transition stream, and s/he has been working for the nominating employer as the holder of a Subclass 457 visa for at least four years immediately before applying, and that employer paid the applicant at least as much as the Fair Work High Income Threshold in each of the four years.
• is applying through the Agreement stream and the relevant labour agreement allows for a person who has turned 50 to be employed.

The visa applicant might be exempted from English language skills if s/he:

• has nominated earnings at least equivalent to the current Australian Taxation Office top individual income tax rate (currently AUD 180,001).
• is applying through the Temporary Residence Transition stream and:
  • the applicant has completed at least five years of full-time study in a secondary or higher education institution
  • all of the tuition was delivered in English.

However, if the applicant is not able to demonstrate that s/he possesses functional English, the applicant will be required to pay the second instalment of the visa application charge.