From 23rd November 2013, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (“DIBP”) will introduce Labour Market Testing (“LMT”) under reforms to the 457 visa program introduced to Parliament on June 28th 2013, prior to the change of government.
LMT is evidence that the sponsor has made an attempt to recruit Australian labour before turning to the 457 visa program for a sponsored worker. Thankfully, the DIBP have tried to minimise the ‘red tape’ that employers will face in implementing this legislation and will recognise a broad range of recruitment activity as being an acceptable demonstration of LMT, and the time period in which labour market testing evidence will be valid for will be 12 months.
Who must provide evidence of LMT?
Any 457 sponsor submitting a new nomination or a nomination transfer request under the 457 visa program for the occupations listed below, unless:
The worker you nominate is a citizen of Chile or Thailand, or is a Citizen/Permanent Resident of New Zealand.
The worker you nominate is a current employee of a business that is an associated entity of your business that is located in an Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) country (Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam), Chile or New Zealand.
The worker you nominate is a current employee of an associated entity of your business who operates in a country that is a member of the World Trade Organisation, where the nominated occupation is listed below as an “Executive or Senior Manager” and the nominee will be responsible for the entire or a substantial part of your company’s operations in Australia.
Your business currently operates in a World Trade Organisation member country and is seeking to establish a business in Australia, where the nominated occupation is listed below as an “Executive or Senior Manager”.
The worker you nominate is a citizen of a World Trade Organisation member country and has worked for you in Australia on a full-time basis for the last two years.
How does a sponsor demonstrate they have completed LMT?
To evidence that a sponsor has completed their LMT, they will be required to show evidence of your attempts to recruit Australian workers, including details and expenses of any advertising you conducted.
LMT must have taken place within the previous twelve months prior to lodging a nomination.
You may complete the Domestic Recruitment Table as evidence of your recruitment activities (available from Milestone).
Alternatively, you can provide other information and evidence about your attempts to recruit Australians, such as labour market research, expressions of support from government employment agencies or information about your participation in job and career expositions.
If an Australian citizen or permanent resident has been retrenched or made redundant in your business, or an associated entity of your business, within the four months prior to lodging your nomination, you must also provide information about those redundancies or retrenchments. You must have undertaken labour market testing after the time of that retrenchment or redundancy and provide information and evidence of labour market testing with your nomination.
