Australia is a great place to live and work, offering lifestyle and employment opportunities. To work, you must have a valid Australian visa with work rights. A range of temporary and permanent skilled visas are available. Australian laws provide all employees with basic rights and protection in the workplace.
If you like the idea of Australia’s climate and lifestyle and are looking for a career challenge in a country with lots of opportunities – take the next step to find out more about Australia’s skilled working visas.
Skill stream categories
There are four main skilled migrations categories:
Point-based skilled migration
There is a range of points-based skilled migration visa options for skilled workers who want to live in Australia. Applicants can be nominated by a state or territory government agency, sponsored by an eligible relative or independently migrate (non-sponsored).
Independent migrants are selected on the basis of their skills, attributes and suitability for employment so they are in a position to contribute quickly to the Australian economy. They are not sponsored by an employer or relative in Australia.
Sponsorship by an eligible Australian relative or nomination by a state or territory government is also possible under points-based skilled migration.
Points-based skilled migration visas are subject to a points test. More information about the points test please contact our registered migration agent to assess your correct points.
Permanent Employer Sponsored Programme
The Permanent Employer Sponsored Programme consists of the following:
The programme allows employers to nominate foreign workers for permanent residence to fill genuine vacancies in their business.
Within each of these visa subclasses there will be three streams:
There are several options for you to work on a temporary or permanent visas. These options are not limited to:
Temporary work visa subclasses
400 – Temporary Work (Short Stay Activity)
401 – Temporary Work (Long Stay Activity)
403 – Temporary Work (International Relations)
416 – Seasonal Worker Program
420 – Temporary Work (Entertainment)
417 – Working Holiday
461 – New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship (Temporary)
462 – Work and Holiday
457 – Temporary Work (Skilled)
476 – Skilled – Recognised Graduate
485 – Temporary Graduate
488 – Superyacht Crew
489 – Skilled Regional (Provisional)
942 – Crew Travel Authority
988 – Maritime Crew
Sponsored/Nominated work visa subclasses
186 – Employer Nomination Scheme
187 – Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme
188 – Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional)
190 – Skilled Nominated
457 – Temporary Work (Skilled)
887 – Skilled Regional
892 – State/Territory Sponsored Business Owner
893 – State/Territory Sponsored Investor
Permanent work visas
124 – Distinguished Talent
132 – Business Talent (Permanent)
186 – Employer Nomination Scheme
187 – Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme
189 – Skilled Independent
858 – Distinguished Talent
887 – Skilled Regional
888 – Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent)
893 – State/Territory Sponsored Investor
890 – Business Owner
891 – Investor
Visiting for work visas
600 – Visitor
601 – Electronic Travel Authority
651 – eVisitor
Please contact our registered migration agent to assess your suitability for any of the above streams.
- Point-based skilled migration
- Permanent Employer Sponsored Programme
- Business Innovation and Investment Programme
- Distinguished talent.
- Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS)
- Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS).
- The temporary residence transition stream is for subclass 457 visa holders who have worked for their employer for at least the last two years in the nominated occupation and the employer wants to offer them a permanent position in that same occupation
- The direct entry stream is for applicants who are untested in the Australian labour market and have not held a subclass 457 visa for at least the last two years or are applying directly from outside Australia
- The agreement stream is for applicants who are being sponsored by an employer through a tailored and negotiated labour agreement or regional migration agreement.