There is a lot of confusion around the rules and regulations of the Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) Subclass 482 visas. Pendragon is one of only a handful of companies being in a unique and beneficial position to sponsor individual talents under our approved On-Hire Labour Agreement (OHLA) with the Department of Home Affairs. We receive many enquiries regarding the limitations with transferring employment under the TSS 482 visa. Two things we have been asked on several occasions are:
- Can I work for whoever I want?
- Can I change my job whilst holding a TSS 482 visa?
In theory, yes, the TSS 482 visa allows you to work wherever you like, and you are free to apply and work for an Australian company that is willing to become your sponsor. You are also able to change your job, just like any other Australian permanent resident or citizen, however you will need to apply for a transfer, and wait for the application to be approved, before you start work with the new employer.
Note: Transfer applications can take up to 4-6 weeks to process.
In fact, the Human Resources (HR) laws of Australia is also applicable to TSS 482 visa holders. It states, you must be treated in accordance with the Australian HR laws, employment conditions, plus abide by the Immigration rules set around for TSS 482 employment.
Basically, there are two ways to get the sponsorship:
- Firstly, the company that wants to sponsor you needs to apply and obtain an agreement from the Department of Immigration, and then apply for a ‘Nomination Application’ to sponsor you. However, under this arrangement, you are usually restricted to only work for the sponsoring company.
- Secondly, being sponsored by an OHLA company, like ourselves. Since we have an approved OHLA. The on-hire company would act as your surrogate sponsor, and you will have a lot more flexibility with your TSS 482 visa. You will be able to move freely to another sponsor at any time. Hence, you won’t be restricted to the single employer!
Although the company sponsoring for the TSS 482 visa, cannot hold you back to stay with them, nor can they threaten you with being kicked out of the country, they can however cancel their sponsorship if you ceased employment with them. In that case, you will have 60 days to find a new company to sponsor and employ you.
Ultimately, the Department of Immigration wants to retain talent in Australia, and the visa has been designed to allow skilled people to change employers and stay in Australia. This is the reason the Department of Immigration allows 60 days for you to find work, if your current job ceases or you are not happy working where you are.
How do you structure your employment to provide yourself with more flexibility?
Work through an approved TSS 482 visa on-hire company, like Pendragon, and this would automatically allow you to freely move between different employers. This will save mountains of paperwork, months of processing timeframes, and savings of $$$ which can easily run into the thousands of dollars!
For more information regarding the rules and regulations of the TSS 482 visa contact us at [email protected] or call us at 02 9407 8700.
