Nomination is the Second of 3 Applications Required
for a TSS Visa

If you haven't read our guide to TSS Sponsorship - the first of the 3 steps required - yet, go read the crucial information information, including checklists and detailed steps, on our TSS Sponsorship Requirements Guide. Go read this now, before you do anything else – if your business can’t become a Sponsor, your employee cannot apply for the visa.

Once you have either lodged an application to be a TSS Sponsor, or have been approved as a TSS Sponsor, you can go ahead and lodge the Nomination.

Some Important Things to Note Before We Start

Some important things to note about the Nomination:

Steps To Lodge a TSS Nomination

Common TSS Nomination Requirements

A 482 TSS Nomination, regardless of the stream or occupation, must meet all of the following requirements:

Let’s take a closer look at each of these below.

1. Occupation Requirements

To be nominated via this stream the applicant needs to be nominated for an occupation on either the Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL) or the Medium to Long-Term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL).

How Do I Know Which Occupation to Use for the TSS Nomination?

You will need to consider if any occupations on either of the approved lists are a good match for the role. The duties of the role should correspond with those listed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Australia and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) for the same occupation. You can search for official descriptions of all occupations at the ABS website.

When finding the right ANZSCO classification, note:

What is a Caveat, and Will it Apply to My Application?

Caveats are special requirements that apply to particular occupations, in addition to the standard Nomination and Visa requirements.

Before you prepare your Nomination, you should check to see if any specific caveats apply to the occupation you are nominating. You can find these here. Check each number in the Subclasses 186* and TSS* Instrument note(s) column and the caveat it corresponds to, so you can provide any additional documentation and information required.

Do I Need a Skills Assessment for My Occupation?

Applications in certain occupations, or applicants that hold certain passports that are being nominated in certain occupations, may require a mandatory skills assessment. You should check this before you lodge the Nomination.

Applicants who hold a passport from certain countries, and who are being nominated in certain trade occupations, will require a skills assessment. Further, applicants who are being nominated in the occupations Program and Project Administrator or Specialist Manager not elsewhere classified must provide a positive skills assessment with their application.

More information about the passports and occupations that require a skills assessment can be found on the Trades Recognition Australia website.

2. What Employment Contract Do I Need for the TSS Visa?

You are going to need a legal document, such as an offer of employment, to confirm the employment arrangements for the role.

In most cases, this will be a formal employment contract. However, contracts and employment offers can vary enormously, and Immigration has some specific requirements that must be checked off for the Nomination to be approved.

If the Sponsor is an overseas business and the applicant is an intra-corporate transfer, a transfer letter rather than a full employment contract, confirming the applicant’s current employment conditions and their conditions while they are in Australia, may be more appropriate.

Does the Applicant Have to be Employed Directly by the Sponsor?

If the Sponsor is an overseas business not operating in Australia, the visa applicant must be sponsored AND employed directly by the Sponsor.

Can a Part-Time Employee Be Sponsored?

Maybe! It might be possible in limited circumstances to nominate a part-time employee on the TSS visa. It would only be appropriate for very highly skilled roles in niche areas.

Examples given in Immigration guidelines are:

3. What Are the Salary Requirements for the TSS Visa?

There are two thresholds the salary needs to meet for the Nomination to be approved. You must show that the applicant will be paid:

Both these requirements must be met for the Nomination to be approved.

This requirement was introduced to ensure TSS applicants are not taken advantage of, or undercutting local workers.

So think about how you worked out the salary for the role in the first place - i.e. how the role was ‘benchmarked’. You then need to provide evidence to show this to Immigration. When preparing evidence, have a think about the following:

Think to yourself: do the documents I am providing with the Nomination make it easy for Immigration to see that an equivalent Australian would be paid the same? Typically, it’s a good idea to write a submission (ie a letter or a note) explaining the information and documents you are providing further.

If you can’t explain how you benchmarked the salary for the role, and you can’t show that an Australian would be paid the same salary for the job, the Nomination will not be approved.

3. What Is Labour Market Testing (LMT)?

You will need to show how you have “tested” the Australian labour market to determine no suitable Australian employee can be found. In short, this typically means some form of advertising.

Period in Which LMT Must Have Been Undertaken

Unless alternative requirements apply (see below), LMT must have been undertaken:

Method and Content of LMT

Unless alternative requirements apply (see below), advertising of the nominated position must meet all of the below:

Some Important Things to Note!

Is There Any Instance Where LMT Is Not Required?

There are limited situations where you may not need to meet the regular LMT requirements. Alternative requirements apply where:

If such alternative requirements apply, the Sponsor must provide a written submission explaining why an Australian worker is not available to fill the position.

LMT is also not required where it would conflict with Australia's international trade obligations.

4. Genuineness - Showing the Role is "Real"

Real? Of course the role is real! However in recent years, Immigration has had increasing concerns about the integrity of employer sponsored visas such as the TSS Visa. There have been many examples of jobs - and even businesses - being created for the sole purpose of securing a visa.

For this reason, Immigration puts a lot of effort into assessing if a role is ‘real’, and genuinely required in the business.

So think to yourself: how can I prove to Immigration we haven’t made up this role just to get the visa?

There is no one way to show a role is real. Some things you can think about are:

Pathway Specific Considerations

The requirements we have outlined above apply to all TSS nominations, regardless of the stream. There are, however, some important differences in each stream which will ultimately impact the grant of the visa.

As we outlined in our TSS introduction, there are three streams of eligibility for the TSS visa. These are:

We outline specific information regarding these streams below.

Short-Term Stream

How Long Will the Visa Be Granted For?

Visa applications in the short-term stream are generally granted for a period of 2 years. But note the following:

What Happens at the End of the 2-Year Period?

You want to retain your staff member for as long as possible, right? The good news is an application can generally be made for a further 2 year TSS visa. However:

Will the Visa Holder Have a Pathway to a Permanent Visa?

Unfortunately TSS Visa holders who have been nominated in an occupation on the STSOL do not have a pathway to employer-sponsored permanent residence.

Medium-Term Stream

How Long Will the Visa Be Granted For?

Visa applications in the medium-term stream are granted for a period of up to 4 years. But note the following:

Will the Visa Holder Have a Pathway to a Permanent Visa?

A pathway to permanent residency is paramount for many TSS applicants. Applicants who hold a TSS visa (or a combination of a 457 and a TSS visa) and work for their sponsoring employer in an occupation on the MLTSSOL for a specified period of time before lodgment, may be eligible for a permanent employer sponsored visa under the subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) (Temporary Residence Transition Stream) visa.

The date of eligibility will differ from applicant to applicant, depending on the occupation, and when the initial 457 or TSS visa was granted.

In order to transition to a 186 visa, a TSS or 457 visa holder will need to meet all of the following requirements for a specific period of time:

More information regarding this, and a table breaking down specific eligibility requirements, can be found at our 186 Visa Application guide.

Labour Agreement Stream

Some industries or employers can negotiate a special agreement with Immigration to bring employees to Australia on a temporary or permanent basis. Each agreement is very specific, and can have any number of variations to the standard requirements.

If an applicant is in Australia via a labour agreement, they should speak first to their employer about permanent residence.

Okay, I’m Ready to Go: What’s the TSS Nomination Application Process?

You should have all your documents ready to attach as soon as you lodge the application. Visit our TSS nomination checklist for a list of documents to be attached to the Nomination.

The Nomination section must be lodged first. Once the form is completed, the online system will ask you to attach all relevant documents to your application. A couple of points on this:

Once you attach the documents to the Nomination application, you will be pushed through to a payment page. The system will calculate the fee for the Nomination (including the Skilling Australians Fund and credit card fee) for you. Enter your credit card details and hit submit.

The Nomination is Now Lodged!

Bear in mind, Immigration has the right to make a decision on an application without requesting any further information – and if you haven’t provided everything, that decision is not going to be favourable! This being the case, wherever possible, applications should be lodged complete and ready for a decision. Moreover, we have had feedback from Immigration that they will refuse TSS applications if, after 2 days, no documents have been attached.

Lodging an application “decision-ready” (that is, with all necessary evidence attached) can also have a positive impact on processing times. If Immigration has to request further information this typically delays processing.

Of course, sometimes you have to lodge to a deadline without all documents, for instance when a visa is expiring. It is important in these cases to attach the missing documents to the lodged application as soon as you possibly can. If any documents are missing at the time of application, upload a note to Immigration explaining why, and when they can expect to receive it.