Labour Agreement queries

[the_whites]

My brother has been offered a position as a Consulting Arborist in Australia.

 

The company concerned is considering applying for a Labour Agreement as they are having difficulties sourcing good employees, the actual role is not on the CSOL, only Arborist. The Labour agreement seems to also provide a stream to PR as they can request an age exemption.

 

Questions:

 

1. Can the company become a Standard Business Sponsor and employ him initially on a 457 then switch to a Labour agreement for the same employee? Reason for this would be timeline related. It may be quicker to apply for a 457 visa. However not sure if this negates the Labour Agreement application.

 

2. If the company decided just to apply for a Labour Agreement and it is approved, can my brother come to Australia and apply for the 457 visa onshore? If he arrived on an e-visitor visa, would he be granted a Bridging Visa, allowing him to work?

 

Thanks

[SOMV]

Hello,

 

Your distinction between an Arborist and Consulting Arborist doesn't make sense to me. Do you mean that your brother would not actually be working as an arborist (ie: not getting his hands dirty) but he would be providing arborist type advice? It might be worth bearing in mind that even for the 457 a nominated occupation has to be listed on the CSOL.

 

There are no age restrictions on the 457, so yes, if your brother is over 50 he could initially be sponsored on a 457, and yes he can apply for the 457 while he is onshore on a tourist visa (assuming the tourist visa does not have a "no further stay" condition), but no, he will not be able to work while he is on a bridging visa awaiting the processing of the 457.

 

Your brother could then apply for a permanent employer sponsored visa with the same employer, assuming that the labour agreement has been negotiated with respect to the position and that the labour agreement has been granted with an exemption as to age requirements and assuming that the employer and your brother of course also meet all of the other relevant criteria.

[the_whites]

Hello,

 

Your distinction between an Arborist and Consulting Arborist doesn't make sense to me. Do you mean that your brother would not actually be working as an arborist (ie: not getting his hands dirty) but he would be providing arborist type advice? It might be worth bearing in mind that even for the 457 a nominated occupation has to be listed on the CSOL.

 

There are no age restrictions on the 457, so yes, if your brother is over 50 he could initially be sponsored on a 457, and yes he can apply for the 457 while he is onshore on a tourist visa (assuming the tourist visa does not have a "no further stay" condition), but no, he will not be able to work while he is on a bridging visa awaiting the processing of the 457.

 

Your brother could then apply for a permanent employer sponsored visa with the same employer, assuming that the labour agreement has been negotiated with respect to the position and that the labour agreement has been granted with an exemption as to age requirements and assuming that the employer and your brother of course also meet all of the other relevant criteria.

 

 

Many thanks for the reply. My brother would be employed as a consulting arborist and as you correctly say not getting his hands as dirty as an arborist would. This is one of the main reasons the company are considering the labour agreement as the specific role requires a more experienced person in the industry and the guidelines suggest this is the pathway to follow when a more specialist role is required. I guess that may restrict him from an initial 457 visa?

 

Would I be correct in deducing from your advice that the company can negotiate an ENS visa with the labour agreement rather than a 457 along with the age exemption and that my brother can also apply for the ENS onshore? This would be a more favourable option.

 

Would you have any idea of current processing times for these options?

Edited August 17, 2016 by the_whites

[SOMV]

Yes your brother could apply for the ENS onshore and yes labour agreements are also applicable to the ENS visa stream.

[the_whites]

Yes your brother could apply for the ENS onshore and yes labour agreements are also applicable to the ENS visa stream.

 

Thank you for all the advice. I guess my only concern would be that applying directly for the ENS through the labour agreement would mean at least a 6 month processing time after the grant of the agreement. I know the company were hoping they could have everything finalised at least by the end of the year if not by early jan.

 

If a bridging visa does not allow him to work in the meantime, then a 457 is definitely quicker if a subsequent labour agreement can be requested followed by the ENS.