Can I sponsor a boilermaker in Australia?

Which code: boilermaker, welder or fitter-welder

A welder without the trade certificate is a Welder (Second Class) in ANZSCO terms and is not listed; the certificate, or a TRA assessment that finds the overseas training and experience equivalent, is what makes the nomination. The full workshop list: manufacturing occupations you can sponsor.

Passports, assessment and salary

Passports that need the assessment first. The Department’s mandatory skills-assessment instrument lists passports issued by Brazil, China, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Macau, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Vietnam and Zimbabwe for Metal Fabricator, Welder (First Class), Fitter (General), Fitter and Turner, Metal Machinist (First Class), Toolmaker and Sheetmetal Trades Worker. A candidate on one of those passports must hold a positive Trades Recognition Australia assessment before the 482 nomination is lodged (A$795, typically around 120 days); every other passport can be nominated on evidence of the trade qualification and experience, with TRA required only for the 186 Direct Entry.

Salary. The guaranteed annual earnings, excluding overtime and penalties, must reach the Core Skills Income Threshold of A$79,423 or the market rate for the role if that is higher. Workshops that pay the award base and rely on overtime to lift take-home pay need to restructure the offer, because overtime does not count toward the threshold.

The steps and costs

1. Labour market testing: two advertisements of at least 28 days on platforms with national reach within the four months before nomination, unless the candidate is a citizen of a trade-agreement country (UK, China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, NZ, Chile): labour market testing.
2. TRA assessment first where the passport is listed; otherwise gather the trade certificate, references and payslips.
3. Standard Business Sponsorship (A$420), nomination (A$330 plus the Skilling Australians Fund levy of A$1,200 per visa year under A$10m turnover), visa (A$4,015 for a 482; A$6,140 for a 494 or 186).
4. Current Department medians: sponsorship 11 days, nomination 64 days, 482 Core Skills around four months.

Full costs: cost to sponsor a worker. Timeline: how long sponsorship takes. Boilermaking is a regional trade, and the 494 in a regional area carries permanent residence through the 191 after three years; regional status by state.

Regional agreements

Designated Area Migration Agreements are the exception to the lists. Regional agreements carry occupations the national lists omit; the Kimberley list (October 2025 version), for example, includes forklift drivers, truck drivers, retail and hospitality roles, and other regional agreements carry some of the same. The business must be in the region, endorsed by the regional body, and the worker must meet the agreement’s concessions on English, salary and age. Which agreement covers your area: sponsor workers in your state; how DAMAs compare with the other routes: PALM, labour agreement or DAMA.

Boilermakers who can start now

The role does not have to wait for a visa. Three groups can work for you today without sponsorship, and fabrication shops already run on them:

• Working holiday makers (417 and 462): any role, six months per employer; register with the ATO for the 15 per cent rate and pay super. Employing working holiday makers.
• International students: 48 hours a fortnight in term, unlimited in breaks. Employing international students.
• Partner, graduate (485) and bridging visa holders: full work rights, a VEVO check and nothing else. Who can work for you now.

SponsorTalent lists candidates by occupation, visa and city, so you can see who can start on Monday before you make contact; search is free and a contact unlocks for A$30.

Overseas-trained boilermakers are here in numbers on partner, graduate and working holiday visas, and a working holiday maker in northern Australia on construction or mining work is exempt from the six-month limit. The nomination can follow once the person is on your floor: sponsoring an existing employee.

Do not nominate the role under an occupation it is not. A process worker who tacks and grinds nominated as a Metal Fabricator is tested against the duties, the qualification, the award classification and the pay, and a mismatch is refused, can bar the business from sponsoring for years, and exposes the worker to cancellation. If the person genuinely does the listed job and holds its qualification, nominate that job at its rate; if not, use the routes above.

Frequently asked questions

Is boilermaker on the skilled occupation list? Yes, as Metal Fabricator (ANZSCO 322311), which lists Boilermaker-Welder as a specialisation. It is on the Core Skills list and the long-term list, so the 482, 186 and 494 are all available.

Does a boilermaker need a skills assessment for the 482? Only where the passport is listed in the mandatory skills-assessment instrument: Brazil, China, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Macau, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Vietnam and Zimbabwe. Those candidates need a positive TRA assessment before the nomination; others are nominated on evidence, with TRA required for the 186 Direct Entry.

What must I pay a sponsored boilermaker? Guaranteed annual earnings of at least A$79,423 excluding overtime and penalties, or the market rate for the role if higher, with the same terms as an Australian doing the job.

Can I sponsor a boilermaker for permanent residence? Yes. The 186 Direct Entry (with a TRA assessment and three years of experience) or the 186 Temporary Residence Transition after two years on the 482; in a regional area the 494 leads to the 191 after three years.