Can I sponsor a marketing specialist, recruitment consultant or HR adviser in Australia?

The codes and their caveats

The “selling educational courses to individual students” exclusion was written for education agents and colleges, and a marketing role in an education business whose work is enrolling students is refused under it. The turnover caveat is read from the sponsor’s financials for the most recent year.

What the Department tests

The marketing and HR codes are skill level 1, so the Department expects a bachelor degree in marketing, communications, business or HR (or five years of relevant experience in lieu, which VETASSESS accepts for some codes) and duties that match the ANZSCO description: market research and strategy, campaign development and brand management for 225113; workforce planning, policy, recruitment strategy and employee relations for 223111. Salary must be at least A$79,423 or the market rate; a coordinator paid A$65,000 and nominated as a specialist at the threshold invites a genuineness query. For the 186, VETASSESS or the Institute of Managers and Leaders assesses the occupation.

The steps and costs

1. Confirm the caveats against the business: turnover, headcount, and whether the role touches retail, call-centre or course-selling work.
2. Labour market testing: two advertisements of at least 28 days on national-reach platforms within four months, unless a trade-agreement exemption applies: labour market testing.
3. Sponsorship (A$420), nomination (A$330 plus the SAF levy of A$1,200 per visa year under A$10m turnover), visa (A$4,015 for the 482; A$6,140 for the 186).

Full costs: cost to sponsor a worker. Timeline: how long sponsorship takes. Office and finance roles: office manager or administrator, bookkeeper.

Who can work for you now

The role does not have to wait for a visa. Three groups can work for you today without sponsorship, and agencies and marketing teams 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.

Marketing and HR are graduate-heavy occupations, and the onshore pool of 485 graduates with Australian degrees in marketing, communications and HR is large. A firm under the A$1m caveat cannot sponsor, but it can employ a graduate for the two to four years of the 485 and sponsor when the business has grown past the threshold; sponsoring an existing employee.

Do not nominate the role under an occupation it is not. A sales assistant or education agent nominated as a Marketing Specialist, or an HR administrator as an HR Adviser 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 marketing specialist on the skilled occupation list? Yes. Marketing Specialist 225113 is on the Core Skills list, with the 482 and 186 available, subject to caveats: the position cannot be front-line retail, predominantly transactional, in a call centre without technical product knowledge or selling courses to individual students, and the business must turn over at least A$1 million.

Can a small business sponsor a marketing specialist? Not if it turns over less than A$1 million. The caveat is tested on the sponsor’s financials. Advertising Specialist, Content Creator (Marketing) and Public Relations Professional carry no turnover caveat in the current list.

Can I sponsor a recruitment consultant? Yes, where the business turns over at least A$1 million and has at least five employees. Recruitment Consultant 223112 is on the Core Skills list with those caveats.

Can I sponsor a graphic designer? Not on the 482 or 186: Graphic Designer 232411 is on the Short-term list only. The routes are the 494 regionally and state nomination. Web Designer 232414 and Multimedia Specialist 261211 are on the Core Skills list.

Can an HR administrator be sponsored as an HR adviser? No. The HR Adviser caveat excludes clerical positions, and the Department tests the duties against workforce planning, policy, employee relations and recruitment strategy.