Hiring workers from Indonesia: migrant worker registration, the Work and Holiday pool, English and the visa steps

Who Australian employers hire from Indonesia

Candidate context: visa sponsorship jobs from Indonesia.

The Indonesian side: migrant worker registration and placement companies

Under Indonesia’s migrant worker protection law, every citizen leaving for employment abroad must be registered through the government’s placement system (the SISKOP2MI platform run by the Ministry of Migrant Worker Protection, which took over from the BP2MI agency in late 2024), complete the pre-departure orientation and hold the E-PMI electronic migrant worker identity, with social-security coverage through BPJS, before immigration lets them depart. Placement through a licensed company (a P3MI holding the ministry’s placement licence) is the common route; a direct, individual route exists for a worker who has found a job with a foreign employer themselves, registering with the employer’s contract and visa. The Indonesian consulate or embassy in Australia is notified on arrival. Confirm the current document list with the ministry or the Embassy in Canberra, because the agency reorganisation changed the forms. No Australian employer may recover sponsorship costs from the worker.

Labour market testing and the Indonesia–Australia agreement

The Indonesia–Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement has been in force since 2020, and an instrument extending the Department’s trade-obligation exemptions from labour market testing to Indonesian citizens has been reported, while some advisers note the Department’s published list did not initially include Indonesia. Check the Department’s list on the day you nominate and keep a copy; if Indonesia is not on it, the standard test applies: two advertisements of at least 28 days on platforms with national reach within the four months before nomination. The exemption, where it applies, covers 482 nominations only, not the 494. Labour market testing.

English

Indonesian passports are not exempt: IELTS 5.0 overall and in each component or equivalent for the 482 Core Skills stream, the study-based exemption for graduates of English-medium programs with institution letters, and the Ahpra standard for nurses. The 462 Work and Holiday cohort has already shown functional English to get the visa, and the onshore students have met their visa requirement, which is why both groups are the fastest Indonesian hires.

The onshore pool: Work and Holiday makers and students

Indonesia is a 462 Work and Holiday partner with an annual cap: applicants need tertiary education, functional English and government support, so the cohort is young, educated and already in Australian hospitality, tourism and regional work. Condition 8547 limits them to six months with one employer unless the work is exempt (agriculture, aged care and disability anywhere; tourism and hospitality and several industries in northern Australia), and an employer who wants to keep one should lodge the nomination inside the first four months. Employing working holiday makers. Indonesian students are concentrated in business, IT, engineering, hospitality and health; employing international students; sponsoring an existing employee when the visa runs out.

The Australian side, step by step

1. Confirm the occupation and the salary floor of A$79,423 or the market rate: sponsored jobs by occupation.
2. Check the trade-obligation list; run labour market testing if it applies. Ahpra registration for nurses before grant.
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), with health examinations and an Indonesian police certificate (SKCK).
4. In parallel, the worker’s migrant-worker registration and E-PMI so they can depart on grant.

Full costs: cost to sponsor a worker. Timeline: how long sponsorship takes.

Finding Indonesian candidates

Register free, search by occupation and filter by current location (Indonesia, or an Australian city for Work and Holiday makers and students already here). Profiles show qualification, English evidence and visa position; contact unlocks cost A$30. Search candidates.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an Indonesian government process for hiring an Indonesian worker? Yes. Every Indonesian leaving for employment abroad must be registered as a migrant worker through the Ministry of Migrant Worker Protection’s system, complete pre-departure orientation and hold the E-PMI identity, either through a licensed placement company or by the direct individual route with the employer’s contract and visa. Confirm the current documents with the ministry or the Embassy in Canberra.

Does an Indonesian tradesperson need a skills assessment for the 482? No. Indonesian passports are not listed in the Department’s mandatory skills-assessment instrument, so the 482 can be nominated on qualifications and employment evidence. A TRA assessment is required for the 186 Direct Entry.

Do I need labour market testing for an Indonesian candidate? Check the Department’s trade-obligation exemption list on the day you nominate: an extension to Indonesian citizens under the Indonesia–Australia agreement has been reported but should be confirmed. If Indonesia is not listed, run the two 28-day advertisements. The exemption never applies to 494 nominations.

Can I sponsor an Indonesian Work and Holiday visa holder? Yes, on a 482 if their occupation is on the Core Skills list and the salary meets the floor. Lodge inside the first four months so a permission request or bridging visa covers the six-month limit with one employer.

Do Indonesian workers need an English test? Usually yes: IELTS 5.0 overall and in each component or equivalent for the 482 Core Skills stream, unless the study-based exemption applies. Nurses must meet the Ahpra standard.