Hiring workers from Vietnam: TRA assessments for most trades, contract registration, labour market testing and the visa steps

Who Australian employers hire from Vietnam

Candidate context: visa sponsorship jobs from Vietnam.

The TRA assessment: plan for it from day one

The Department’s instrument makes a skills assessment mandatory for a 482 nomination where it lists the occupation for the applicant’s passport, and Vietnamese passports are listed for most of the trade occupations the instrument covers: chefs and cooks, bakers and pastrycooks, carpenters, joiners and cabinetmakers, diesel motor mechanics and automotive electricians, welders and metal fabricators, and electricians among them. Trades Recognition Australia’s Migration Skills Assessment (A$795, typically around 120 days) assesses the Vietnamese vocational qualification together with employment evidence (references on letterhead with duties, payslips, social-insurance records); where the candidate learned on the job without a formal qualification, TRA assesses on employment evidence alone with a longer history. The assessment must be positive before you lodge, so start it before the advertising. Onshore graduates of Australian trade courses use TRA’s Job Ready Program instead.

Labour market testing: check the trade-obligation list

Australia’s free trade commitments mean labour market testing does not apply to 482 nominations of citizens of certain countries, and Vietnamese citizens have been reported on the Department’s list since 2023. The exemption applies only to 482 nominations, not the 494, and the Department’s page is the authority: check it on the day you nominate, keep a copy, and keep the worker’s passport evidence with the nomination. If Vietnam is not on the list when you look, the standard test applies: two advertisements of at least 28 days on platforms with national reach within the four months before nomination. Either way, the ads cost nothing on Workforce Australia and on the free boards, so many employers run them regardless. Labour market testing.

The Vietnamese side: contract registration and licensed agencies

Vietnam’s law on contract-based workers abroad (Law 69/2020, in force since 2022) lets a foreign employer hire a Vietnamese worker directly with no Vietnamese presence or licence, but the worker must register the directly signed contract with the provincial labour authority where they reside before departure, and register any renewal while abroad with the national Department of Overseas Labour, which moved under Vietnam’s Ministry of Home Affairs in the 2025 ministry restructure. The worker also contributes to the Overseas Employment Support Fund. If you recruit through an agency, it must be a licensed service enterprise whose labour-supply contract with you has been registered and approved, and the fees it may charge the worker are capped by occupation and country. Australian sponsorship costs cannot be recovered from the worker, and an agency charging Vietnamese workers large fees for an Australian sponsored role is a red flag for both governments. Confirm the current forms with the Department of Overseas Labour or the Vietnamese Embassy in Canberra; the circulars were amended in 2024.

English

Vietnamese passports are not exempt, so the 482 Core Skills stream needs IELTS 5.0 overall and in each component or equivalent, and nurses need the Ahpra standard. The onshore student and graduate pool has already met an English requirement for their visa, which is one reason employers hire them first.

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. Start the TRA assessment for a listed trade; check the trade-obligation list and run labour market testing if it applies.
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 a Vietnamese judicial record certificate.
4. In parallel, the worker registers the contract with the provincial labour authority so they can depart on grant.

Full costs: cost to sponsor a worker. Timeline: how long sponsorship takes, adding the TRA period for trades.

The onshore pool: students and graduates

Vietnam is among the five largest sources of international students, concentrated in business, IT, engineering, hospitality and commercial cookery, and cookery graduates who completed the Job Ready Program hold the assessment the 482 needs. A final-year student or 485 graduate has Australian references, has met an English requirement, and needs no Vietnamese registration step. Employing international students; sponsoring an existing employee when the 485 runs out.

Finding Vietnamese candidates

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

Frequently asked questions

Does a Vietnamese tradesperson need a skills assessment before a 482 nomination? For most trades, yes. The Department’s mandatory skills-assessment instrument lists Vietnamese passports for chefs, cooks, bakers, pastrycooks, carpenters, joiners, cabinetmakers, diesel motor mechanics, automotive electricians, welders, metal fabricators, electricians and others, so a positive Trades Recognition Australia assessment (A$795, around 120 days) must be held before the nomination.

Do I need labour market testing for a Vietnamese candidate? Vietnamese citizens have been reported on the Department’s trade-obligation exemption list for 482 nominations since 2023; confirm it on the Department’s page on the day you nominate and keep a copy. The exemption does not apply to 494 nominations. If in doubt, run the two 28-day advertisements.

Is there a Vietnamese government process for hiring a Vietnamese worker directly? Yes. Under Law 69/2020 the worker must register a directly signed foreign employment contract with the provincial labour authority before departure and contribute to the Overseas Employment Support Fund; the foreign employer needs no Vietnamese licence. Agencies must be licensed service enterprises with a registered labour-supply contract.

Do Vietnamese workers need an English test? 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.

Are there Vietnamese candidates already in Australia? Many. Vietnam is a top-five source of international students in business, IT, engineering, hospitality and cookery, and SponsorTalent lists students, 485 graduates and bridging visa holders by occupation and city, with visa status visible before you unlock a contact at A$30.