Manufacturing and engineering workshop occupations you can sponsor: welders, fitters, machinists and managers yes, process workers no

The list, role by role

List positions change with each instrument; verify by ANZSCO code on the Department’s current Core Skills list before you nominate. The trades are tested on the qualification: the Certificate III (or an assessed overseas equivalent) is what makes a welder a Welder (First Class) rather than a process worker who welds.

The passports that need a TRA assessment before nomination

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 routes for the roles that are not listed

• The onshore pool. Process and assembly work is already done by working holiday makers, students and partner and bridging visa holders, who need no sponsorship; the trade-qualified among them (many overseas-trained welders and fitters are here on partner or graduate visas) can be sponsored later from the job. Who can work for you now.
• Regional DAMAs: the Kimberley agreement lists machine operators (nec), fitter-welders and storepersons among others, and other regional agreements carry similar lists; your state’s agreements.
• Industry labour agreements: the meat industry agreement covers meat and poultry processors; there is no general manufacturing agreement, and a company-specific agreement is a two-year negotiation most manufacturers do not win.
• Employer advice: the sponsorship steps and costs for a manufacturer are on WIDEN’s manufacturing and engineering sponsorship guide.

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 factories and workshops 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.

The mistake to avoid

Do not nominate the role under an occupation it is not. A process worker nominated as a Metal Fabricator, a CNC operator as a Metal Machinist or a leading hand as a Production Manager 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

Which manufacturing jobs can be sponsored on a 482 visa? The Certificate III metal trades (welder, boilermaker, fitter, fitter and turner, machinist, toolmaker, sheetmetal worker, patternmaker), the engineering technicians and draftspersons, production, engineering and quality managers, the engineers, and the food, chemistry, printing, wood and furniture trades and technologists are on the Core Skills list. Process workers, assemblers, machine operators, packers, leading hands and forklift drivers are not.

Can I sponsor a factory worker? Not on the standard visas: process workers, assemblers and machine operators are skill level 4 and 5 roles on no list. The routes are the onshore visa-holder pool, a regional DAMA that lists the role, and, for meat and poultry processing, the meat industry labour agreement.

Does a welder from India or the Philippines need a skills assessment before I nominate? Yes. The mandatory skills-assessment instrument lists Brazil, China, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Macau, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Vietnam and Zimbabwe passports for the metal trades, so a positive TRA assessment must be held before the 482 nomination. Other passports can be nominated on evidence, with TRA required for the 186 Direct Entry.

Can I sponsor a production supervisor or leading hand? There is no listed code for a supervisor or leading hand. A genuine production manager who runs the production function can be nominated as Production Manager (Manufacturing) 133512; a leading hand who holds a trade is nominated under the trade. A supervisor with neither cannot be sponsored on the standard visas.