Overseas recruitment for Australian employers: agency, labour hire or direct

The three routes compared

What a recruitment agency actually does, and does not

A good sponsorship recruiter sources in specific corridors (Filipino nurses, South African tradespeople, Irish chefs), pre-checks qualifications and English, and manages candidate expectations. What it cannot do is remove your obligations: Standard Business Sponsorship is in your name, labour market testing is your evidence, the nominated salary is your payroll, and the sponsor obligations and monitoring follow you for the life of the visa and beyond. Ask any agency three questions: who holds the sponsorship, whether any fee is charged to the worker in Australia or at home (that is unlawful in Australia and heavily regulated in the Philippines), and what happens to the placement fee if the nomination is refused.

Labour hire: why it needs its own agreement

A labour-hire business cannot use Standard Business Sponsorship to sponsor a worker and place them with you; the Department treats on-hire as requiring an on-hire labour agreement. Providers who hold one can sponsor on the 482 labour-agreement stream and supply the worker under a host arrangement. It is a legitimate way to get a visa holder on site quickly for project work, with two trade-offs: the margin runs for as long as the worker is on hire, and the worker’s route to permanent residency usually needs a later transfer to a direct employer. WIDEN explains the mechanics in its guide to on-hire labour agreements and the 482.

Direct hiring, step by step

1. Confirm the occupation and salary. The role must be on the Core Skills or regional list and pay at least A$79,423 and the market rate. Our occupation pages state list position and caveats: sponsored jobs by occupation.
2. Apply for Standard Business Sponsorship (A$420, median 11 days) and start labour market testing the same week: two ads, 28 days each on platforms with national reach. How to become an approved sponsor.
3. Search candidates. Register free, search by occupation, location, skills-assessment status and English result, and unlock the contacts you want to interview at A$30 each; or post a featured listing (A$149 with five unlock credits) and let candidates come to you. Shortlist requests are also free.
4. Interview and verify. Qualification documents, references, the skills assessment where the occupation needs one, English result, and a VEVO check if they are onshore.
5. Lodge nomination and visa together through a registered migration agent (WIDEN lodges on fixed fees); levy of A$1,200 per visa year for businesses under A$10m turnover is paid at nomination.
6. Home-country exit process where it applies: the Philippines (Migrant Workers Office contract verification) and Nepal (Department of Foreign Employment labour approval); India has none for Australia.
7. Onboard: licence conversion, registration, induction, and the sponsor obligations record from day one. What the obligations are.

Rules that apply whichever route you choose

• You pay the sponsorship costs: sponsorship approval, nomination and the Skilling Australians Fund levy cannot be passed to the worker, directly or through pay deductions, and asking for or receiving a benefit in return for sponsorship is a criminal offence for everyone involved.
• Home-country regulators enforce too. In September 2026 the Philippine Department of Migrant Workers closed five recruitment firms over alleged illegal recruitment of workers bound for Australia. Filipino workers need their contract verified by the Migrant Workers Office in Canberra before they can leave; Nepali workers need labour approval from the Department of Foreign Employment.
• Sponsor obligations and monitoring run for the life of the visa and for years afterwards: paying the nominated salary, keeping records, notifying the Department of changes within 28 days, and cooperating with inspectors.
• Same pay and conditions as an Australian: the National Employment Standards and the award apply from day one.

Where the candidates are

SponsorTalent’s candidate pool concentrates in Nigeria, the Gulf (Dubai, Doha, Riyadh), Kenya, India, the Philippines, Nepal and onshore Australia, across nursing, aged care, hospitality, trades, transport and engineering. The directory on the employer side lists 3,582 businesses traceable to the Department’s approved-sponsor list, which is also where to see which competitors already sponsor in your sector: companies that sponsor.

Frequently asked questions

How much does an overseas recruitment agency charge in Australia? Placement fees vary by agency and occupation; several thousand dollars per hire is common, charged to the employer and separate from the government charges (A$420 sponsorship, A$330 nomination, A$1,200 to A$1,800 levy per visa year) and migration fees. Any fee charged to the worker for the sponsorship is unlawful in Australia.

Can a labour hire company sponsor a worker and place them with me? Only under an on-hire labour agreement with the Department of Home Affairs. Standard Business Sponsorship cannot be used to on-hire a sponsored worker to another business.

Can I recruit from overseas without an agency? Yes. Your business becomes the sponsor, you find candidates yourself (SponsorTalent lists 4,986 profiles with skills-assessment and English status), and a registered migration agent lodges the sponsorship, nomination and visa. That is the direct route most small and mid-sized employers use.

Can the worker pay the recruitment or sponsorship costs? No. It is unlawful for anyone to ask for, offer, give or receive a payment or benefit in return for sponsorship, and the sponsorship, nomination and levy costs cannot be recovered from the worker. The worker normally pays their own visa application charge and personal costs.

Which countries have their own exit requirements? The Philippines (Migrant Workers Office contract verification and an Overseas Employment Certificate) and Nepal (labour approval from the Department of Foreign Employment) among the main source countries. India does not require emigration clearance for Australia.