Your occupation appears in the agreement. The 482 nomination proceeds only when the agreement names the role, so start here.
The 482 Labour Agreement Is How Australia Hires the Workers Its Lists Miss
If your occupation never made it to a government list, your employer's agreement is what decides. Find out whether the agreement covering yours names your occupation.
We read it and tell you where you stand.
What Is the 482 Labour Agreement Stream?
A labour agreement is a contract between the Department of Home Affairs and one employer or one industry. It adjusts the standard 482 Skills in Demand visa rules for the people that employer sponsors. The Department lists it as the Skills in Demand visa subclass 482 Labour Agreement stream.
So you answer to two rulebooks under the subclass 482 labour agreement stream. The standard rules, and your employer's agreement on top of them. The agreement governs wherever the two differ.
Aged care providers sponsor personal care workers this way. Abattoirs sponsor slaughterpersons. Dairy farms sponsor farm workers, restaurants sponsor chefs, and regional employers across the NT, SA and the WA Goldfields sponsor a wide range of roles through a DAMA. A labour agreement visa Australia pathway exists because the skilled occupation list cannot name every job the economy runs on.
Which Labour Agreement Covers Your Employer?
Many employers already sit under an industry agreement that someone negotiated years ago. Those employers can nominate straight away.
| Agreement | Who it covers | Roles it commonly names |
|---|---|---|
| Aged Care Industry (ACILA) | Residential and in-home aged care providers | Personal care workers, nursing support |
| Meat Industry | Abattoirs and processors | Slaughterpersons, boners, slicers |
| Dairy Industry | Dairy farms | Dairy cattle farm workers |
| Fishing Industry | Commercial fishing operators | Fishers, deckhands |
| Restaurant (Fine Dining) | Fine dining restaurants | Chefs, cooks |
| Minister of Religion | Churches, temples, mosques | Ministers of religion |
| DAMA | Employers in the NT, SA, the WA Goldfields and other designated regions | A broad regional list with English and salary concessions |
| Company specific | A business with a shortage no industry agreement reaches | Negotiated role by role |
Home Affairs publishes the full list of current labour agreements and the DAMA arrangements. Finding your industry on the labour agreement occupation list takes minutes. Matching your real job description to the occupation as the agreement defines it decides the nomination, and that is the part worth getting right.
Concessions Available Under a 482 Labour Agreement
Concessions are what make this stream work when the standard rules do not.
English
Several agreements set a lower level than standard 482 English.
Salary
Each agreement negotiates its own floor, which suits industries where the standard threshold sits above the market rate.
Skills assessment
Some agreements waive it, some require it, and some name a different assessing authority.
Occupation coverage
An agreement can name work the skilled lists have never carried, and that is why most people arrive here.
482 Visa Labour Agreement Stream Eligibility
These 482 labour agreement visa requirements apply alongside whatever your agreement adds.
You hold 12 months of relevant experience, full-time or the equivalent, within the last five years, unless the agreement sets a different rule.
Your sponsor nominates you, and that nomination stays valid on the day the Department decides your visa.
You meet the English standard your agreement sets, which is the standard 482 level where no concession applies.
You meet health and character requirements and hold health insurance for your whole stay.
Bring any earlier refusal or cancellation to your agent before you lodge. The Department assesses it case by case, and a well-prepared application addresses it directly.
Sponsor Requirements for the 482 Labour Agreement Stream
An agreement that covers you. Check the industry list first. Joining an existing agreement takes days, and negotiating a company-specific one takes months.
An occupation your agreement names, at the salary, English, and skills standard it sets for that role.
Labour market testing in the form your agreement specifies. Some require it, and some grant an exemption, so follow your agreement rather than the general rule.
A genuine full-time role in an operating business, supported by your ABN, trading evidence and financial records.
Our blog on sponsoring overseas skilled workers covers the wider employer-sponsored picture, and your obligations continue while the visa runs. You notify the Department when employment ends or when hours, duties or pay change, and you withdraw a nomination by notifying the Department directly rather than by deleting it in ImmiAccount.
482 Labour Agreement Visa Conditions to Plan Around
You work for your sponsor in the nominated occupation, and you start within 90 days of arrival or grant.
You have 180 days if the role ends, which gives you time to find another sponsor or plan your next step. Home Affairs sets out what to do in its guidance on a change in situation.
The visa renews rather than extends. Your employer lodges a fresh nomination at the end of the term.
Permanent residency runs through your employer. The 482 visa labour agreement stream pathway to PR runs through the 186 labour agreement stream, so raise it with them in your first year.
482 Visa Labour Agreement Stream Fees
| Who | Government charge |
|---|---|
| Main applicant | AUD 4,015 |
| Each dependant aged 18 or over | AUD 4,015 |
| Each dependant under 18 | AUD 1,005 |
| Employer nomination | AUD 330, plus the Skilling Australians Fund levy |
Read the second row carefully
An adult dependant pays the same as the main applicant, so a couple applying together pays AUD 8,030 in government charges. English testing, health examinations, police certificates and professional fees sit on top.
You can confirm the cost with the Home Affairs pricing estimator, and employers can check the levy and nomination charges under cost of sponsoring.
482 Labour Agreement Visa Processing Time
Three timelines run here, and most applicants count only the last one.
You can also check current figures on the Home Affairs processing times tool.
Frequently Asked Questions
One of three streams of the 482 skills in demand visa. An employer holding a labour agreement with the Department of Home Affairs sponsors workers in occupations the Core Skills and Specialist Skills streams do not cover. Official rules sit on the Home Affairs labour agreement stream page.
You qualify when your occupation appears in your sponsor's agreement, you hold 12 months of relevant experience unless the agreement says otherwise, you meet the English standard it sets, you hold a skills assessment where required, and you meet health and character requirements.
AUD 4,015 for the main applicant, AUD 4,015 for each dependant aged 18 or over, AUD 1,005 for each dependant under 18, and AUD 330 plus the SAF levy for the nomination.
Yes, full-time for your sponsoring employer in your nominated occupation. You start within 90 days, and you have 180 days to arrange new sponsorship if the role ends.
It can, through the 186 labour agreement stream once you complete the required period of work and your employer nominates you. Our Employer Nomination Scheme page covers the other 186 streams.
The visa commonly takes 7 to 10 months. Add the nomination, and add the negotiation period where your employer needs a new agreement. Current figures are on the processing times tool.
Your employer lodges the nomination through ImmiAccount and gives you the Transaction Reference Number. You then lodge your visa through the ImmiAccount login, holding a substantive visa or a Bridging visa A, B or C if you apply onshore. We handle both sides for clients.
The core is your passport, employment references, qualifications, English evidence, health insurance and police certificates. Each agreement adds its own requirements, so ask us for the checklist that matches your employer's agreement rather than working from a general one.
Not always. A well-established industry agreement with a clear occupation match often runs smoothly. A MARA-registered migration agent earns their fee by reading the agreement against your duties, finding the concession that reaches your occupation, timing the skills assessment so the application stays valid, and building evidence that answers the agreement's own definitions. Check any agent on the register kept by the Office of the MARA.
Often yes. Where an industry agreement already covers their sector, they nominate without negotiating anything. One conversation confirms which situation applies.
Speak to a MARA Registered Migration Agent About Your Agreement
Bring us the agreement, or simply the employer's name and industry. We will confirm whether your occupation is covered, which concessions apply to you, what it costs, and how long it should take.
No registered migration agent can guarantee a visa outcome. Verify any agent on the Register of Migration Agents.
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