• Aged care industry Labour Agreement

Aged care industry Labour Agreement

Aged care industry

The Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement lets you sponsor overseas direct care workers for a period of up to 4 years or for permanent residence. The terms and conditions of the agreement are non-negotiable.

You can access the Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement once you have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with relevant industry union(s).

 TSMIT in Labour Agreements will be raised to $70,000 pa as of 1 July 2023.

Any concession to the TSMIT that exists in a Labour Agreement will continue at the current proportion ie, if there is a 10% concession on the $53,900 current TSMIT, there will be a 10% concession on the $70,000 level (eg $7000) from 1 July 2023.

The new Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement will not be affected.

Union MOU

To access an Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement, you must first enter into an MoU with a relevant industry union(s) – the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, the Health Services Union or the United Workers Union.
For more information about entering into an MoU, please contact your relevant industry union.

  • Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation
  • Health Services Union
  • United Workers Union

Visa

You can sponsor overseas workers on the following visas:

Occupations

You can nominate overseas direct care workers in the following Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) positions:

  • Nursing Support Worker (ANZSCO 423312)
  • Personal Care Assistant (ANZSCO 423313)
  • Aged or Disabled Carer (ANZSCO 423111)

English language

Overseas workers must meet the following English language requirements:

Temporary Skill Shortage visa (subclass 482)
  • For overseas workers employed by standard aged care providers: IELTS 5.0 (or equivalent) with minimum component scores of 5.0 for speaking and listening and 4.5 for reading and writing.
  • For overseas workers employed by culturally and linguistically diverse aged care providers: IELTS 4.5 (or equivalent) with no component minimum, provided the overseas worker is fluent in the target community language.
Employer Nomination Scheme visa (subclass 186)
  • IELTS 5.5 (or equivalent) with no component minimum.
Am I eligible for a 186 visa?

Skills and qualifications

To meet occupation requirements for a Temporary Skill Shortage visa (subclass 482), overseas workers must have at least a relevant Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Certificate III or equivalent, or higher qualification, or have 12 months of relevant full time work experience, or equivalent part time experience.

If the overseas worker obtained their qualification overseas or is claiming work experience in lieu of a relevant qualification, they will need a positive skills assessment from either the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (for Nursing Support Worker ANZSCO 423312 or Personal Care Assistant ANZSCO 423313) or the Australian Community Workers Association (for Aged or Disabled Carer ANZSCO 423111).

To meet occupational requirements for an Employer Nomination Scheme visa (subclass 186), overseas workers must have at least a relevant AQF Certificate III, or equivalent qualification.

Work experience

There are no minimum levels of post qualification work experience that needs to be met to satisfy visa criteria for a Temporary Skill Shortage visa (subclass 482).

Applicants for an Employer Nomination Scheme visa (subclass 186) must have at least two years of full time work experience in Australia in a relevant direct care occupation. The two years of work experience is not tied to a particular employer or visa subclass.

Salary

You must:

employ the overseas worker on a full time basis
meet the National Employment Standards if overtime hours are included in the contract for the overseas worker, and
pay the overseas worker a minimum of $51,222 AUD (guaranteed annual earnings) or the Australian Market Salary Rate for the position, whichever is higher.

Age

There is no age limit for the Temporary Skill Shortage visa (subclass 482).

The age limit for an Employer Nomination Scheme visa (subclass 186) is 45 years of age.

Labour market testing

The establishment, and maintenance, of an MoU with the relevant industry union(s) will satisfy the labour market testing requirements.

Summary: Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement terms and concessions

  • Access the following concessions to standard skilled visa requirements:
    • two year pathway to permanent residence through the Employer Nomination Scheme
    • streamlined visa nomination and priority visa application processing
    • no post qualification work experience requirement
    • English language concessions for workers with relevant community language skills
    • annual salary of at least $51,222 AUD or the Australian Market Salary Rate, whichever is higher.
  • Key visa application requirements:
    • hold a relevant AQF Certificate III or equivalent, or higher qualification. You can also have 12 months of relevant work experience or part time equivalence.
    • obtain a positive skills assessment from the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council or the Australian Community Workers Association if you obtained your qualifications overseas. This also applies if you claim work experience in lieu of the formal qualifications.
    • have an English language proficiency level of at least IELTS 5.0 or equivalent. Workers with target community language skills employed by culturally and linguistically diverse aged care providers need at least IELTS 4.5 or equivalent.

DHA will consider labour market testing requirements satisfied once aged care providers have entered into an MoU with the relevant union(s).

^ Skill and qualification requirements will differ from those stipulated in ANZSCO. These will be specified under the terms of each Labour Agreement.

Related:

Is my business eligible to sponsor under a labour agreement?

Book a meeting today for a commitment free briefing with our Registered Migration Agents in Melbourne to find more about your visa options.

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