The Minister of Religion Industry Labour Agreement lets you sponsor skilled overseas workers in the occupations of Minister of Religion or Religious Assistants for temporary stay periods of up to 4 years and/or for permanent residency.
An immediate permanent pathway is only available under the Minister of Religion Labour Agreement for those applicants who hold the most senior Minister of Religion position in the religious organisation in Australia, or a State/Territory region of Australia.
The terms and conditions of the agreement are set and non-negotiable.
As an employer, you must show that you meet the following requirements.
Visa
You can sponsor skilled overseas workers on these visas:
The decision on which visa is appropriate will be made based on the religious organisation’s business case.
The income threshold for labour agreements is now the Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT), which replaced the TSMIT in December 2024 and is currently $79,423 (from 1 July 2026). Any salary concession in a labour agreement applies as a proportion of the current CSIT. For example, a 10% concession means a salary of at least 90% of the CSIT.
Your organisation
As the requesting organisation, you must be defined as a ‘religious organisation’ in the Migration Regulations. This requires that:
- your activities reflect your organisation is founded on the promotion of a religious object
- members of your religion show through their beliefs and practices they:
- believe in a supernatural being, thing or principle
- accept the canons of conduct that give effect to that belief, but that do not offend against the ordinary laws
- meet the requirements of section 50–50 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997
- your organisation’s income must be exempt from income tax under section 50–1 of that Act
You must also show evidence of your organisation’s charitable status.
You must also identify the people you wish to sponsor at the time you make a request for the Minister of Religion Industry Labour Agreement. We cannot process your industry labour agreement if there are any outstanding immigration issues for your organisation or people you wish to sponsor, such as un-finalised visa applications or merits review proceedings.
Occupation
Religious organisations can only nominate for the following Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) positions:
- skill level 1 occupation of Minister of Religion as defined by ANZSCO 272211. This person must have a senior leadership role in your organisation, or
- skill level 4 occupation of Religious Assistant as defined by ANZSCO 451816
We will consider the size of your organisation and workforce if you wish to nominate more than one skilled overseas worker.
English language
The minister of religion labour agreement includes English language concessions:
- Cloistered or monastic roles: no English language requirement, for both the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) and the Employer Nomination Scheme visa (subclass 186)
- Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482): an IELTS score of at least 4.0 in listening and speaking (or equivalent)
- Employer Nomination Scheme visa (subclass 186): an overall IELTS score of at least 4.5, with at least 4.0 in each of the four test components (or equivalent)
As an alternative to an English test, workers may be able to show they have completed at least five years of full-time study in a secondary or higher education institution where the instruction was delivered in English.
Skills, qualifications and experience
Ministers of Religion must have:
- been ‘ordained’ or have ‘professed to a religious life’ as a minister of religion (or equivalent accreditation process within the faith tradition) and
- hold a minimum qualifications equivalent to a relevant Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) bachelor degree
or
- completed at least 5 years of relevant structured training or instruction, noting that experience does not meet this criterion.
Religious Assistants must have:
- the relevant qualifications equivalent to a relevant AQF Certificate II or III (ANZSCO Skill Level 4) or
- at least 2 years of relevant experience as a substitute for the formal qualification listed above.
Employer sponsored visa guides
- Skills in Demand 482 visa
- 482 Core Skills stream
- 482 Specialist Skills stream
- 482 visa fees
- 482 visa path to PR
- Employer Nomination Scheme (186 visa)
- Regional employer sponsored (494 visa)
- Becoming a standard business sponsor
- Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy
- Labour agreements
- Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMA)
- Employer sponsorship assessment
Age
There is no age limit for the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482).
Applicants for the Employer Nomination Scheme visa (subclass 186) must be no more than 60 years of age at the time of application.
Salary
Ministers of Religion
You must meet the salary requirements of the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482). Non-monetary benefits may be included in calculating the Annual Market Salary Rate (AMSR). We may accept a vow of poverty depending on the situation.
Religious Assistants
The above requirements apply, however, no concessions can be awarded on the basis that a vow of poverty has been declared.
Book a meeting today for a commitment free briefing with our Registered Migration Agents in Melbourne to find more about your visa options.
