GTES Australia Visa Programme

The Australian Government has in recent years sought to attract highly skilled migrants to Australia through a range of targeted programs, including with the introduction of the global talent scheme. With increasing global competition for talent, Australia is seeking to attract the best and brightest, in an effort to help grow a stronger economy. The global talent scheme Australia is one such dedicated talent attraction program which is designed to support the Australian economy.

The Global Talent Employer Sponsored (GTES) program provides businesses with a streamlined process to sponsor overseas workers with cutting-edge skills, where there are no suitable Australians available. It is designed to assist start-up businesses operating in a STEM-related field and established businesses to fill highly skilled, specialised and niche roles.

The global talent scheme Australia comprises of two strands; being an employer sponsored program and an independent global talent visa program. Lets take a closer look at each of these various pathways available under the global talent scheme.

Global Talent Employer Sponsored Program

First introduced as a 12 month pilot scheme, the Global Talent Employer Sponsored (GTES) program, which has now been made permanent, enables employers to sponsor overseas workers for highly-skilled niche positions that cannot be filled by Australian workers, or through other standard visa programs (including the Short-term stream and Medium-term streams of the Subclass 482 Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa program). It is available to employers seeking to sponsor overseas workers under the following visa programs:

Subclass 482 Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa;
Subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) visa; and
Subclass 494 Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (SESR) visa.

The GTES is one type of Labour Agreement (LA) available under the skilled visa programme. Once approved, the LA will specify the visa subclassess that may be granted under the agreement. It will also include a nomination ceiling, being the maximum number of nominations that can be approved in each year of the LA.

If a LA is approved, the business must comply with their sponsorship obligations as outlined in their agreement. These will largely equate with those which apply under the standard business program. Additional obligations may also apply.

The Department may monitor approved sponsors/employers through audits and site visits. Approved sponsors must agree to cooperate with the Department in relation to all monitoring and reporting obligations.

The GTES programme aims to attract ‘globally mobile, highly skilled and specialised individuals’ to businesses in Australia, helping them to grow, developing local industry, and creating more jobs and opportunities for Australians and, in turn, contributing to the overall growth of the economy. Recruiting highly skilled migrants with cutting edge skills into niche occupations will help innovate established businesses and contribute to Australia’s developing startup ecosystem. By sharing their unique skills and knowledge, these highly skilled overseas workers will help to upskill the local workforce and effectively work as ‘job multipliers,’ assisting businesses to recruit Australians and fill areas of critical need.

The programme achieves this by requiring businesses under a GTES agreement to demonstrate, throughout the agreement period, how sponsored positions have translated into creating opportunities for local employees (by, for example, creating new jobs for Australians, and/or enabling local workers to acquire relevant knowledge and skills).

A GTES agreement has a term of five years and enables an established business to access up to 20 highly skilled overseas workers each year. Start-up companies can access up to five positions annually under the programme.

Some of the key features of the global talent employer sponsored program are outlined below:

Provides eligible Australian employers with the ability to sponsor overseas workers in highly skilled occupations which are not otherwise eligible for nomination under other visa programs (such as the TSS visa);
Comprises of two visa streams, namely, an Established business and Startup stream;
The minimum nominated salary that must be paid to a GTES visa holder is higher than an under the TSS visa programme;
Standard TSS visa requirements can be varied under a GTES agreement;
A GTES visa has a term of up to four years and provides a pathway to permanent residence;
Age requirements for the permanent residence pathway can be varied; and
Priority processing of GTES applications by the Department means a quicker turnaround time for a decision to be made and in turn, implementation of the programme by business.

To participate in the global talent employer sponsored programme, sponsoring employers and visa applicants must meet certain specified requirements. These will vary, depending on the visa stream selected. The main features and criteria to qualify for each stream are listed below.

Established Business Stream

This stream enables employers, who are accredited sponsors under the TSS visa programme, to employ workers to assist in innovating an established Australian business with their unique skills and knowledge.

The main features of the established business stream are listed below:

Allows sponsoring businesses to fill up to 20 positions per year. Each position and visa applicant must meet all relevant criteria to qualify;
Provides flexibility in regard to certain visa criteria, including access to 4-year TSS visas;
Provides a pathway to permanent residence after 3 years, including concessions to the age limit;
Involves a simpler application process and faster processing; and
should the position cease, the visa holder will have 60 days to either find a new sponsor and apply for a new visa, or they will be required to leave Australia.

To be eligible under this stream, the sponsoring employer must:

Demonstrate that participating in the GTES will support employment opportunities and the transfer of skills to Australians;
Provide evidence that Labour Market Testing (LMT) has been conducted to recruit Australians in the positions for which the business is seeking to nominate workers under the GTES;
Have a good record with relevant regulatory agencies and comply with all relevant laws (including immigration and workplace laws);
Either be publicly listed, or have an annual turnover of at least AUD $4 million in each of the previous two years; and
Be endorsed as an TSS accredited sponsor.

Visa applicants must meet the following criteria to be eligible for a GTES visa under the established business stream:

Health, character and security requirements;
Not have a family relationship with directors and/or shareholders of the sponsoring business;
Have qualifications that correspond with the highly skilled nominated position;
Have a minimum of three years’ work experience, which is directly relevant to the nominated position; and
Be able to transfer to, and develop, the skills of Australians.

The annual earnings for the nominated position must be at least AUD $158,500 (as at 1 July 2021). This is based on the Fair Work High Income Threshold (which changes annually).

Startup Stream

Under this global talent employer sponsored stream, eligible employers can sponsor overseas workers who possess unique and innovative skills to help develop the local startup industry by contributing their ideas, knowledge and skills to create new jobs and technologies in Australia. This stream is available to startups in a technology-based or STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) field.

The main features of this stream are:

Employers can sponsor up to 5 nominated positions per year. Each position and visa applicant must meet all relevant criteria to qualify;
Flexibility in certain visa criteria, including access to 4-year TSS visas;
Provides a pathway to permanent residence after 3 years, including concessions to the age limit;
A simpler application process and faster processing;
If the nominated position ceases, the visa holder will have 60 days to find a new sponsor and apply for a new visa, or they will be required to depart Australia; and
The startup must be assessed and endorsed by an independent GTES Startup Advisory Panel.

as being a viable and genuine startup.

To qualify under this stream, the employer is required to:

Demonstrate that participating in the GTES will support employment opportunities and the transfer of skills to Australians;
Provide evidence that LMT has been conducted to recruit Australians in the positions for which the business is seeking to nominate workers under the GTES;
Have a good record with relevant regulatory agencies and comply with all relevant laws (including immigration and employment laws); and
Operate in a technology based or STEM-related field. This includes digital, biomedical and agtech fields.

The employer must also meet at least one of the following requirements:

have received at least AUD $50,000 from an investment fund registered as an Early Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnership (ESVCLP); or
have received an Accelerating Commercialisation Grant at any time.

The visa applicant must meet the following criteria to qualify under the startup stream:

Health, character and security requirements;
Not have a family relationship with directors and/or shareholders of the sponsoring business;
Have qualifications that correspond with the highly skilled nominated position;
Have a minimum of three years’ work experience which is directly relevant to the nominated position; and
Have the capacity to transfer to, and develop, the skills of Australians.

The annual earnings for the nominated position must be the market salary rate, and not less than AUD $80,000. This amount may comprise of an equity component; however, the cash portion must be at least AUD $53,900. This is based on the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT), which is subject to change.

Labour Market Testing

When requesting a GTES agreement, prospective sponsoring employers must provide evidence to demonstrate that they have attempted to recruit for the relevant position/s from within the Australian labour market. This is referred to as Labour Market Testing (LMT). For each specific occupation, the employer must provide evidence of two such attempts. These attempts must have been conducted in the last 12 months prior to lodging the nomination application. In this regard, there are no prescribed requirements as to the content of advertisements or for how long they are expected to run. Immigration will assess each advertising attempt on a case-by-case to determine whether it genuinely tests the Australian market.

As a guide, Immigration has provided the following examples of what they would consider to be appropriate forms of LMT under the GTES:

Recruitment websites including technology based global employment sites (such as LinkedIn Jobs – evidence includes a copy of the job advertisement, invoices for recruitment subscription services and/or data on performance of each job advertised, i.e. job posting data metrics (the response rate, etc.);
The employer’s website – this form of advertising would only be accepted for employers applying under the established business stream – a copy of the advertisement should be provided as part of the application;
Executive Search firms (commonly referred to as headhunting) – evidence may include fees/invoices for recruitment services; a summary of the search undertaken by the firm; a copy of the contract between the employer and the executive search firm;
Networking or referrals, the outcome of which identifies globally recognised talent from overseas – evidence may include a written referral or an endorsement by industry leader/expert in their field, which explains why the identified individual is the only person (or one of very few people), who could perform the nominated position, and no Australian worker is available.

In cases where it is not possible to provide evidence of 2 attempts to recruit for the position in Australia (due to, for example, there being a very limited global pool of suitable candidates and thus the methods outline above are not suitable), the employer should provide a statement to explain these circumstances when applying for the GTES agreement.

For intra-corporate transfers of an existing employee of a company to another branch or associated entity of that company operating in Australia, a formal letter of transfer or other documentation outlining the intra-corporate transfer arrangement can be provided by the employer as LMT evidence.

If the employer appoints a third party to undertake the LMT (e.g. by an associated entity or a contracted party such as a recruitment agency or executive search firm), the employer can provide a summary of the search undertaken.

The LMT obligations of the sponsoring employer continue throughout the term of the GTES agreement, with evidence to be provided for each specified position every 12 months.

Where a sponsoring employer is seeking to vary a GTES agreement by adding new occupations, LMT evidence must also be provided.

How To Apply Under The GTES Program

The steps involved in the application process are set out below.

Step 1: The Employer Indicates Their Interest In The GTES Program

To apply under the established business stream, the employer needs to submit an online GTES labour agreement request on ImmiAccount (the Department’s online lodgement system). All relevant documents should be attached with the application. Additional information about this process is also provided in the Established Business Information Guide, which can be requested by contacting the Department.

For the startup stream, the employer is required to email the Department with the following information:

Business name and ABN/ACN;
Description of the position/s required and evidence of why the position/s is not available or cannot be accessed through standard visa pathways; and
Provide evidence of an investment of at least AUD $50,000 from an investment fund registered as an ESVCLP, or a receipt of an Accelerating Commercialisation Grant.

Subject to meeting the above criteria, the Department will arrange for the startup to be assessed by the Startup Advisory Panel.

Step 2: Assessment By The Department

The Department will then assess the application based on the information provided. Employers should ensure complete and correct information and documents are supplied to prevent delays in processing. Failure to provide all relevant information can also result in the application being rejected.

The expected processing period is 6-11 business days (for complete applications).

Step 3: If Approved, The Agreement Must Be Signed

Where the employer meets all the required criteria for approval of a GTES agreement, the Department will send the agreement to the employer for signature.

Step 4: Nomination And Visa Application

Once the GTES agreement has been finalised and executed, the employer will receive a unique code (Permission Request ID) to be used when lodging nomination applications online (a separate application is required for each nominee).

Each overseas worker whom the employer seeks to nominate under the GTES programme is also required to apply for a TSS visa online. Their application will be assessed under the criteria as set out in the GTES agreement with their sponsoring employer. The visa application can be submitted at the same time as the nomination application.

Both the nomination and visa applications should be decided within 5 business days (subject to lodging a complete application).

For a list of current GTES agreements, please click here (Labour Agreement (LA) type is GTS, GTS – Established business and GTS – Start up).

Get More Information About The GTES Program

We recommend that you refer to our article on the Global Talent Employer Sponsored Visa to learn more about the program.

Global Talent Visa Program

The independent Subclass 858 Global Talent Visa aims to attract the ‘best and brightest’ to work in ten selected future-focused sectors. It is aimed for highly skilled professionals to work and live permanently in Australia. The program is designed to support the economy by introducing innovative skills to high priority industries. This will create opportunities for Australians through the transfer of skills, promote innovation and create employment opportunities.

The subclass 858 visa is a permanent residence visa for people who have an internationally recognised record of exceptional and outstanding achievement in an eligible field.

Australia wants the brightest and best global talent to work in ten future-focused sectors. We designed the program to support the economy by introducing innovative skills to high priority industries. This will create opportunities for Australians by:

transferring skills
promoting innovation
creating jobs.

The global talent scheme visa consists of the following pathways:

The streamlined Global Talent Visa Program pathway – for applicants with skills in identified priority sectors who have submitted an Expression of Interest (EOI); and
The Distinguished Talent pathway – for applicants working in other sectors.

15,000 places have been allocated to the global talent visa program pathway, and 200 places available in the distinguished talent pathway in 2021-2022.

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants who are highly skilled in one of the 10 target sectors and who are able to attract a salary that meets the high income threshold will be invited to apply for a visa under the Global Talent Visa Program.

The Department is seeking applications from highly skilled professionals, senior executives and exceptional individuals who are at the cutting edge of innovation in the identified target sectors, who will help create opportunities for Australia by promoting innovation and creating employment.