The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has advised that the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) will commence this coming Sunday 12 August.
WHAT IS THE SAF?
The nomination training contribution charge offsets expenditure from the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF). The SAF is a training fund administered by the Department of Education and Training. The SAF will prioritise the funding of apprenticeships and traineeships in high demand occupations and currently rely on skilled migration, or have future growth potential, including in regional Australia. The nomination training contribution charge replaces requirements that employers sponsoring a worker under the Subclass 457 visa and Subclass 482 visa, or nominating a worker under the Direct Entry stream of the Subclass 186 visa have recently spent: · the equivalent of at least two per cent of their business’ payroll in contributions to an industry training fund (training benchmark A); or · the equivalent of at least one per cent of their business’ payroll on the training of Australians (training benchmark B)
WHAT IS THE FEE ?
Subclass 482 Temporary Visa – the nomination training contribution charge will be calculated in the following manner: Base amount x visa period The base amount for organisations with less than $10 million annual turnover is $1200, in any other case the base amount is $1800.
| Visa period | < $10 million turnover | > $10 million turnover |
| One year | $1200 | $1800 |
| Two years | $2400 | $3600 |
| Three years | $3600 | $5400 |
| Four years | $4800 | $7200 |
* The charge for nomination of the occupation of Minister of Religion under the LA stream is nil. Subclass 186 and Subclass 187 – Permanent Residence Visa
- If the annual turnover of the nominating organisation is less than $10 million – $3000.
- If the annual turnover of the nominating organisation is more than $10 million – $5000.
- The charge for nomination of the occupation of Minister of Religion made under the LA stream is nil
WHO PAYS THE SAF ?
The employer must pay the SAF. There will be an additional line to the sponsorship obligations that will include the item that the nomination training contribution charge as a cost cannot be recovered or transferred to another person e.g. the nominee.
IS A REFUND POSSIBLE ?
Yes – it’s a miracle. Refunds of the nomination training contribution charge are available in specified circumstances. The related nomination fee can also be refunded in those circumstances. The refund grounds address situations where:
- the nomination cannot be approved for specified reasons and is withdrawn before a decision is made;
- the nomination is approved but the nominated worker is refused a visa on health or character grounds;
- the nomination is approved and the nominated worker is granted a visa, but does not commence work in the position;
- the nomination is approved and the nominated worker is granted a visa and commences work in the position, but the employment ends within 12 months. This ground only applies to nomination for the purposes of the temporary visas, and the partial refund excludes the nomination training contribution charge for the first year of the nomination.
The request for refunds must be made in writing so please speak to us if you believe that any of these provisions apply to you.
NEED TO KNOW MORE ?
Please contact TEMI’s Immigration Advisor at Visa Executive Pty Ltd. Amanda Tinner Fellow of the MIA MARN 0325139 Mob: +61 (0) 409 969 525 Email: amanda.tinner@visaexecutive.com Web: www.visaexecutive.com Skype: trounson
ABOUT TEMI
The Employee Mobility Institute is Australia’s peak industry body specifically focused on employee talent mobility. Its mission is to advocate, promote, represent and grow the Australian Employee Talent Mobility Industry. Visit TEMI’s website to learn more.
Published by: The Employee Mobility Institute, September 2018
