There are two types of work visas available for noncitizens and non-permanent residents of Australia to undertake temporary employment assignments: the Subclass 400 Temporary Work (Short Stay Activity) and the Subclass 482 (Temporary Skill Shortage).

For medium- to long-term skilled positions that cannot be filled locally due to a genuine skill shortage in the Australian labor market, the Subclass 482 visa is more appropriate.

The Subclass 400 visa is a short-stay work visa that allows a visa holder to work in Australia for, and on behalf of, their home employer outside of Australia.

The Subclass 400 visa is appropriate for individuals with proprietary knowledge and experience in a specific field that cannot reasonably be found in Australia, and the proposed activity in Australia is highly specialized and non-ongoing in nature.

A Subclass 400 visa holder must remain employed by their home country employer while working in Australia.

The proposed work in Australia must not have adverse consequences on ongoing employment or training opportunities or conditions for Australian citizens and permanent residents. The Subclass 400 visa is limited to highly specialized knowledge, skills or experience that are extremely limited in Australia.

Non-ongoing means the proposed activity is likely to be completed within the specified short period of time. Under current immigration policy, the normal stay period of the Subclass 400 visa is up to three months. However, a stay period of six months may be granted where there is a strong business case.

Generally, there is no expectation for a visa holder to remain in Australia after the end of the stay period granted by the immigration department.

The Subclass 400 visa program prohibits rotating different individuals through the same or similar position to carry out the same nature of activity or work.

Highly specialized work means the visa applicant has specialized and niche technical skills, knowledge or industry experience that cannot easily be found in Australia. The visa applicant's position overseas must also be considered highly skilled and must correspond to one of the skilled occupation code classifications published by the immigration department.

Visa applicants may request a single entry or multiple entries with respect to their Subclass 400 visa, depending on their needs to depart and return to Australia during their visa term. However, where multiple entries are granted, each new entry does not trigger a new period of stay. Rather, the stay period on a Subclass 400 visa starts on the date they enter Australia for the first time after the grant of their Subclass 400 visa and ends on the last day of the specified period of the stay.

Individuals applying for a Subclass 400 visa must be outside of Australia when they lodge their Subclass 400 visa application and must remain outside of Australia for the grant of their Subclass 400 visa.

The Subclass 482 Temporary Skilled Shortage visa is designed to accommodate skilled labor shortages across the selected skilled occupations, which the immigration department reviews and updates on a regular basis in consultation with external stakeholders.

The Subclass 482 visa program is designed to allow eligible overseas and Australia-based businesses to bring in skilled foreign nationals on a short-term to medium-term basis, without impacting the employment conditions and opportunities of Australians, and for various purposes, including the establishment of business operations in Australia or the fulfillment of contractual obligations of Australian businesses.

The Subclass 482 visa allows primary visa holders to do the following:

• Work in their approved position for their sponsoring employer
• Bring their eligible dependent family to Australia
• Travel to and out of Australia multiple times throughout the validity period of their visa

Businesses seeking to employ skilled workers will need to become an approved business sponsor before sponsoring eligible individuals on a Subclass 482 visa.

Both start-up businesses and established businesses in Australia may apply to become a business sponsor.

Overseas businesses without an operating base or representation in Australia may also be eligible to apply to become a business sponsor.

A business sponsorship is approved for five years and allows the business sponsor (and its associated entity) to sponsor eligible skilled workers on a Subclass 482 visa.

Business sponsors are required to pay the applicable Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy, also known as the nomination training contribution charge, for each individual they are seeking to sponsor for each 12-month period. The SAF levy is tax-deductible.

Depending on the visa stream, the maximum visa validity period of the Subclass 482 visa is either two or four years. The visa term is determined by the number of years for which the business intends to nominate the position.

If an individual is relocating to Australia as an intra-corporate transferee from one of the countries to which Australia has commitments under the international free trade obligations, or their nominated position in Australia is considered an executive or senior manager, their Subclass 482 visa validity period may be granted for up to four years even if their positions are listed on the short-term visa stream.

The positions considered to be executive or senior manager are the following:

• Advertising manager
• Chief executive or managing director
• Chief information officer
• Corporate general manager
• Corporate services manager
• Finance manager
• Human resources manager
• Sales and marketing manager
• Supply and distribution manager

When nominating an individual on a Subclass 482 visa, business sponsors must demonstrate that they tested the Australian labor market to consider Australian citizens and permanent residents first before considering an individual for the nominated position. This requirement is known as labor market testing.

Business sponsors can demonstrate this requirement by providing evidence that the nominated position was advertised in Australia for at least four weeks in a manner prescribed by the immigration department.

Labor market testing is not required for intracompany transferees and certain individuals who are otherwise exempt under the policy.

Labor market testing is also not required where it is inconsistent with Australia's commitments under the international trade obligations, including the free trade agreements and the World Trade Organization (WTO) General Agreement on Trade in Services.

Under the international trade obligations, applications from the following individuals are exempt from labor market testing:

• A citizen of China, Japan or Thailand or citizen/national/permanent resident of Chile,  New Zealand, Singapore or South Korea
• A foreign national currently employed by the business sponsor's associated entity located in Chile, China, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea or any ASEAN member country (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam)
• A foreign national currently employed by the business sponsor's associated entity or an overseas business sponsor operating in a WTO member country whose role is considered to be an executive or senior manager under the occupation code and who will be in charge of the entire, or a substantial part of, the Australian operation
• A citizen of a WTO member country who is nominated by an employer for whom the nominee has worked in Australia for two years continuously on a full-time basis immediately before the application

Intracompany transferees may remain employed and paid by their home company while they are sponsored by their Australian host company, if the two entities are the associated entities within the meaning of Australian corporate law.

Business sponsors are required to ensure that the employment terms and conditions offered to individuals on a Subclass 482 visa are no less favorable than those they offer, or would offer, comparable Australian employees in Australia and are at least equal to the 10 minimum employment entitlements (National Employment Standards) set out under Australia's national workplace laws.

Eligible Australian businesses may sponsor eligible skilled foreign nationals for permanent residency under the applicable employer-sponsored permanent residency programs.

There are two common pathways for the employer-sponsored permanent residency program.

The first pathway is through the Subclass 482 visa sponsorship. The business sponsors may nominate employees who have been working in their nominated position on a Subclass 482 visa under the medium-term for at least three years.

The second pathway is through the direct nomination of eligible individuals by their eligible prospective or current Australian employer. To be eligible under this pathway, individuals must have their qualifications and work experience formally assessed by the skills assessing organizations appointed by the immigration department for their nominated occupations.

There is also a separate regional employer-sponsored permanent residency program for businesses as well as positions located in eligible regional, remote or low population growth areas classified by the immigration department.