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Global Talent Employer Sponsored

→ Australian Visa and Immigration Advice → GLOBAL TALENT EMPLOYER SPONSORED PROGRAM (GTES)

Table of Contents

Purpose of Global Talent Employer Sponsored

The stated purpose of the GTES are as follows:

  • Allows employers to sponsor overseas workers for highly-skilled, niche positions that cannot be filled by Australian workers or through the standard 482 program.
  • Benefit Australia and Australian workers
  • Globally mobile, highly-skilled and specialised individuals… [to] act as ‘job multipliers.’
  • Priority for future industry growth and with emerging opportunities for Australia’s economy.
  • Highlighted as priorities through the Industry Growth Centre initiative and through targeted consultation with key industry stakeholders, including: Austrade; Department of Industry, Innovation and Science; Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business; and academia.

Features - GTES Program

The main features of the GTES are:

  • Trusted employers can access highly-skilled roles - Employers are not restricted to occupation lists for the TSS visa short-term or medium-term streams
  • 2 Streams - Established Business and Startups
  • Earnings - Higher earning threshold than under the standard TSS stream, Subclass 482 Visa
  • Visa Validity - 4 years visa validity and allows access to a permanent residence pathway
  • Priority Processing - Priority processing of GTES agreements
  • Age Limit to 55 Years - Although the Age limit is set at 55 years, there are Age exemptions, with Ministerial approval. Exemptions on Age grounds may be granted where there is a potential benefit to Australia & Australian workers. Note that the Home Affairs Minister weighs the additional cost to the Australian community against the benefit an individual or group of individuals may bring to the economy.

Eligibilty Criteria - Global Talent Employer Sponsored

Employers - Established Business Stream

  • Provide evidence that access to the GTES will support job opportunities and skills transfer for Australians
  • Evidence of Labour market testing for the specific positions, to request a GTES agreement
  • The Employer is required to be in good standing with relevant regulatory agencies, including compliance with immigration and workplace laws
  • Employer's Company must be publicly listed or have an annual turnover of at least $4 million AUD for each of the past 2 years
  • Employer is already endorsed as a TSS accredited sponsor

Applicant and Position Criteria - Established Business Stream and Start-Up Stream

  • Health and Character - Must satisfy health, character and security requirements
  • No Family Relationship - No family relationship with directors/shareholders
  • Qualifications - must be proportionate with the highly skilled role
  • Work Experience - Applicant has acquired at least 3 years work experience directly relevant to the position
  • Mentoring and Training Australians - Applicant has the capacity to pass on skills, and develop Australians
  • Established Business Stream - earnings - The Position must have minimum annual earnings equivalent to the Fair Work High Income Threshold
  • Start-Up Stream - Earnings - The Minimum Annual Earnings can be set at the current market salary rate, but not lower than $80,000 AUD
  • Start-Up Stream - Investment - Start-Ups must either have received an investment of at least $50,000 AUD from an investment fund registered as an Early Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnership or received an Accelerating Commercialisation Grant at any time

Established Business Stream - GTES Program

The Established Business Stream is available for 'Accredited Sponsors' to enable them to employ cutting-edge employees, who can innovate in an Established Business and train and mentor Australians. The main features of the stream are as follows:

  • Access High Number of Positions - access up to 20 positions per year
  • Flexibility - flexibility in certain visa criteria, including access to 4-year TSS visa
  • Permanent Residence - transitional pathway to permanent residence after 3 years, including age cap concessions
  • Simpler Agreements - Simpler agreement applications and faster processing of agreements

Start-Up Stream - Global Talent Employer Sponsored

The Start-Up Stream has the same Features as the Established Business Stream above, except for the following:

  • STEM Field - The Company operates in the STEM related field (for example, digital, bio-medical or agritech company). STEM companies are companies involved in: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
  • Access 5 Positions Annually - access up to 5 positions per year
  • StartUp Endorsement - Startups must be endorsed by the independent GTES startup advisory panel

Tech Busineses that use GTES Program

Busineses using the GTES program to date, until May 2021, have primarily been Australian tech businesses, as well as multinationals with branches in Australia. These currently include:

Australian Tech Businesses

  • Atlassian
  • Metigy
  • OpenAgent

Australian MultiNational Companies

  • Amazon
  • Canva
  • Nokia
  • Rio Tinto
  • Salesforce

The Government works with Stakeholders to design and implement the GTES Program

The Industry Advisory Group is made up of industry experts from a variety of fields including startups, tech and biomedical sectors, as well as organisations representing businesses and universities all over Australia. Organisations represented on the IAG include:

  • Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
  • Australian Information Industry Association
  • Business Council of Australia
  • Cochlear
  • Fragomen
  • Innovation and Science Australia
  • StartupAUS
  • Universities Australia

Office Address and Telephone - VisaConnect Australia

Contact VisaConnect's Consultants at our Sydney, NSW, Australia office below:

VisaConnect Sydney
Suite 19, 103 George Street
Parramatta
NSW 2150
Australia

Telephone: (+61) 2 9151 7350