Immigration Minister Chris Bowen has announced the creation of a new accreditation scheme for the subclass 457 visa program, which officially took effect from November 7^th 2011.

The subclass 457 (Business - Long Stay) visa is the most commonly utilised program for employers to sponsor overseas workers to Australia to fill skilled positions on a temporary basis.

Under the new accreditation scheme, employers will now be able to apply for an ‘Accredited Sponsor’ status with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC).

If an employer meets the eligibility requirements and is granted Accredited Sponsor status by DIAC, they will qualify for priority processing on all subclass 457 visa nominations and applications submitted by them, and sponsorships undertaken by that employer will become valid for a period of 6 years rather than the usual 3 years.

Why the 457 Visa Accreditation Scheme has been introduced:

DIAC has stated that this new accreditation scheme has been implemented in order to acknowledge the “…many Australian businesses (who) have a long history of good dealings with the department, including lodging a high volume of good quality, decision-ready applications and an excellent record of compliance with relevant laws.”

How to apply to become an Accredited 457 Visa Sponsor:

An employer can apply for Accredited Sponsor status in one of two ways by;

1. submitting a new sponsorship application; or

2. applying for an amendment on a current sponsorship agreement.

Employers may use the same methods to apply for Accredited Sponsor status as are used in applying to become a standard business 457 sponsor, namely, via the eVisa program or through the paper form 1196.

In order to be eligible for Accredited Sponsor status, an employer will need to demonstrate at the time of their application that they possess certain characteristics in addition to the standard sponsorship eligibility requirements.

Characteristics which must be met to become an Accredited 457 Visa Sponsor:

In addition tothe standard sponsorship eligibility requirements, Employers who wish to be approved for Accredited Sponsor status will also need to meet all of the following characteristics;

• be a government agency, a publicly-listed company, or a private company, with a minimum of $4 million turnover per year (for at least the previous three years),
• have been an active subclass 457 visa sponsor for the past three years. This timeframe may include a break of no more than six months, which was not due to any sanction imposed by DIAC,
• have had at least 30 primary subclass 457 visa holders granted in the previous 12 months,
• have no adverse information known about them based on Departmental monitoring (either DIAC or the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations) including formal warnings and sanctions,
• have lodged a high level of decision-ready applications over the previous two years
• have a non-approval rate of less than 3% on all sponsorship and visa applications submitted by them over the previous three years,
• have a current workforce comprising of at least 75% Australian workers, and a commitment to maintain this level.

Accredited Sponsors must continue to meet each of these additional characteristic requirements for the duration of their sponsorship agreement.

If these additional characteristics are not met:

If DIAC finds that an employer has not sufficiently demonstrated the above required characteristics necessary to be granted Accredited Sponsor status, then the employer’s application will still proceed and be assessed as a standard business 457 sponsorship application in the usual way, under the usual processing timeframes and arrangements.

If an employer has been afforded Accredited Sponsor status by DIAC, but is at a later date found to have not maintained these required characteristics, their Accredited Sponsor status will be revoked. This will result in their priority processing rights being withdrawn. Note that in this instance, the sponsorship validity period will still remain at 6 years.