Various Reasons For Australian 457 Visa Company Sponsorship Refused
There are many reasons for a refusal for this visa from Immigration. Let’s go over what the most common reasons are for your Temporary Work Skilled subclass 457 visa Company sponsorship refused.
This visa is quite a complex application and as such, can be refused during any of the three stages; I will go over the 457 sponsorship stage below.
Lets going through on why 457 Visa Company Sponsorship Refused
Stage 1: Company Sponsorship 457
Training Benchmark
The visa can be refused because the 457 sponsor did not meet the Training Benchmark requirement.
What is the training benchmark requirement?
Currently, there are two possible scenarios to meet the training benchmark criteria, and an employer must meet 1 of these benchmarks:
- Employers who pay 2 percent of their payroll (which was incurred in the last 12 months) expenditure to an industry training fund closely related to the employer’s business.
- Employers who spend at least 1 percent of their payroll (which was incurred in the last 12 months) on training their current Australian citizen or permanent resident employees.
Both of these benchmarks require that the employer also make a commitment to continue their expenditure mandated by the benchmark for every financial year that the employer remains to be a 457 sponsor.
Businesses that have operated in Australia for less than the 12 months (at the time when the application is taken into account) who cannot fulfill A or B can instead come up with and submit a plan in which they outline how they will meet 1 of the above training benchmarks within the next year.
The plan has to be auditable, it must clearly explain the planned expenditure to meet one of the benchmarks and it needs to show the employer’s clear intention to implement the plan.
“Training Receipts” leads to 457 Visa Company Sponsorship Refused
In regards to the Standard Business Sponsorship (SBS), refusals are coming through stating that there is no proof that the training receipts given was used to train Australian citizens, even when the company structure chart shows that all employees are Australian citizens.
This is something Immigration has just recently started doing.
Does the employer/sponsor have any adverse information?
This is another reason for 457 Visa Company Sponsorship refusal. What is adverse information?
Adverse information is any information relevant to a person’s suitability as an approved sponsor, and includes information that the person or persons associated with that person:
- Has become insolvent within the meaning of subsections 5(2) and (3) of the Bankruptcy Act 1966 and section 95A of the Corporations Act 2001
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ba1966142/
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ca2001172/
- In regards to the Commonwealth, state or territory law:
- They have been found guilty by a court of an offense
- They have been found to have acted in contravention of the law by a competent —-authority
- They have been subject to an administrative action (including warnings) by a competent authority
- They are currently under investigation, leaving them subject to disciplinary action —-or subject to legal proceedings
This Commonwealth, state or territory law must relate to:
- Discrimination
- illegal immigration actions
- industrial relations
- occupational health and safety regulations
- people smuggling and related offenses
- anything to do with slavery, sexual servitude and deceptive recruiting
- taxation abuse
- any form of terrorism
- human trafficking and debt bondage
Any adverse information will be considered relevant if:
- it raises doubts about a person’s suitability as an approved sponsor
- has happened within the last 3 years
- it has become known to immigration
There are limits to what is perceived as relevant. Such as, if immigration received information that the business has received a fine for having an unregistered vehicle on a public road, it is not very likely this information would be relevant.
However, if immigration were to receive information that the managing director was being investigated for human trafficking offenses, this would be considered relevant.
Is the business having some financial issues?
Maybe your 457 sponsorship is not doing very well financially or has taken a loss for a while? If so, this may be a reason why your 457 visa company sponsorship refused. As a sponsors they must be in a sound and stable position.
The below are the requirements for a Standard Business Sponsor (SBS):
To be granted the SBS, there are a few of important obstacles which must be overcome:
- There must be a properly established company structure. For example, a company trust, partnership or a registered business name; and
- The company must be in a stable financial position; and
- The training activities of the company must meet prior mentioned, Department of Immigration benchmarks (businesses that do not operate in Australia are exempt from this criteria)
How long is the 457 sponsorship valid for?
Once the Sponsorship for a company is granted, it is generally valid for up to 3 years. There can be quite a few exceptions to this:
Recently Established Companies: if a company has been established for less than a year, then the company sponsorship grant, as well as any 457 visas that were granted with this company sponsorship, will be valid for a maximum of a year.
Accredited Sponsors: high volume sponsors can apply to become accredited sponsors. In this scenario, the company sponsorship will be valid for up to 6 years.
Limitations on the Number of Sponsored Employees within the company
As of July of 2013, employers must specify exactly how many employees they will sponsor during the valid period of their sponsorship.
The company must be able to justify the proposed number of employees to the Department of Immigration and then Immigration can specify a lower number of sponsorships, if they feel this is warranted.
Once the sponsor has hit their limit, the employer would then need to apply for a variation of the sponsorship to be allowed to sponsor any further employees.
Are you a small business looking at sponsorship?
It seems that Immigration likes to refuse small businesses, as more often than not it can be the reason for refusal. The case officers automatically assume that the owner of the small business should be able do the job themselves and do not require the employee or any managerial positions that they attempt to sponsor.
The most likely refusals for small businesses are in the nominated occupations of Customer Service Manager, Facilities Manager, Retail Buyer and other Managerial positions.
Immigration case officers assume that the business owners can very well carry out these functions by themselves, and therefore without really considering the need of the business refuse the application.
Consider the feelings of a small business owner and if they were forced to do the work themselves, instead of being able to expand the business by being freed up to do other upper-level development projects.
Minimize the risk of 457 Visa Company Sponsorship Refusal
It’s the best for both company and visa applicant interest to seeking help from an experienced migration agent who understand the complexities of 457 Visa Company Sponsorship pathway.
Nobody would be happy that their 457 Visa Company Sponsorship refused. Because it cost them a lot of money, time and effort.
As a migration agency, ONE derland Consulting has extensive experience working with Australian company who want to sponsors foreign worker.
Our lead registered migration agent Mrs. Indah Melindasari will give you an actionable migration plan for your company sponsorship by joining her in private visa consultation session.
This migration plan will significantly decrease the risk of your 457 Visa Company Sponsorship refused by Australian immigration authority.
To find further information on sponsorship options and eligibility for a Temporary Work Skilled (subclass 457) visa to Australia please contact our office on (+61) 08 9477-5831 or email: [email protected]
