Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS)

This visa category is little understood and not well marketed, yet it has one of the simplest entry requirements and lowest levels of obligation for many parties involved.

The Regional Skilled Migration Scheme (RSMS) allows employers in regional or low population growth areas of Australia to fill skilled positions they are unable to fill from the local labour market.

For many people affected by changes to TRA procedures, 457 visas, labour hire arrangements and English language requirements, this visa is the best or only way forward.

It’s simple:

• the employer’s obligation is only an offer of employment. There are no other costs to underwrite or sponsorship undertakings to give, as specified by DIAC.
• the migrant employee’s obligation is to try and work there for two years on a “best endeavours” basis.

“At last” we hear you say, a visa that recognises not all employment relationships work out and neither the employer or migrant should be penalised as a result.

This allows employers a little more flexibility in what they offer as base salary and conditions - rather than having to trade these down to cover employer risk with sponsorship undertakings required for other visas.

The RSMS does have some restrictions by being a regional visa, in that employers can only take part in the scheme if their business is outside of Brisbane, Gold Coast, Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong, Melbourne and Perth. Note: the place of work needs to be in a regional area, not the headquarters of the employer.

That leaves open huge areas and significant cities and towns in Australia, around 1/3 of occupied areas in the country

With such a simple relationship and open negotiation of employment terms, the clear majority of migrants will be deeply appreciative of the start they are being given and highly unlikely to do anything to jeopardise their employment, such as working below their peak productivity level.

You can structure employment terms to motivate and properly reward the employee, rather than cutting back salary or forcing certain obligations on the migrant which might encourage them to work elsewhere.

Employers considering nominating workers under the RSMS may identify suitable nominees in various ways, including:

• through your efforts in advertising in the local labour market;
• personal contact and/or experience with the nominee, who we can introduce to you;
• recommendation from third parties; or
• through DIAC's skill matching program.

Skill Matching Database

Skill matching is made possible by the DIAC Skill Matching Database. It contains the educational, occupational and personal details of Skilled-Independent category applicants and Skill Matching Visa applicants.

The Skill Matching Database is updated monthly and distributed to all State/Territory governments and to a network of regional development authorities. It is underused by employers who do not know to list or search there, and underused by State Governments who often need prompting to seek out selected candidates for Government rather than employer sponsorship.

Applicants nominated from the database do not need to lodge a further visa application.

Regional Skilled Migration Scheme Process

There are three simple 3 stages:

1. Certification of the Nomination or Vacancy (by a certifying body)
• In general terms, the employer must be able to demonstrate that:
• the position is full-time;
• it is available for at least 2 consecutive years;
• it requires qualifications equivalent to at least Australian diploma level (this includes trade certificates);
• the position cannot be filled from the local labour market;
• remuneration is in accordance with Australian industrial laws; and
• there is an employment contract or letter of appointment covering the position.
2. Employer Nomination Assessment
• The completed and certified nomination needs to be forwarded to the relevant DIAC Business Centre who need to be satisfied that the nomination has been certified by a regional certifying body and all the above requirements were met.
3. Visa Nominee Requirements
• The nominee must complete and lodge an application. In general terms, the visa application will be assessed against the following:
• the nominee has the relevant qualifications equivalent to at least an Australian diploma;
• the nominee is able to satisfy any compulsory licensing, registration or professional membership requirements;
• the position is for a fixed term of at least 2 years (supported by evidence of a contract)
• the candidate is less than 45 years of age;
• the candidate has functional English language ability; and
• the candidate and family members meet mandatory health and character requirements.

Visa Conditions

Cancellation of a visa will not occur where a nominating employer terminates an employee's contract within the 2 year period, provided the employee has made a genuine effort to complete the 2 years with the approved employer.

If the employee's visa is cancelled, the visas for family who came in on the same RSMS will also be cancelled.

How Hire A Migrant can assist is to put forward candidates who are reliably going to meet the RSMS requirements and make suitable employees for your business.

Many employers who choose to recruit through this visa will be in more outlying areas, without easy access to:

• the flow of migrants who physically pass through the cities looking for work;
• migration agent services, as most agents are based in the major cities;
• advice about different cultures, communication styles and work patterns. More than anything, this tends to deter employers from hiring “foreigners” who might actually be the breath of fresh air or new pair of hands that the business requires.

We are able to assess employer needs against the pool of candidates we already hold as being ready to work, or source candidates through our migration agent network. We can also arrange for them to be measured against your requirements and those of DIAC, then work with the Regional Certifying Body to ensure that both the vacancy is recognised to exist and the candidate is deemed to meet requirements for sponsorship AND employment.

As an employer you may already have several excellent employees who do not hold university level qualifications. Compared to this, RSMS candidates have at least a recognised diploma or evidence of organised and recognised training in the job that they seek.

This is near the lowest level of education required to gain a visa, but that does not mean that the candidate is less able than your unqualified other staff.

It does instead mean that the thresholds for visa grant may be set too high in other categories, as evidenced by the perpetual skills shortages across Australia.

This site is not intended for use by either migrants or sponsors who are directly in the act of sponsoring a future employe. It is a condition of use of this site that all users acknowledge that they are not seeking migration advice for themselves as migrant or to act as sponsor of a future worker. For full legal entitlement and disclaimer for use please click here (c) Hire A Migrant Pty Ltd ACN 124 164 138 unless otherwise attributed.