Regional Businesses
A Regional 457 visa was introduced to assist regional employers who cannot meet skills shortages from the local labour market and where those positions fall outside the standard 457 criteria. The Regional Skilled Migration Scheme (RSMS) assists employers in all areas of Australia except Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong, Melbourne and Perth, who are unable to fill a skilled position in their business from the local labour market, to access a suitably skilled worker from overseas.

Under the regional 457 arrangements, regional employers can now seek exemption from the minimum skill and/or minimum salary levels. In designated regional areas, employers can seek this exemption by approaching the local certifying body; the local certifying body is responsible for the assessment and recommendation in relation to applications for exemption to the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) regarding sponsorship under the regional 457 criteria.

Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS)
ENS enables Australian employers to recruit highly skilled staff from overseas on a permanent basis, or temporary residents currently in Australia, when they have been unable to fill a vacancy from within the Australian labour market or through their own training programs.

The objectives of ENS are to:

• Enhance Australia’s ability to compete globally
• Satisfy genuine shortages in the Australian labour market by accessing highly skilled workers to fill highly skilled positions
• Maintain the integrity of the migration program whilst enabling employers to meet genuine needs in a timely and administratively straightforward manner
• Maximise employment and training opportunities for Australian residents
• Enhance opportunities for Australians to acquire new skills and knowledge through the transfer of skills
• Ensure there is a net benefit to Australia