SAF levy

The Australian Government previously announced its intention to introduce the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy in March 2018. The SAF levy will apply to nominations by employers under the temporary and permanent employer sponsored migration programs, including the subclass 186 ENS and subclass 482 TSS nominations. The amendments to bring this into effect are contained in the Migration Amendment (Skilling Australians Fund) Bill 2017 and the Migration (Skilling Australians Fund) Charges Bill 2017. The Bills have been passed by the House of Representatives but not yet by the Senate.

Until the Bills are passed by the Senate employers are able to lodge applications for approval as a Standard Business Sponsor under the TSS program and nominate employees for the TSS visa without having to evidence training expenditure or pay the SAF levy. Employers should therefore consider doing this before the SAF levy is introduced.

Once the SAF levy is introduced nomination fees will apply on the following basis:

• $1,200 per year for each temporary overseas worker, and a one-off levy of $3,000 for each permanent overseas worker for businesses with an annual turnover of less than $10 million

• $1,800 per year for each temporary worker and a one-off payment of $5,000 for each permanent worker for businesses with an annual turnover equal to or greater than $10 million

For further advice in relation to these changes and how they may impact on your application and visa options please contact us.