Hiring overseas workers
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If you’re experiencing a shortage of local labour, you may be interested in hiring overseas workers. The following programs provide avenues to source unskilled or skilled staff:
Learn more about these programs below.
Through the PALM scheme, eligible businesses can recruit workers for seasonal jobs for up to 9 months or for longer-term roles for between one and three years in unskilled, low-skilled and semi-skilled positions.
The new agriculture visa program is under development and will have a phased introduction. It will be a broad ranging, sponsored visa and will supplement the existing PALM Scheme.
The Pork Industry Labour Agreement (PILA) lets you sponsor skilled overseas workers in senior piggery stockperson roles for periods of up to four years or five years depending on the visa and/or permanent residence.
The Agreement with government sets out the requirements you and your potential employees will need to meet. The main requirements are:
Concessions for some criteria can be accessed by regional businesses and these are specified in the current PILA template.
For further information on the PILA, see:
Standard skilled visas are available to individuals who are qualified to work in an eligible skilled occupation in Australia and can meet other requirements. The occupation must be on the government’s skilled occupation list.
Currently this list includes the skilled occupation of Pig Farmer, which requires a level of skill commensurate with a bachelor degree or higher. At least five years of relevant experience may substitute for the formal qualification.