How to become a Standard Business Sponsor

Do you run a restaurant or other hospitality-related business and have trouble finding suitable staff? You’re not alone. It is well documented that Australia is experiencing a chef shortage with many hospitality businesses struggling to find local, qualified chefs to fill vacancies.
 
One option is to hire chefs from overseas which requires your business to become a Standard Business Sponsor.
 
Keeping it Legal
 
While hiring overseas staff can be a great way to fill positions, it’s important to do so in a way that complies with Australian laws. Anyone who is not an Australian citizen or permanent resident is required to obtain a visa to enter and remain in Australia, and in order to be employed in Australia, one must have a specific visa that allows them to work.
 
It is a criminal offense to knowingly or recklessly permit or recommend someone for work if that person doesn’t hold a valid visa. The penalties for these transgressions are severe, and can apply to both corporations, as well as individuals convicted of these offenses. Keep in mind, directors and senior managers can be personally liable for violations of employers’ responsibilities. In other words, if you want to bring over an overseas worker to work in your restaurant, you’ll need to become a Standard Business Sponsor and sponsor a visa for them.
 
How to become a Sponsor and employ a chef on a 457 Visa
 
There are three major steps towards employing a chef on a 457 visa:
 
1. Your business need to acquire Standard Business Sponsorship (SBS) approval.
2. You need to nominate an overseas worker to fill a position.
3. The overseas worker needs to apply for a visa.
 
Acquiring Standard Business Sponsorship Approval
 
The first step is for your business to receive approval as a Standard Business Sponsor. In order to obtain this approval, your business must operate lawfully, have a clean business background, and demonstrate that it has a strong history of employing and training Australians. Once your business is approved, the sponsorship is valid for three years.
 
Nomination Approval
 
Once you have obtained sponsorship approval, it is your responsibility to nominate an overseas worker to fill a position. The nominated position must relate to an occupation on DIBP’s Consolidated Sponsored Occupations List (CSOL). The nominated position must fill a genuine job required to address a skills shortage in Australia. Common restaurant occupations that are eligible include:
 
• Cook
• Chef
• Café or Restaurant Manager
• Hotel or Motel Manager
• Pastry cook
 
About the 457 Visa
 
The 457 visa is most commonly used by restaurants and other hospitality-oriented businesses who are seeking to overcome local skills shortages. It is a temporary residence visa that permits businesses to sponsor overseas workers to Australia. The 457 visa requires a worker to be approved in a specific occupation by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP). Once approved, the holder may work only for their sponsoring business for a period of no more than four years.
 
Becoming a Standard Business Sponsor may seem like a difficult process, but Edupi Migration specialise in managing this for our clients. We liaise with the DIBP on your behalf and work with you to ensure you have all of the requirements in place to become a Standard Business Sponsor.
 
Approval Timeline
 
If managed by Edupi Migration, you can normally be up and running as an approved sponsor in 2-3 months. If you would like to know more about the process, feel free to contact me, Justin Browne on (02) 9235 0919 or email justin@edupi.com.au.