Table of Contents
- GTES Program Features
- Established Business Stream - Employers Eligibility
- Applicant and Position Criteria
- Established Business Stream For Accredited Sponsors
- Start-Up Stream - GTES
- The Industry Advisory Group
- VisaConnect Australia Office
GTES Program Features
The main features of the GTES are:
- Trusted employers can access highly-skilled roles - Employers are not restricted to occupation lists for the TSS visa short-term or medium-term streams
- 2 Streams - Established Business and Startups
- Earnings - Higher earning threshold than under the standard TSS stream, Subclass 482 Visa
- Visa Validity - 4 years visa validity and allows access to a permanent residence pathway
- Priority Processing - Priority processing of GTES agreements
- Age Limit to 55 Years - Although the Age limit is set at 55 years, there are Age exemptions, with Ministerial approval. Exemptions on Age grounds may be granted where there is a potential benefit to Australia & Australian workers. Note that the Home Affairs Minister weighs the additional cost to the Australian community against the benefit an individual or group of individuals may bring to the economy.
Established Business Stream - Employers Eligibility
- Provide evidence that access to the GTES will support job opportunities and skills transfer for Australians
- Evidence of Labour market testing for the specific positions, to request a GTES agreement
- The Employer is required to be in good standing with relevant regulatory agencies, including compliance with immigration and workplace laws
- Employer's Company must be publicly listed or have an annual turnover of at least $4 million AUD for each of the past 2 years
- Employer is already endorsed as a TSS accredited sponsor
Applicant and Position Criteria
- Health and Character - Must satisfy health, character and security requirements
- No Family Relationship - No family relationship with directors/shareholders
- Qualifications - must be proportionate with the highly skilled role
- Work Experience - Applicant has acquired at least 3 years work experience directly relevant to the position
- Mentoring and Training Australians - Applicant has the capacity to pass on skills, and develop Australians
- Established Business Stream - earnings - The Position must have minimum annual earnings equivalent to the Fair Work High Income Threshold
- Start-Up Stream - Earnings - The Minimum Annual Earnings can be set at the current market salary rate, but not lower than $80,000 AUD
- Start-Up Stream - Investment - Start-Ups must either have received an investment of at least $50,000 AUD from an investment fund registered as an Early Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnership or received an Accelerating Commercialisation Grant at any time.
Established Business Stream For Accredited Sponsors
The Established Business Stream of the GTES Program is available for 'Accredited Sponsors' to enable them to employ cutting-edge employees, who can innovate in an Established Business and train and mentor Australians. The main features of the stream are as follows:
- Access High Number of Positions - access up to 20 positions per year
- Flexibility - flexibility in certain visa criteria, including access to 4-year TSS visa
- Permanent Residence - transitional pathway to permanent residence after 3 years, including age cap concessions
- Simpler Agreements - Simpler agreement applications and faster processing of agreements