SKILLING AUSTRALIANS FUND (SAF) levy to commence August 12, 2018
The long-heralded imposition of the Skilling Australians Fund levy will become effective August 12, 2018, and payable for employer-sponsored nomination applications for temporary or permanent skilled work visas.
SAF will be managed by the Department of Education and Training, to underwrite skills development of Australians. It replaces the previous requirement of nominating employers to prove they have spent 1% of annual payroll on training their Australian workforce or contributed 2% of their payroll to an industry training fund.
The new levy imposed on employers at time of their nomination application relates to four visa classes. The following table, attributed to the Migration Institute of Australia, clarifies the above information.
Subclass 457 and Subclass 482 – nomination training contribution charge
The nomination training contribution charge will be calculated in the following manner:
Base amount x visa period
The base amount for organisations with less than $10 million annual turnover is $1200, in any other case the base amount is $1800.
| Visa period |
<$10 million turnover |
> $10 million turnover |
| One year |
$1200 |
$1800 |
| Two years |
$2400 |
$3600 |
| Three years |
$3600 |
$5400 |
| Four years |
$4800 |
$7200 |
The charge for nomination of the occupation of Minister of Religion under the Labour Agreement stream is nil.
Subclass 186 and Subclass 187 – nomination training contribution charge
- If annual turnover of the nominating organisation is less than $10 million – $3000.
- If annual turnover of the nominating organisation is more than $10 million – $5000.
The charge for nomination of the occupation of Minister of Religion under the Labour Agreement stream is nil.
Expat International’s Visa Division will be pleased to discuss these changes, and advise specific levies per application, to assist employers gain insight for their budget estimations.
