SKILLING AUSTRALIANS FUND (SAF) LEVY FOR 482 AND 457 VISAS
The Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy will be required to be paid by employers who nominate workers on the following visas lodged on or after the 12 August 2018:
Subclass 482 Temporary Skill Shortage visa
Subclass 457 Temporary Work Skilled visa (now abolished, but SAF will be applied when the nomination relates to a subclass 457 visa holder changing occupation or sponsor)
Subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme visa
Subclass 187 Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme visa
The SAF is a training fund overseen by the Department of Education and Training and will provide funding for apprenticeships and traineeships in occupations which have a skill shortage and depend on skilled migrants or occupations expected to be needed in the future.
The sponsoring employer must pay the SAF levy upfront at the time the nomination is lodged and they must not transfer or seek to recover the SAF levy from a visa applicant or any other party.
SAF levy for nominations for Subclass 457 and 482 visas
For these visas, the SAF levy amount will depend on the sponsoring employer’s annual turnover and the nominated visa period.
The SAF levy for employers with an annual turnover of LESS THAN AU$10 million is AU$1,200 for EACH year of the nominated visa applicant’s proposed period of stay in Australia.
The SAF levy for employers with an annual turnover of AT LEAST AU$10 million is AU$1,800 for EACH year of the nominated visa applicant’s proposed period of stay.
The table below sets out the applicable SAF levy for the various subclass 457 and 482 nominated visa periods for the financial year ending 30 June 2019:
NOTES: The SAF levy is NOT required for the occupations of Minister of Religion or Religious Assistant when nominated under the Labour Agreement stream under the TSS visa.
The SAF levy will be indexed and adjusted yearly every 1st of July.
The Department of Home Affairs (i.e. Immigration) will apply an additional surcharge to any SAF levy paid by credit/debit card or PayPal. The surcharge will be a percentage of the SAF levy and is based on the payment method used.
