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On-hire Labour Agreement for nursing and allied health agencies.
If your agency employs nurses or allied health staff and places them with hospitals, aged care homes or community services, a standard sponsorship will not cover you. The On-hire Industry Labour Agreement is the pathway built for this model. Its terms are fixed by the Department and stricter than standard sponsorship, so it pays to understand them before you recruit.
The On-hire agreement in short
Key facts
- Who it is for
- Businesses that recruit or hire out labour to other businesses and remain the direct employer.
- Visa
- Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482), up to four years.
- Occupations
- Occupations on the Core Skills Occupation List at the time of nomination, including nurses, midwives and most allied health roles.
- Minimum salary
- At least 20 per cent above the Core Skills Income Threshold: AUD 95,307.60 for nominations lodged 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, or the market rate if higher.
- Work experience
- At least two years of relevant experience.
- Agreement term
- Five years, with a set number of nominations each year.
- Terms
- Fixed and non-negotiable.
What the agreement allows
It lets your agency sponsor skilled overseas workers and assign them to work for your clients while you remain their employer. You nominate each worker against an occupation on the Core Skills Occupation List, in a location listed in your agreement, up to the number of nominations approved for that year.
What it requires of your agency
Full-time employment, paid throughout
Workers must be employed full time and paid by you, including between placements. You cannot stand workers down without pay while waiting for the next assignment.
Higher salary
Earnings must be at least 20 per cent above the Core Skills Income Threshold and no less than an Australian doing the same work at the same workplace.
A contract with each client
For every placement you need a signed contract with the client organisation, including their commitment to workplace law and to allowing government inspection.
Nomination length matches the placement
The period you nominate must be consistent with the length of the client contract.
Labour market testing
Evidence that you advertised in Australia, both when you request the agreement and with each nomination.
No fees to workers
You cannot charge workers for their nomination or for finding them work, and you cannot nominate someone you suspect owes money for being recruited.
Monitoring your clients
You must place workers only in workplaces that comply with safety and workplace laws, and keep watch on that.
Requesting the agreement
Confirm your standing
Confirm your business is lawfully operating and financially able to support sponsored workers, and gather financial and business records.
Declare adverse information
Declare any adverse information, such as workplace law findings, with an explanation.
Labour market testing
Carry out labour market testing for the roles you want to fill.
Workforce plan
Prepare a workforce plan and proposed nominations for each year.
Lodge the request
Lodge the request in ImmiAccount. There is no fee to request an agreement.
Sign and nominate
Sign the agreement when offered. Nominations can then be lodged within your yearly limit.
Several states and territories require labour hire providers to be licensed, including Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and the ACT. South Australia extended licensing to all industries in 2026. Licensing is separate from migration but matters to your standing as a sponsor.
For nurses: registration and timing
A nurse must be registered with AHPRA before starting work. For many overseas-trained nurses this means an assessment, an exam and a clinical examination in Australia, which can take around nine to fourteen months and may need a visitor visa for the trip. We plan the nomination around the registration timeline so the pieces arrive together.
Where on-hire applications come unstuck
Quoting the wrong salary floor
Using the standard threshold instead of the higher On-hire floor.
Over-long nominations
Nominating for longer than the client contract runs.
Unpaid gaps between placements
Leaving workers unpaid between placements.
Client contracts missing
Missing or incomplete client contracts.
Assuming the agreement covers carers
Carer and personal care roles are not on the Core Skills Occupation List and cannot be sponsored under the On-hire agreement.
Letting the agreement expire
Renewal needs a new request, lodged well before the end date.
On-hire agreement questions
Our agency already has an On-hire agreement. Can you work with it?
Can we place carers or personal care assistants?
Is there a permanent residence pathway?
Can we increase our yearly nominations?
Can the worker pay any of the costs?
Send us your agreement or your workforce plan
We will tell you whether the On-hire agreement fits your model, what the salary floor means for your margins, and what the Department will expect from your client contracts.
Important information
The information on this page is general in nature, current as at 25 September 2026, and does not take account of your individual circumstances. It is not immigration assistance or legal advice. The On-hire agreement terms, occupation lists and income thresholds change. The terms that apply to your business are confirmed at the time of advice under a written agreement. No agent can guarantee a visa outcome.
Migration Star, Registered Migration Agents, MARN 1797395.