Lower Cost Sponsoring Options: Training Visa (Subclass 407) and Temporary Activity Visa (Subclass 408)
The Australian General Skilled Migration (GSM) program is usually available to migrants who already have the relevant education background, skills, and experience to secure employment. Visas under this program often require the migrant to undertake a skills assessment with a skills assessment authority, who often sets high bars to guarantee the skills are in line with the demand in the Australian labour market.
Employer sponsored or independent skilled visas usually do not cover people who might want to carry out temporary research projects in Australia or are working to upskill themselves to be qualified as a skilled worker. Temporary options, such as a Training visa – subclass 407 and a Temporary Activity visa – subclass 408, aim to cover this group who are looking to upskill themselves, and might be able to provide a cheaper option for both employers and potential migrants.
Training Visa – subclass 407
This visa allows the visa applicant to complete a workplace-based training to improve their skills for their current occupation, area of tertiary study or professional development programme – for up to two years in Australia.
This is suitable for employers who want to provide training to upskill the employee while they are working with them. The occupational training could be for training an employee towards getting a registration, membership, or licence; an occupation on the list of eligible occupations; or a student who is currently enrolled in a foreign educational institution and/or supported by a government agency in Australia or in the applicant’s home country.
To nominate a person under the subclass 407, the following steps will need to be followed:
Steps to nominate a person under the subclass 407.
Along with the application, a copy of a structured workplace-based program which details the assessment of the trainee’s current level of skills; expected learning outcomes and the monitoring methodology; tasks to be completed in the speculated timeframe; and trainers’ qualifications and experience, should be provided.
Apart from the health and character requirements, applicants must also demonstrate they have at least functional English, i.e. an ILETS overall score of 4.5 with no subtest below 4 for each component, or equivalent score in a similar test [1]. More importantly, the visa applicant must demonstrate that they are a genuine temporary entrant and only intend to stay temporarily in Australia and comply with all the conditions (if any) attached to the visa.
To the end of May 2025, the Department received 20,000 visa applications as compared to 4000 per annum in previous years. The Department disclosed to the Migration Institute Australia (MIA) that despite the surge in numbers, 5,576 visas were granted out of 8,671 decisions made. This goes to show that the rumours around high refusals for this subclass are not entirely true; and employers who are looking at this option to train and upskill their workers could still consider this pathway, subject to meeting all relevant criteria.
One additional factor that concerned applicants was that visa applications prior to April 2025 would face immediate refusals following a nomination refusal, leaving no room for the applicants to apply for a review. In light of this, the Department has introduced a two-week gap leniency for the initial nomination refusal before refusing the associated visa application. A further two-week period will once again be provided for a subsequent nomination, but no further leniency will be allowed. This change gives time for both the nomination and visa applicants to reevaluate and/or consider other options, including appeal.
With that said, the Department also says that employers who are long standing sponsors with good records are prioritised in the process; and, especially given the introduction of the Skills in Demand (SID) visa – subclass 482 in December 2024, the Department is in progress of considering potential reforms around the subclass 407.
Temporary Activity visa – subclass 408
The Temporary Activity visa – subclass 408 allows the visa applicant to come to Australia to work on a short-term basis in specific fields of work or for participants of an approved special program, such as youth exchange, cultural enrichment or community programs.
There are ten (10) streams under this visa and each stream is specific to the type of activity the applicant wants to engage in.
1. Coming to Australia for specific type of work
If you will be coming to Australia to work as
a crew, staff, or performer in the entertainment industry;
an individual sportsperson or member of a sports team;
a contracted player or coach for an Australian team;
an author, artist, choreographer exhibiting your work, attending promotional events;
a guest lecturer or public speaker;
a research fellow;
a minister of a religious institution;
a crew member of a superyacht;
as part of a staff exchange with an Australian organisation; and/or
a domestic worker for the household of certain senior foreign executives,
the subclass 408 might be more suitable than employer sponsored options.
It is important to note that all applications under the subclass 408 – COVID-19 Pandemic event stream submitted on or after 1 February 2024 are now closed and will not be considered.
2. Engaging in a special program and/or other social and cultural activity in Australia
These two (2) streams have very specific requirements for each applicant. Generally, these streams allow the participants of a cultural exchange or related activities to come to Australia. However, if a sponsor is required, the sponsor must sign a special program agreement with the Department.
3. Workplace Justice Visa Stream
This is a special stream introduced to allow employees to stay in Australia while pursuing a workplace exploitation claim. If a worker has breached a work-related visa condition and/or experience workplace exploitation, they would be able to apply for this visa stream to stay in Australia from 6 to 12 months while their claim is in progress.
If you have filed a workplace exploitation claim and would like to consider this visa option, timeframe is particularly important, and we recommend you speak to a migration lawyer or a registered migration agent before or immediately after filing your claim and learn your eligibility and options.
Conclusion
For many employers and employees, these temporary visa streams could be suitable alternative options, either to sponsor an employee, upskill themselves, or temporarily stay in Australia. Employers could sponsor and at the same time upskill their employees via more temporary options, allowing the employees to continue to contribute and add value to the business. The Training visa – subclass 407, in particular, does not require a Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy; a salary at the Core Skills Income threshold (CSIT), currently $76,515[2]; or additional advertisements costs for Labour Market Testing (LMT).
The employer would only need $420 to apply to become a temporary activity sponsor. The application fee for applicants is also significantly lower than that of other sponsored employment options, currently $415 for the main applicant. If you would like to learn about the eligibility for your business to sponsor someone; or to obtain more information to present to your employer, we encourage you to reach out to us at Ruppert Legal for advice and an eligibility assessment.
Article written by Law Graduate, Grace Wong with Ruppert Legal Principal, Ndi Ruppert.
[1] Please note that the CSIT is subjected to changes annually on 1 July and this figure represents the amount from 1 July 2025.
[2] Other alternative English tests might be available while some countries might be able to waive the language requirements depending on your country of citizenship.
Please note that this publication is not intended to be relied upon as a substitute for legal or other advice that may be relevant to the reader's specific circumstances.
If you have found the publication of interest and would like to know more or wish to obtain legal advice relevant to your circumstances, please contact us at info@ruppertlegal.com.au or make an appointment at a time convenient to you via the Ruppert Legal Booking Page.
