IT Labour Agreement and Tech Visa Sponsorship | Australian Migration Lawyers

At a glance: key facts

Feature	Detail
IT Industry Labour Agreement	None published — IT is not among the ten published industry template agreements
Standard Sponsorship Availability	Broad — most ICT occupations are on the CSOL; high-salary roles use the Specialist Skills stream with no occupation list
Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT)	$79,423 from 1 July 2026 — applies to Skills in Demand visa (Subclass 482) Core Skills stream and Subclass 186 ENS
Specialist Skills Income Threshold (SSIT)	$146,576 from 1 July 2026 — no occupation list required for roles meeting this threshold
Labour Agreement Types Available for IT	Company-specific labour agreement; On-hire Industry Labour Agreement (for IT consultancies placing staff with clients)
DAMA Availability	Available for regional IT employers where the applicable DAMA covers ICT occupations
Key ICT Occupations on CSOL	Software Engineer, Developer Programmer, Analyst Programmer, ICT Business Analyst, Systems Analyst, Web Developer, Cyber Security Engineer, Cyber Security Analyst, DevOps Engineer, and others
Skills Assessment Authority	Australian Computer Society (ACS) for most ICT occupations
ACS Assessment Pathways	Post Australian Study; General Skills; Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) for experienced professionals without an ICT degree; Skills in Demand pathway
Visa Pathways	Skills in Demand visa (Subclass 482); Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 186); Subclass 494 for regional employers

Is there an IT industry labour agreement?

No. Information technology and ICT are not among the sectors for which the Department of Home Affairs has published an industry template labour agreement. The ten published industry agreements cover: Dairy, Fishing, On-hire, Meat, Minister of Religion, Pork, Restaurant (Premium Dining), Advertising, Horticulture, and Aged Care. Technology does not appear on this list.

This means IT employers cannot access a pre-negotiated industry template with fixed concession terms the way, for example, a horticulture grower or a fine dining restaurant can. Any labour agreement for an IT employer must be negotiated directly with the Department as a company-specific arrangement, or, for IT staffing businesses that place workers with clients, through the On-hire Industry Labour Agreement.

For a broader overview of how labour agreements work in Australia, see our Labour Agreements page.

Software developers working together in an office

Do you actually need a labour agreement?

Most tech employers do not need a labour agreement. The majority of ICT occupations are directly accessible through the standard employer-sponsored visa program, and for high-paying roles the Specialist Skills stream of the Skills in Demand visa removes the occupation list requirement entirely.

The Core Skills streamThe Specialist Skills streamWhen a labour agreement becomes relevant

The Core Skills stream

The Core Skills stream of the Skills in Demand visa (Subclass 482) requires the nominated occupation to be on the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL). The CSOL includes a broad range of ICT occupations covering software development, cyber security, systems analysis, business analysis, and web development. For most mainstream tech roles, standard Core Skills sponsorship is the simplest and fastest route.

The Specialist Skills stream

The Specialist Skills stream is designed for highly skilled, high-earning professionals. It has no occupation list requirement: any occupation within ANZSCO Major Groups 1, 2, 4, 5, or 6 qualifies, provided the salary meets or exceeds the Specialist Skills Income Threshold (SSIT) of $146,576 from 1 July 2026. Because ICT occupations fall within ANZSCO Major Group 2 (Professionals), every ICT role is eligible for the Specialist Skills stream where the salary qualifies. The stream receives priority processing and provides the same PR pathway as the Core Skills stream: workers can transition to permanent residence through the Subclass 186 Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream after two years of eligible sponsored employment with an approved sponsor.

The Specialist Skills stream is particularly useful for emerging or niche tech roles that do not map clearly to an existing ANZSCO code on the CSOL, and for senior specialists and architects whose market rate exceeds the SSIT.

When a labour agreement becomes relevant

A company-specific labour agreement becomes worth pursuing when standard sponsorship does not meet the employer’s needs. The most common situations for IT employers are:

A role that does not map to any occupation on the CSOL, and where the salary does not meet the SSIT. Emerging roles in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and specialised data engineering sometimes fall into this gap.
The employer needs a concession that standard sponsorship does not provide, such as a lower English language requirement, an age concession for a worker over 45 applying for permanent residence, or a reduced experience requirement.
The employer places sponsored workers at client sites rather than having them work directly for the employer. Standard sponsorship prohibits on-hire arrangements. An On-hire Industry Labour Agreement is the correct pathway for IT staffing and consulting businesses operating this model.
The employer has a large volume of ongoing ICT sponsorship needs and wants to negotiate bespoke terms rather than operate nomination by nomination.

Your routes to sponsor IT workers

Consideration	Standard SID Core Skills stream	Standard SID Specialist Skills stream	Company-specific labour agreement	On-hire labour agreement	DAMA
Best suited when	Role on CSOL; salary meets CSIT ($79,423)	Any ICT role; salary meets SSIT ($146,576)	Role off CSOL and below SSIT; concessions needed; large-volume bespoke needs	IT staffing or consulting business placing workers with client organisations	Employer in a designated regional area where DAMA covers the ICT occupation
IT industry agreement	No	No	No	Yes (On-hire is a published industry agreement)	No
Occupation list required	Yes (CSOL)	No	No	Specified in agreement	Per DAMA terms
Salary threshold	CSIT ($79,423)	SSIT ($146,576)	Negotiated (concessions possible)	Per agreement terms	Per DAMA terms
Concessions available	No	No	Yes — age, English, salary, experience	Per agreement terms	Per DAMA terms
Processing	Standard	Priority (seven-day target)	Standard after agreement executed	Standard after agreement executed	Standard
PR pathway	Subclass 186 TRT after two years	Subclass 186 TRT after two years	Subclass 186 Labour Agreement stream	Subclass 186 Labour Agreement stream	Subclass 186 Labour Agreement or Subclass 191

IT consultancies and contractors: the on-hire arrangement

Standard employer sponsorship in Australia is premised on a direct employment relationship. The sponsoring employer nominates the worker, employs the worker, and the worker performs duties for that employer. An employer that sponsors a worker and then places them at a client’s site to perform work for the client is engaging in an on-hire arrangement, which is not permitted under standard sponsorship regardless of how the contracts are structured.

For IT consultancies, staffing firms, and managed services providers whose business model involves placing workers with client organisations, the On-hire Industry Labour Agreement is the correct pathway. The labour hire company becomes the approved sponsor and the direct employer of the visa holder. The worker is then placed with the client host, with the sponsoring labour hire company remaining responsible for all sponsorship obligations including salary, visa compliance, and working conditions. The On-hire agreement explicitly covers the IT sector and a number of established IT staffing companies hold agreements of this type.

The same restriction applies in reverse: a business that wants to use an IT staffing company to source overseas workers cannot simply rely on the staffing company’s standard business sponsorship if the worker is on a standard employer-sponsored visa. The correct mechanism is the staffing company holding an On-hire Labour Agreement.

ICT occupations commonly sponsored

The table below lists the ICT occupations most commonly sponsored under the standard Skills in Demand visa Core Skills stream, with their ANZSCO codes as they appear on the CSOL. All are assessed by the Australian Computer Society (ACS).

Occupation	ANZSCO code	CSOL	Skill level
ICT Business Analyst	261111	Yes	1
Systems Analyst	261112	Yes	1
Web Developer	261212	Yes	2
Analyst Programmer	261311	Yes	1
Developer Programmer	261312	Yes	1
Software Engineer	261313	Yes	1
Software Tester	261314	Yes	1
Cyber Security Engineer	261315	Yes	1
DevOps Engineer	261316	Yes	1
Software and Applications Programmers NEC	261399	Yes	1
Cyber Security Advisor	262115	Yes	1
Cyber Security Analyst	262116	Yes	1
Cyber Security Architect	262117	Yes	1
Cyber Security Operations Coordinator	262118	Yes	1

Emerging and niche roles

Artificial intelligence, machine learning, large language model engineering, data engineering, cloud architecture, and other emerging roles do not always map neatly to an existing ANZSCO occupation code. Where an emerging role’s duties align substantially with a listed ANZSCO occupation, that code can typically be used and standard sponsorship applies. Where the duties are genuinely novel and do not align with any listed occupation, a company-specific labour agreement may be needed to sponsor the role, alongside a well-documented case to the Department of Home Affairs explaining why no existing code fits.

The Specialist Skills stream is often a simpler solution for emerging roles where the salary meets the $146,576 SSIT, because it removes the occupation list requirement altogether and allows the employer to nominate based on the worker’s actual duties within their ANZSCO Major Group.

Visa options for IT workers

Skills in Demand visa (Subclass 482) - Core Skills stream

Available for ICT occupations on the CSOL where the salary meets the CSIT of $79,423 from 1 July 2026. Grants a temporary work right for up to four years. Standard labour market testing applies. Holders can transition to permanent residence through the Subclass 186 TRT stream after two years of eligible sponsored employment.

Skills in Demand visa (Subclass 482) - Specialist Skills stream

Available for any ICT role where the salary meets the SSIT of $146,576 from 1 July 2026. No occupation list required. Priority processing with a seven-day processing target. Labour market testing is still required for Specialist Skills stream nominations unless a specific exemption applies. Holders can transition to permanent residence through the Subclass 186 TRT stream after two years of eligible sponsored employment with an approved sponsor, on the same basis as Core Skills holders.

Skills in Demand visa (Subclass 482) - Labour agreement stream

Available to IT employers that have negotiated a company-specific labour agreement or hold an On-hire Labour Agreement. The salary requirements and any approved concessions are governed by the terms of the executed agreement.

Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 186)

The primary permanent residence pathway for IT workers. Available through the Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream after two years of eligible sponsored employment with an approved sponsor as a primary 482 visa holder, or through the Direct Entry stream where the occupation is on the CSOL and the worker holds a relevant skills assessment. The Labour Agreement stream of the ENS is available to IT workers sponsored under a company-specific or On-hire labour agreement.

Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional visa (Subclass 494)

Available for IT employers in designated regional areas where the ICT occupation is covered. The salary must meet or exceed the TSMIT of $79,423 from 1 July 2026. Provides a five-year temporary work right with a pathway to the Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa (Subclass 191).

National Innovation Visa (Subclass 858)

The National Innovation Visa is a self-led permanent residence pathway for individuals of exceptional talent or achievement in a range of fields including the digital economy and technology. It does not require employer sponsorship and is assessed by the Department of Home Affairs against criteria for demonstrated achievement in the relevant field. For highly credentialled IT professionals who do not need employer sponsorship, it may be worth considering independently of the sponsorship routes on this page.

Concessions you can negotiate

Concessions under a company-specific IT labour agreement are not guaranteed and must each be supported by specific evidence accepted by the Department of Home Affairs during negotiation.

Age

Where the standard age limit of 45 for ENS permanent residence presents a genuine barrier, an age concession may be negotiable for workers up to a higher age threshold. This is one of the most common reasons IT employers pursue a labour agreement rather than standard sponsorship.

English language

A reduced English language requirement may be negotiable where the employer can demonstrate that the role’s technical demands do not require a high level of formal English and that equivalent Australian workers in the same role are not subject to formal English testing.

Salary threshold

A reduced salary threshold below the standard CSIT may be negotiable in limited circumstances, typically for regional locations. For Category 1 city locations, salary concessions are not available.

Skills assessment and experience

Where standard skills assessment or work experience requirements present a genuine barrier, concessions may be negotiable depending on the location category. For Category 1 locations, these concessions require Ministerial approval.

Unlisted occupations

A company-specific labour agreement can include occupations not on the CSOL, allowing sponsorship of roles that cannot be accessed through any standard visa pathway.

Our skilled visa success stories

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Requirements for tech employers

The employer must have been lawfully and actively operating in Australia for the previous 12 months and must be financially viable, supported by a statement from a chartered or certified practising accountant.
The employer must demonstrate a genuine shortage of suitably qualified Australian workers for the nominated positions. For a labour agreement, this means evidence going beyond what is required for standard LMT: the employer must explain why standard visa pathways are insufficient and what specific workforce need the agreement addresses.
Compulsory labour market testing must be completed before any nomination is lodged under a labour agreement, unless a specific exemption applies. Evidence of genuine recruitment attempts must accompany each nomination.
The employer must pay each sponsored worker at least the applicable income threshold for their visa stream and the Australian Market Salary Rate for the role.
The employer must demonstrate a plan to reduce reliance on overseas workers over the term of the agreement and to maintain and develop its Australian workforce, including through graduate programs or training commitments where applicable.

Requirements for overseas IT workers

Skills assessment

For most ICT occupations, a positive skills assessment from the Australian Computer Society (ACS) is required before a nomination can be lodged under the Core Skills stream. The ACS assesses qualifications and work experience against Australian standards for the nominated ANZSCO occupation. A skills assessment is not required for the Specialist Skills stream.

ACS offers four assessment pathways. The Post Australian Study pathway is for workers who completed an ICT qualification in Australia. The General Skills pathway is for workers with an ICT-related degree from an overseas institution. The Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) pathway is for workers without a formal ICT qualification but with substantial documented ICT work experience, typically at least six years. The Temporary Skills Shortage pathway is specifically designed for workers applying for a Subclass 482 visa.

Work experience

The standard work experience requirement for Core Skills stream nominations is at least one year of relevant experience. For the ENS Direct Entry stream, a higher experience threshold applies depending on the occupation.

English language

Standard English language requirements apply to Core Skills and Specialist Skills stream nominations. Where a labour agreement has been executed with an English concession, the reduced requirement specified in the agreement applies.

Health and character

All workers and accompanying family members must meet the health and character requirements under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth).

How to get an IT labour agreement

Confirm whether a labour agreement is actually needed
Before preparing any documentation, confirm whether standard sponsorship or the Specialist Skills stream can meet the employer’s needs. For most IT employers, a labour agreement is not necessary. Our migration lawyers can complete this assessment and identify the most efficient route.
Identify the correct agreement type
For direct-employment IT businesses, a company-specific labour agreement is the correct route. For IT staffing and consulting businesses that place workers with clients, the On-hire Industry Labour Agreement applies. The two are distinct arrangements with different eligibility requirements and obligations.
Conduct labour market testing
Labour market testing must be completed before lodging the agreement request. The evidence must demonstrate genuine attempts to recruit Australian workers for the nominated positions and explain why those attempts did not result in suitable local hires.
Prepare and lodge the request
Lodge the formal request through ImmiAccount. The request must include the basis for needing an agreement rather than standard sponsorship, the nominated occupations, proposed salary and conditions, evidence of genuine workforce need, LMT outcomes, any concession requests with supporting justification, and a workforce plan demonstrating how reliance on overseas workers will decrease over the agreement term.
Agreement negotiated and executed
The Department of Home Affairs reviews the submission and, if satisfied, negotiates and executes the agreement. Processing timeframes are not published. Once executed, the agreement must be signed and returned within four weeks.
Lodge nominations and visa applications
After the agreement is in place, the employer lodges nominations for each sponsored worker. The SAF levy is payable at each nomination. Once a nomination is approved, the worker lodges their visa application.

What the Department of Home Affairs expects to see

A strong IT labour agreement request includes product and project pipeline demonstrating genuine, ongoing demand for the specialist roles; vacancy data documenting positions that cannot be filled from the local market; documented genuine recruitment attempts and outcomes including why Australian candidates were not suitable; a workforce plan showing how the employer will reduce reliance on overseas workers over the agreement term; salary benchmarking confirming proposed remuneration meets or exceeds the applicable income threshold and is consistent with the market rate; and where concessions are sought, specific evidence supporting each concession. For roles that are not on the CSOL, a clear explanation of why the role cannot be captured within a listed occupation and why the Specialist Skills stream is not available or suitable is also required.

Obligations after approval

Once a labour agreement is executed, the employer’s obligations extend beyond the standard sponsorship obligations that apply to all approved sponsors. The employer must comply with the specific terms of the executed agreement, including caps on overseas worker numbers, the occupations that can be nominated, the salary and conditions that apply, and any reporting requirements.
Any material change to the employer’s business, the nature of the nominated roles, or the salary arrangements must be reported to the Department of Home Affairs and may require a variation to the agreement. For on-hire arrangements, the employer must maintain monitoring and auditing processes across all client host sites to ensure sponsored workers’ conditions comply with the agreement terms.
The Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy is payable at each nomination. The current rate depends on the employer’s annual turnover.

For a full explanation of sponsor obligations, see our Sponsorship Obligations page.

Common mistakes tech employers make

Requesting a labour agreement when standard sponsorship would work

The most common and costly mistake in the IT sector is pursuing a labour agreement when the occupation is already on the CSOL and the salary meets the standard CSIT. A labour agreement takes months to negotiate and adds significant complexity and cost. Standard sponsorship for a role on the CSOL can proceed within weeks. Where the salary is at or above $146,576, the Specialist Skills stream removes the occupation list constraint without any agreement at all.

Job titles that do not match ANZSCO duties

A nomination for Software Engineer (ANZSCO 261313) must be supported by work that genuinely aligns with the ANZSCO description of that occupation: planning and designing software systems, directing and coordinating software development, and testing and evaluating systems. A worker whose duties are primarily fixing bugs, conducting QA testing, or providing technical support may not meet the ANZSCO description for Software Engineer and should be nominated under the correct occupation. A mismatch between the job title and the actual duties is one of the most common causes of nomination refusal in the IT sector.

ACS assessment outcome does not match the nominated occupation

An ACS assessment is occupation-specific. If the worker’s assessment is positive for ICT Business Analyst but the employer wants to nominate them as a Systems Analyst, the assessment does not support the nomination. Confirming that the ACS assessment outcome matches the nominated ANZSCO code before lodging the nomination is essential.

Placing staff at client sites without an on-hire agreement

Standard employer sponsorship does not permit the sponsored worker to perform work for a third-party client. An IT consultancy that sponsors workers and places them at client sites without an On-hire Labour Agreement is in breach of its sponsorship obligations. This is one of the higher-risk compliance issues in the IT sector given the prevalence of contractor and consulting models.

Salary below the applicable threshold

Sponsored IT workers must be paid at least the CSIT ($79,423 from 1 July 2026) for Core Skills stream nominations, or the SSIT ($146,576) for Specialist Skills stream nominations, and at the Australian Market Salary Rate. Offering a salary that meets the threshold on paper but includes non-salary elements that inflate the figure, or paying below-market rates compared to equivalent Australian workers, creates compliance risk.

Information for overseas IT professionals

Overseas IT professionals cannot apply for a labour agreement independently. The arrangement must be held by an Australian employer who lodges the nomination and takes on the associated obligations. For most ICT roles, the employer does not need a labour agreement at all: standard Skills in Demand visa sponsorship is available where the occupation is on the CSOL or the salary meets the Specialist Skills threshold.

If you are an overseas IT professional considering your options, the most useful first steps are confirming whether your occupation is on the CSOL and obtaining an ACS skills assessment early. A positive ACS assessment is valid for two years and can be obtained before a sponsoring employer is found. For professionals without a formal ICT degree, the RPL pathway allows ACS to assess skills based on documented work experience.

For exceptional talent in the technology field, the National Innovation Visa (Subclass 858) is a self-led permanent residence pathway that does not require employer sponsorship. See our National Innovation Visa page for details.

For IT professionals who want to explore points-tested pathways independently of employer sponsorship, most ICT occupations are on the MLTSSL, which supports points-tested visa applications. See our Skilled Migration page for details.

How our migration lawyers can help

Our migration lawyers assist tech employers in assessing whether standard sponsorship, the Specialist Skills stream, or a labour agreement is the most efficient route for their workforce needs. Where a labour agreement is the right pathway, we prepare the submission, build the shortage evidence, negotiate with the Department of Home Affairs, and manage nominations and visa applications once the agreement is in place. We also advise on occupation mapping against ANZSCO, ACS skills assessment pathways, and on-hire compliance for IT staffing businesses.

Book a consultation to find the right sponsorship route for your tech team

Whether you need to sponsor one specialist developer or build out an entire ICT team, our migration lawyers can identify the most efficient pathway and manage the process from nomination through to visa grant.

This page is general information only and does not constitute migration or legal advice. Requirements change. Confirm current terms with the Department of Home Affairs or a registered migration lawyer before proceeding.