Carpenter 482 Visa: Can Your Building Business Sponsor One?

Is carpenter on the Core Skills Occupation List?

Yes. Carpenter (ANZSCO 331212), Carpenter and Joiner (331211) and Joiner (331213) are all on the Core Skills Occupation List with no caveat. A builder, framing contractor or joinery business can sponsor a carpenter on a Skills in Demand (subclass 482) visa at AUD 79,423 a year or the market rate, whichever is higher.

Carpenters who hold a passport issued by Brazil, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Macau, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Vietnam or Zimbabwe must apply for a Trades Recognition Australia skills assessment before the visa is lodged, unless exempt. For carpenter and joiner, and for joiner, the list omits Papua New Guinea.

What must your business show to sponsor a carpenter?

The employer rules are the same for every Core Skills occupation and are set out in our 482 visa requirements guide. For a building business, these are the points that decide the nomination.

• Sponsorship — approval as a standard business sponsor (AUD 420, valid 5 years). A sole-trader builder, a company or a partnership can all qualify if the business is lawfully established and operating.
• A genuine, full-time carpenter position — employed by you, under a written contract, doing qualified carpentry: setting out, framing, fixing, formwork or fit-out at a tradesperson’s level. A labourer, apprentice or trades-assistant role cannot be nominated as a carpenter.
• Salary — at least AUD 79,423 a year, and no less than an Australian carpenter employed in the same role would earn (the market salary rate). Hourly award rates are annualised; site allowances and overtime count only where guaranteed.
• Labour market testing — 2 ads in Australia, 4 weeks each, within the 4 months before lodging, with the salary shown if under AUD 96,400. The labour market testing rules apply to builders in full; a trade-only job board can count if it is a national recruitment site.
• Charges — the nomination charge (AUD 330) and the Skilling Australians Fund levy of AUD 1,200 a year (turnover under AUD 10 million) or AUD 1,800 a year, paid by the business.

Which caveats apply to a carpenter?

None. Carpenter, carpenter and joiner, and joiner carry no caveat on the Core Skills list.

The code still has to fit the work. A site carpenter framing and fixing on residential or commercial jobs is a Carpenter (331212). A tradesperson who builds and installs joinery, doors and fittings from a workshop is a Joiner (331213); someone who does both is a Carpenter and Joiner (331211).

The duty statement, the workplace and the code must agree.

Does a carpenter need a skills assessment for the 482 visa?

Only carpenters who hold a passport issued by Brazil, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Macau, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Vietnam or Zimbabwe. For carpenter and joiner, and for joiner, the list is the same without Papua New Guinea.

The assessing body is Trades Recognition Australia (TRA), through its Temporary Skills Shortage skills assessment program, which TRA says usually takes about 9 weeks once complete documents are in.

The TRA application must be lodged before the visa application, or the visa application is invalid. A carpenter already on a 482 in the same occupation in Australia is exempt, as is a carpenter whose trade qualification was gained in Australia or in a country not on the list.

Carpenters on other passports need no assessment for the visa, but still have to show the qualification and experience the job needs.

How does a sponsored carpenter get permanent residence?

After 2 years of full-time work with you as a carpenter on the 482, you can nominate the carpenter for a 186 visa in the Temporary Residence Transition stream, in the same occupation the 482 was granted for, provided the other 186 requirements are met.

The Direct Entry stream is open from the start with a positive TRA skills assessment, which the 186 rules require for a carpenter on any passport unless an exemption applies, and the stream’s other requirements. The general age limit for a 186 visa is under 45 unless an exemption applies.

Our 186 visa requirements post covers both streams.

Where do carpenter nominations go wrong?

In our experience the problem in this trade is how the industry hires. Most builders engage carpenters as subcontractors on an ABN, paid per job or per square metre.

A nomination needs an employee on wages, a written contract, superannuation and a salary of at least AUD 79,423 a year. The visa officer will ask why this position is employed when the rest of the crew is not.

The honest answers work: a leading hand, a supervisor, a permanent crew member the business wants to retain. A subcontractor’s invoice relabelled as a salary does not.

The second pattern is the skills assessment. A Filipino, Indian or Brazilian carpenter’s visa lodged before the TRA application is invalid; the charge is normally refunded, but the months are gone. We confirm the passport rule and the employment structure before the ads go up.