Labour market testing for a 482 nomination means advertising the position in Australia at least 2 times, with applications open for at least 4 weeks, within the 4 months immediately before the nomination is lodged. Each ad must be in English and name the position, the skills or experience required, the sponsor or its recruiter and, where the annual earnings are below $96,400, the salary or a salary range, and copies of every ad go in with the nomination (LIN 18/036, sections 8 and 9). The first step is to check whether an exemption applies (most come from Australia’s trade agreements, not from the occupation), because a nomination lodged without compliant ads or an exemption is refused.
| Rule | Requirement | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Number of ads | At least 2, since 11 December 2023; the Workforce Australia ad is no longer required | LIN 18/036 s 8(3); Home Affairs news item 1154 |
| Where | A prominent or professional recruitment website with national reach; national print media published at least monthly; national radio; the business’s own website if it is an accredited sponsor | LIN 18/036 s 8(3); Home Affairs LMT page |
| Language and place | In Australia, in English | LIN 18/036 s 7(1) and 8(2) |
| Content | Title or description; skills or experience required; sponsor or recruitment agency name; the salary or a range if annual earnings are below $96,400; several positions in one ad are acceptable | LIN 18/036 s 8(4); Home Affairs LMT page |
| How long | Applications accepted for at least 4 weeks; overlapping ads can add up to that period; the same medium twice or two different media are both acceptable | LIN 18/036 s 8(5) to (7); Migration Act s 140GBA(6AB) |
| When | Within the 4 months immediately before lodging; if Australians in the occupation were made redundant in that period, the advertising must come after the redundancy | LIN 18/036 s 6(1); Migration Act s 140GBA(3)(b)(ii) and (4A) |
| Who places the ad | The sponsor, or a third party it authorises, such as a recruitment agency or an associated entity | Home Affairs LMT page |
| Evidence | Copies of all advertising material lodged with the nomination, plus details of any redundancies | LIN 18/036 s 9; Migration Act s 140GBA(3)(b) |
| The test applied | Home Affairs must be satisfied that no suitably qualified and experienced Australian citizen or permanent resident, or eligible agricultural working holiday maker, is readily available | Migration Act s 140GBA(3)(d) |
| Item | Amount | Applies from | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labour market testing: minimum number of advertisements | 2 | 11 December 2023 | Home Affairs: labour market testing |
| Labour market testing: each advertisement open for at least | 4 weeks | current | Home Affairs: labour market testing |
| Labour market testing: advertising must fall within the period before lodging | 4 months | current | Home Affairs: labour market testing |
| Earnings below which a labour market testing ad must show the salary | $96,400 | current instrument | LIN 18/036 (Federal Register of Legislation) |
| Annual earnings above which the market salary and threshold tests do not apply | $250,000 | 18 March 2018 | IMMI 18/033 (Federal Register of Legislation) |
| Labour market testing period for labour agreement nominations in Category 2 locations (before lodgement) | 12 months | current | Home Affairs: labour market testing |
What does labour market testing require?
Section 140GBA(7) of the Migration Act 1958 defines labour market testing as testing the Australian labour market to show whether a suitably qualified and experienced Australian citizen or permanent resident is readily available to fill the position. The period, manner and evidence are set by LIN 18/036 on the Federal Register of Legislation, summarised in the table above. Home Affairs weighs the ads together with any redundancy information before it can move to 482 visa nomination approval.
The “eligible temporary visa holder” in section 140GBA(3)(d) is a Working Holiday (417) or Work and Holiday (462) visa holder already employed by the sponsor, or an associated entity, in the agricultural sector.
Where must you advertise?
At least 2 ads must appear in any of four media, according to the Home Affairs labour market testing page (updated 21 September 2026):
- A recruitment website with national reach that publishes jobs throughout Australia. Industry-specific sites in significant use by the industry count, and so does LinkedIn’s recruitment platform. Jobs restricted to LinkedIn members, general classifieds sites and ads placed only through social media posts do not count.
- National print media: newspapers or magazines with national reach, published at least monthly and marketed throughout Australia.
- National radio with national reach.
- The business’s own website, only if the sponsor is accredited.
When must the ads run?
The ads must fall within the 4 months immediately before the nomination is lodged, and applications must be accepted for at least 4 weeks. If Australian citizens or permanent residents in the nominated occupation were made redundant or retrenched in the business, or an associated entity, during that period, the advertising must have happened after the redundancy, and the nomination must include information about it.
Two or more ads can overlap. Their periods add up, but a day covered by both ads counts once (LIN 18/036 s 8(5) to (7)).
Worth knowing
Worked example. A nomination is lodged on 24 September 2026, so the ads must fall within the 4 months before that day, starting from 24 May 2026. An ad whose application period closed in early May 2026 does not count. Ad A accepts applications from 1 June to 21 June 2026 (3 weeks) and Ad B from 15 June to 28 June 2026 (2 weeks). The overlap from 15 June to 21 June counts once, so together they cover 1 June to 28 June: 4 weeks, which meets the 4 weeks minimum.
What evidence do you keep?
The sponsor lodges and keeps four kinds of record:
- A copy of each ad as published, showing its dates and content.
- Information about any redundancies or retrenchments in the occupation in the period.
- Recruitment records showing that no applicant was treated differently because of citizenship or visa status, which the Home Affairs sponsor obligations page requires.
- Anything showing applications were accepted for the full period.
Missing or defective ads are a ground for refusal, and a defect cannot be fixed after lodgement without advertising again. What happens next is covered under 482 nomination refusal.
A migration lawyer makes approval more likely here because the 4 months window, the 4 weeks count and the ad content are checked line by line against LIN 18/036 at lodgement, and a defect cannot be fixed afterwards without advertising again and lodging a new nomination with a new levy. No adviser can promise an approval.
Who is exempt?
Exemptions come from three places: trade agreements, written-submission cases and the Minister’s disaster power.
Trade agreement exemptions
Labour market testing is not required where Australia has waived it under an international trade obligation. The Home Affairs page lists these cases:
- the nominee applies in an exempt category and is a citizen or national of Brunei, China, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Thailand or Vietnam, or a citizen, national or permanent resident of Canada, Chile, South Korea, New Zealand, Singapore or the United Kingdom;
- the nominee is a current employee of an associated entity located in an ASEAN country, Canada, Chile, China, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Peru, Samoa, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Tonga, the Solomon Islands, Niue, the Cook Islands or Vanuatu;
- the nominee is an executive or senior manager (one of nine listed ANZSCO occupations, such as Chief Executive or Managing Director 111111) of an associated entity in a World Trade Organization member country, responsible for all or a substantial part of the Australian operations;
- the business operates in a WTO member country and is setting up in Australia, and the nominee fills one of those executive or senior manager occupations;
- the nominee is a citizen or eligible permanent resident of a WTO member country and has worked full-time for the sponsor in the nominated position in Australia for the last two years.
The compilation of LIN 21/075 dated 1 October 2025 names 19 agreements. Two of them, the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement and the Australia-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, are not named in the Home Affairs country list, and which nominees they exempt is not stated on that page. Trade agreement exemptions do not apply to labour agreement or 494 nominations.
Written submission instead of ads
In five cases the Home Affairs page accepts a written submission in place of the standard ads:
| Case | What the submission explains |
|---|---|
| Exceptional talent: an internationally recognised record in a profession, sport, academia or research, or a top-talent chef | Why this person is the only one, or one of very few, who could fill the position |
| A new nomination for an existing 482, 494 or 457 holder only because the earnings or the business structure changed | That the position is already filled by the holder, and why a new nomination is needed |
| An intra-corporate transfer from an overseas company to its Australian associated entity | The need for the transfer and the transfer arrangement |
| Annual earnings of $250,000 or more | How the market was tested, such as an executive search that invited Australian applicants |
| Medical practitioners in ANZSCO Minor Group 253 (except 253111 and 253999), and ambulance officers and paramedics (4111) | Why no suitably qualified Australian, or eligible temporary visa holder, is readily available |
Occupation and disaster exemptions
None is in force. The occupation-based exemptions of the 457 era are not available for the 482, and the Home Affairs page says no instrument provides exemptions by occupation, skill level or disaster; the power in section 140GBC of the Migration Act is unused. Separately, section 140GBB lets the Minister exempt a named person in writing after a major disaster in Australia.
Which streams need labour market testing?
| Stream | Labour market testing? | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Core Skills | Yes | The standard rules above, unless exempt |
| Specialist Skills | Yes | The standard rules above, unless exempt |
| Labour Agreement | Only where the agreement requires it | Category 2 locations: 2 ads within 12 months before lodgement; Minister of Religion Labour Agreement: not required; Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement: met by a memorandum of understanding with the relevant union |
The Home Affairs page applies these rules to the 482 Core Skills and Specialist Skills streams and the 494 Employer Sponsored stream; it does not list the 186. How testing fits the main stream is covered under 482 visa Core Skills.
Next: the levy on the nomination
Once the advertising is complete, the employer lodges the nomination with the copies of the ads, the nomination fee and the levy for each year nominated. The turnover tiers and refund cases are set out on the SAF levy page.
Unregistered agents
An unregistered agent who gives immigration assistance on a sponsorship, nomination or visa is breaking the law (Migration Act 1958 s 280). They also carry no professional indemnity insurance, so if their mistake leads to a refusal, lost fees or a closed pathway, the worker or employer has no insurer to claim against. A practising Australian lawyer must carry that insurance.
Questions people ask
Is labour market testing required for 482?
Yes for Core Skills and Specialist Skills nominations, unless a trade agreement exemption or an alternative-evidence case applies. Labour Agreement nominations follow whatever the agreement says.
What does labour market testing mean?
Advertising the position in Australia to show that no suitably qualified and experienced Australian citizen or permanent resident is readily available to fill it.
How long does labour market testing take?
Applications must stay open for at least 4 weeks, and the ads must fall within the 4 months immediately before the nomination is lodged.
Which countries are exempt from Labour Market Testing (LMT)?
Exemptions depend on the worker's nationality and category under Australia's trade agreements, as listed on the Home Affairs labour market testing page. They do not apply to labour agreement or 494 nominations.
Is LMT required for 186 TRT?
The Home Affairs labour market testing page applies the advertising rules to the 482 Core Skills and Specialist Skills streams and the 494 Employer Sponsored stream, and does not list the 186.