I am always delighted to see my clients' surprised faces when they find out they are eligible for a subclass 482 visa sooner than expected. Different kinds of work experience can count towards the 2-years requirement; however, you need to be cautious when assessing whether you meet the requirement.
Keep in mind the following when calculating your work experience for a subclass 482 visa.
1. Part-time and full-time
Both full-time and part-time work experience can count towards the requirement. Department of Home Affairs policy defines full-time work as anywhere between 32- 45 hours per week.
For simplicity when considering part-time, I’d recommend calculating 20 hours per week, particularly for students currently in Australia. You need to count your part-time work experience on a pro-rata basis to find the full-time equivalent. For example, 12 months part-time (20 hours/week) would be considered 6 months full-time equivalent.
2. Casual work experience cannot be counted
This is a clear policy issue. Perhaps the reasoning for this is that casual work can be inconsistent. It may be the case for a casual worker to have 20 hours of work in one week and only 15 the following week. This uncertainty makes it very difficult for the Department to assess an applicant’s total work experience.
Instead of using the label of ‘casual’ employment, consider indicating the actual hours you worked per week on your resume/CV or work references, for example, 20 hours/ week.
3. Experience within the last 5 years
Once again, a policy issue. The work experience that you calculate must have been from the last 5 years. The Department aims to ensure that the applicant has recent work experience that is readily transferable to the Australian workforce.
4. Fully-skilled
Your work experience must be at the required skill level. It can be a tricky item to assess. You need to consider the ANZSCO listing for your occupation, your qualifications, and your total amount of work experience. If you are not relying on a suitable academic qualification for your application, the amount of work experience required may be greater than two years.
Notice the example below, for a Computer Network Professional, such as a Computer Network and Systems Engineer (ANZSCO 263111), five years work experience may substitute for a formal academic qualification.
5. Closely-related experience
In some cases, there may be a difference between the occupation from your work experience and the occupation you wish to nominate for a subclass 482 visa. A good example is a case where your work experience is in Welding; however, your academic qualifications are more suited to Metal Fabrication. It may be the case here that the occupations are closely related, so work experience in both occupations may count towards the 2-years requirement.
If you are trying to decide whether your work experience is 'closely related', consider using the ANZSCO as a resource tool.
Of course, two years of work experience is not the only requirement for a subclass 482 visa grant. For a more precise assessment of your situation, contact us for a consultation.
Photography Jordan Whitfield/ Unsplash
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The information provided in this article or anywhere on this website is of a general nature, it does not relate to your specific circumstance. This general information must not be used to form any assessment or opinion on individual visa eligibility. For an individual assessment you must contact us for a consultation session to confirm if you are eligible for any visa.
