Labour market testing for 482 494 visa nomination
Labour market testing for a 482 visa must be carried out within a fixed four-month window, and the advertising itself must run for a minimum of four weeks within that period. Failure to satisfy either requirement leaves the nomination without the evidence required to support it, irrespective of the merits of the vacancy itself.
This page sets out the requirements of the labour market testing instrument that must be satisfied before a 482 or 494 nomination can rely on it, the timing error that most frequently affects WA employers, and the information each advertisement is required to show.
Which pathway this page is about
Two pathways carry a labour market testing requirement of the kind covered on this page: the Subclass 482 (Skills in Demand) visa and the Subclass 494 (Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional)) visa. The nomination for either is decided under section 140GB of the Migration Act 1958, subject to the labour market testing condition in section 140GBA.
The Subclass 186 (Employer Nomination Scheme) is governed under a different part of the sponsorship framework. Whether, or how, a labour market testing requirement applies to a 186 nomination is not addressed on this page. Please contact our office directly if a Subclass 186 nomination is under consideration.
Source: Migration Act 1958, sections 140GB and 140GBA, compilation C2026C00232, compilation date 4 June 2026, Compilation No. 171. Confirmed as the current compilation and in force on 16 September 2026 (unchanged since that check).
What labour market testing requires
Before most positions can be nominated for a 482 or 494 visa, the position has to have already been tested against the Australian labour market. The requirement is set out in the Migration (LIN 18/036: Period, manner and evidence of Labour Market Testing) Instrument, made under section 140GBA of the Migration Act 1958. It does not apply to a nomination for a select occupation.
- the position must be advertised in Australia
- the advertising must be in English
- it does not apply where the nomination is for a select occupation, or the position is a select position
Confirm this before assuming testing is required at all
Whether a particular occupation constitutes a select occupation, or a particular position a select position, depends on the current settings of the occupation list and the applicable circumstances list. This should be confirmed before advertising is planned, rather than assumed.
Source: Migration (LIN 18/036: Period, manner and evidence of Labour Market Testing) Instrument, sections 6(1) and 7(1), compilation F2024C01268, compilation date 7 December 2024, Compilation No. 5, made under section 140GBA of the Migration Act 1958. Confirmed as the current compilation, the latest compilation and with no unincorporated amendments on 18 September 2026.
The four-month window, and the four weeks inside it
Labour market testing has to be carried out in the four months ending on the day the nomination is lodged. Inside that window, the position must have been advertised for at least four weeks from the date the first advertisement was published, with applications or expressions of interest accepted for the whole of that four-week period.
- testing period: the four months ending on the lodgement date
- advertising period: at least four weeks from first publication, applications open the whole time
- running two or more overlapping advertisements is permitted, and a day the advertisements overlap counts once toward the four weeks
A common timing error
Recruitment typically commences well before a nomination is ready to be lodged. Where lodgement is delayed beyond four months from the date the first advertisement was published, the testing will have expired by the time the nomination is filed, and must be conducted again within a new four-month window measured from the actual lodgement date.
Source: Migration (LIN 18/036: Period, manner and evidence of Labour Market Testing) Instrument, sections 6(1) and 8(5) to (7), compilation F2024C01268, compilation date 7 December 2024, Compilation No. 5. Confirmed as the current compilation, the latest compilation and with no unincorporated amendments on 18 September 2026.
What each advertisement has to show
At least two advertisements are required, each commissioned or authorised by the approved sponsor itself. Each must run on one of: a recruitment website with national reach in Australia, print media with national reach, radio with national reach, or — only where the sponsor is an accredited sponsor — the sponsor's own website.
- the title or a description of the position
- the skills or experience required
- the sponsor's name, or the recruitment agency's name if the agency placed the advertisement
- the salary, where the position's intended annual earnings are below AUD 96,400
Source: Migration (LIN 18/036: Period, manner and evidence of Labour Market Testing) Instrument, sections 8(2) to 8(4), compilation F2024C01268, compilation date 7 December 2024, Compilation No. 5. Confirmed as the current compilation, the latest compilation and with no unincorporated amendments on 18 September 2026.
Where advertising a role most often goes wrong
The requirement itself is brief. Three matters account for most of the evidence that is found not to satisfy it.
- an advertisement placed on a local or WA-only listing, rather than a channel with genuine national reach
- applications treated as closed before the full four weeks from first publication had elapsed
- an advertisement run by a recruitment agency that names the vacancy but not the sponsoring employer, so it is not clearly commissioned or authorised by the sponsor
We review advertisements and their publication dates against these three matters before a nomination is lodged, not afterward. Confirming compliance with section 8 is a straightforward exercise while the four-month window remains open; it is considerably more difficult to remedy once the window has closed and the nomination has already been filed on that basis.
Source: Migration (LIN 18/036: Period, manner and evidence of Labour Market Testing) Instrument, sections 8(3), 8(3A), 8(4) and 8(5) to (7), compilation F2024C01268, compilation date 7 December 2024, Compilation No. 5. Confirmed as the current compilation, the latest compilation and with no unincorporated amendments on 18 September 2026.
What we would ask at the outset
- when you intend to lodge the nomination, so the four-month window can be measured backward from that date
- how the role has been, or will be, advertised, and on what channels
- whether your organisation is an accredited sponsor
- whether the position's intended salary sits below AUD 96,400
- whether the occupation might be a select occupation, or the position a select position, under the current settings
These matters will generally determine whether the advertising already undertaken will support the nomination, or whether it must be repeated prior to lodgement.
Questions WA employers ask
How far in advance can we start advertising the role?
Labour market testing has to fall inside the four months ending on the day the nomination is lodged. If the first advertisement runs more than four months before the actual lodgement date, it falls outside that window and does not satisfy the requirement, however well it was run at the time.
Source: Migration (LIN 18/036) Instrument, section 6(1), compilation F2024C01268, compilation date 7 December 2024, Compilation No. 5.
Do we need two separate advertisements, or is one enough?
At least two advertisements are required, each commissioned or authorised by the approved sponsor. Each must run on a recruitment website, print media or radio with national reach, or, if the sponsor is an accredited sponsor, the sponsor's own website.
Source: Migration (LIN 18/036) Instrument, sections 8(3) and 8(3A), compilation F2024C01268, compilation date 7 December 2024, Compilation No. 5.
Can a recruitment agency's own advertisement count as our labour market testing?
Only where it is commissioned or authorised by the sponsor and shows the sponsor's name, or the recruitment agency's name where the agency placed it. An advertisement that names the vacancy without clearly identifying the sponsoring employer is the type of evidence most likely to fail this requirement.
Source: Migration (LIN 18/036) Instrument, sections 8(3A) and 8(4), compilation F2024C01268, compilation date 7 December 2024, Compilation No. 5.
Do we have to disclose the salary in the advertisement?
Yes, where the position's intended annual earnings are below AUD 96,400. Above that figure, the advertisement still has to show the position title or description, the skills or experience required, and the sponsor's name, but the salary itself is not a mandatory field.
Source: Migration (LIN 18/036) Instrument, section 8(4), compilation F2024C01268, compilation date 7 December 2024, Compilation No. 5.
Does labour market testing apply to a Subclass 186 nomination?
This page covers labour market testing as it applies to a 482 or 494 nomination. Whether, or how, a labour market testing requirement applies to a Subclass 186 nomination is not addressed here — speak with us directly if a Subclass 186 nomination is what you are considering.
Source: Migration Act 1958, sections 140GB and 140GBA, compilation C2026C00232, compilation date 4 June 2026, Compilation No. 171.
What if the occupation is a select occupation?
Labour market testing does not apply to a nomination for a select occupation, or where the position itself is a select position. Whether a particular occupation or position currently meets that description depends on the occupation list and applicable circumstances list in force at the time, and should be confirmed rather than assumed.
Source: Migration (LIN 18/036) Instrument, sections 6(1) and 7(1), compilation F2024C01268, compilation date 7 December 2024, Compilation No. 5.
Speak with a registered migration agent
Australian Migration Co is a visa agent in Perth. Adam Kocoglu is a Registered Migration Agent, MARN 2418576, and acts for WA employers in sponsorship, nomination and visa matters, including reviewing labour market testing evidence before a nomination is lodged.
Further information is available on our employer sponsored visas page, our registered migration agent in Perth profile, and, sponsoring a chef in Perth, sponsoring overseas nurses in WA pages.
No registered migration agent is able to guarantee the outcome of a visa decision, and we do not purport to do so. We can, however, confirm whether advertising already undertaken, or planned, satisfies the requirements of section 8 prior to lodgement.
Current at 18 September 2026. Migration law changes, and the instruments and provisions referred to on this page are amended from time to time. This page is general information, not immigration assistance for your matter.