Sponsoring an Aged Care Worker in WA: The Agreement You Need First
Sponsoring an aged care worker in WA does not run through the pathway most employer-sponsorship pages describe. Aged or Disabled Carer, Nursing Support Worker and Personal Care Assistant sit outside the standard Core Skills Occupation List that a subclass 482 nomination is usually tested against, so the route into these roles is a company-specific Labour Agreement your business holds directly with the Department, not a nomination against a public list.
That distinction changes what has to happen first. Before any nomination is prepared, the business itself must be a party to an Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement, negotiated and signed with the Commonwealth, setting out which of the three occupations it may sponsor, how many nominations a year, and on what terms.
If you would rather have a registered migration agent manage the sponsorship for your business, see our employer sponsored visa agent in Perth page.
Sponsoring an aged care worker starts with the agreement, not the nomination
A subclass 482 Skills in Demand nomination is ordinarily tested against the Core Skills Occupation List. Aged or Disabled Carer, Nursing Support Worker and Personal Care Assistant are not reliably reached by that route for most providers, which is why the Department publishes a separate, standing instrument for the sector: the Labour Agreement – Aged Care Industry template.
A labour agreement of this kind is not a form you complete alongside a nomination. It is a signed agreement between your business and the Commonwealth, administered by the Department, that runs for a fixed term — five years from the date the Commonwealth signs, under the template — and that must exist before a single nomination can be made under it. Once signed, your business becomes an Approved Work Sponsor for the purposes of that agreement.
The template itself is not occupation-specific to your business until it is completed. Item 3 of Schedule 1 records the industry segment your business operates in — Health Care and Social Assistance for a standard aged care agreement — and Schedule 2 then sets out, for your business specifically, which of the three occupations you may nominate, the maximum number of nominations approved for each year of the five-year term, and the location the work is performed in. The Assistant Minister can vary those numbers at any time and reviews the agreement after three years, or annually if your business is seeking to increase them.
Source: Australian Government, Department of Home Affairs, Labour Agreement – Aged Care Industry (template), background clauses A–D and clauses 3, 5(a) and 8; Item 3 and Item 4 of Schedule 1; Item 2.1 of Schedule 2. Made under the Migration Act 1958 and Migration Regulations 1994.
The three occupations the agreement can cover
The template covers three ANZSCO occupations, all at skill level 4:
- Aged or Disabled Carer – ANZSCO 423111
- Nursing Support Worker – ANZSCO 423312
- Personal Care Assistant – ANZSCO 423313
Each occupation carries its own nomination ceiling under both the temporary (subclass 482 Skills in Demand) and, where the agreement allows it, the permanent (subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme) stream — set out separately in Schedule 2 for your specific agreement. The template does not extend to occupations outside ANZSCO; the parties have not agreed to include any.
Source: Labour Agreement – Aged Care Industry (template), Schedule 2, "Occupations, Nomination Ceiling and Location" and "Occupations not in ANZSCO".
Skills assessment: two different bodies, not one
Where a skills assessment is required — because the qualification was obtained outside Australia, or because work experience is being used in place of a formal qualification — the assessing authority differs by occupation. Aged or Disabled Carer is assessed by Community Work Australia. Nursing Support Worker and Personal Care Assistant are both assessed by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC). Sending the wrong occupation to the wrong body is a straightforward but avoidable delay.
Under the template's own occupation schedule, the underlying requirement is at least a relevant AQF Certificate III, or one year of relevant work experience in place of that qualification. No skills assessment is required at all where the relevant AQF qualification was completed in Australia. Work experience used to meet a visa requirement must be relevant to the occupation, at the required skill level, and undertaken within the last five years.
Where SID and ENS diverge on experience
Under the standard schedule for occupations not otherwise on an eligible skilled occupation list, no additional work experience is required for the SID (482) stream beyond the qualification or its substitute. The ENS (186) stream, where the agreement permits it, requires at least two years of relevant work experience undertaken in Australia. The two streams are not interchangeable on this point.
Source: Labour Agreement – Aged Care Industry (template), Schedule 4, "Qualifications and Experience", "Skills Assessments" and Item 4.1 "ANZSCO Occupations".
What the agreement can flex, and what it cannot tell you in advance
The template sets out two things a business can seek a concession on for the occupations it covers: the income threshold that would otherwise apply to the nomination, and the English language standard the worker must meet. Both exist in the published template, and both are set individually for each employer's own agreement rather than guaranteed to apply the same way to every business that signs one.
The income concession, where it applies, requires total annual earnings that are the higher of the relevant Annual Market Salary Rate or a reduced income threshold set out in the template — paid in money, not partly in board or other non-monetary benefits, which the template does not permit under this agreement type. The English language concession is published as two alternative schedules, with a materially different overall band score between them, and which one applies depends on how your business's own agreement is structured.
Because both figures sit inside a template that individual agreements can vary, and because an out-of-date number on a public page is worse than no number at all, we do not publish either figure here. We confirm the concession terms that actually apply to your business, and the current standard thresholds they are measured against, at the initial consultation.
Source: Labour Agreement – Aged Care Industry (template), Schedule 5, "Concession to the Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT)" and Schedule 6, "Concession to English language requirement", Options 1 and 2.
The Relevant Industry Union has a standing role, not a one-off sign-off
A Memorandum of Understanding with the Relevant Industry Union or Unions is part of how this agreement operates, and the union's involvement does not end once that document is signed. The template requires the sponsoring business to consult the union at least every six months on how the agreement is operating, and to hold a two-hour paid induction meeting for each overseas worker — conducted by the union, within seven days of the worker starting, with the worker permitted to attend without loss of pay.
We do not treat the Memorandum of Understanding as satisfying labour market testing on its own account. The template's own nomination clause requires the sponsor to take all reasonable steps to show that suitably skilled Australians who are available were considered before nominating — a general obligation stated in the agreement itself, and a different test from the two-advertisement, four-week, four-month mechanism that applies to a standard subclass 482 nomination. Anything more specific than that should be confirmed against the terms of your business's own agreement, not assumed from the template alone.
Source: Labour Agreement – Aged Care Industry (template), clause 6 "Union Consultation and Induction Meetings" and clause 10 "Nomination requirements".
A permanent residency pathway exists, but only if your agreement includes it
The template offers two alternative options on this point, and they are not both available by default. Option 1 approves subclass 482 nominations only, with no permanent residency pathway. Option 2 approves a subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme pathway alongside the temporary stream, with no age-limit concession, and on the condition that the worker has been employed in the nominated occupation, a closely related occupation covered by the agreement, or an occupation in the same table, for at least two years full-time (or the part-time equivalent) immediately before the nomination, while continuously complying with their visa conditions, and will then be employed full-time in the position for a further two years.
Which option your business's agreement carries is a term of that specific agreement, not a feature of the template in general. It is one of the first things worth confirming if a permanent pathway for care workers is part of your workforce planning.
Source: Labour Agreement – Aged Care Industry (template), Schedule 7, "Permanent Residency Pathway", Options 1 and 2.
What holding the agreement commits your business to
Signing the agreement makes your business an Approved Work Sponsor, and the standard sponsorship obligations in Division 2.19 of the Migration Regulations 1994 apply on top of the agreement's own terms — the same obligations that apply to any subclass 482 sponsor, including keeping records, cooperating with inspectors, and not passing sponsorship or nomination costs to the worker.
The agreement adds obligations of its own. Records must be kept for seven years after the agreement ends or is terminated. A report must be provided to the Department within 30 days of any request. The Assistant Minister may audit performance under the agreement at any time, and may suspend it — in whole or in part — where adverse information about the sponsor is being investigated and is not reasonably able to be disregarded, with lodged applications given the lowest priority for the duration of a suspension.
A five-year commitment, reviewed along the way
The agreement runs for five years from the date the Commonwealth signs it, reviewed formally after three years and, separately, in any year your business asks to increase its nomination numbers. It is a standing commitment for the life of the agreement, not a one-off application that closes once a single worker is granted a visa.
Sources: Migration Regulations 1994, Division 2.19, regulations 2.77 to 2.87C, compilation F2026C00667, 1 July 2026. Labour Agreement – Aged Care Industry (template), Item 4 of Schedule 1, and clauses 12 to 18.
What we would ask at the outset
- Which of the three occupations does your business need — Aged or Disabled Carer, Nursing Support Worker, or Personal Care Assistant — and how many workers, over what period?
- Does your business already hold an Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement, or is this a first application?
- Have you engaged with the Relevant Industry Union or Unions for your workforce, and is a Memorandum of Understanding already in place?
- Is a permanent residency outcome part of what you need this agreement to do, or is the requirement temporary only?
- Where was the worker's qualification obtained, and does their work history support the required experience?
The answers determine whether we are helping negotiate a new agreement with the Department, or working within one your business already holds. There is no charge for that initial discussion.
If a permanent outcome for a longer-term hire is the goal and your business does not (or will not) hold this specific agreement, the subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme visa outside this agreement, and the subclass 482 Skills in Demand visa for occupations that do sit on the Core Skills Occupation List, are the pathways to raise at that discussion. Each has its own criteria, which are not the criteria set out on this page.
Questions WA aged care and disability providers commonly ask
Can I sponsor a personal care worker under a standard subclass 482 nomination, without this agreement?
Only if the specific occupation and position genuinely sit on the Core Skills Occupation List that applies to a standard nomination, which is not reliably the case for Aged or Disabled Carer, Nursing Support Worker or Personal Care Assistant. Where it does not, the Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement is the pathway the Department has published for the sector, and it requires your business to hold the agreement before a nomination under it can be made.
Source: Labour Agreement – Aged Care Industry (template), background clauses A–D.
Which body assesses the skills of a carer recruited from overseas?
Aged or Disabled Carer is assessed by Community Work Australia. Nursing Support Worker and Personal Care Assistant are both assessed by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC). A skills assessment is not required at all where the relevant AQF qualification was completed in Australia.
Source: Labour Agreement – Aged Care Industry (template), Schedule 4, "Skills Assessments".
Does entering a Memorandum of Understanding with a union satisfy labour market testing?
The template's own nomination clause requires the sponsor to take all reasonable steps to demonstrate that suitably skilled Australians who are available were considered, which is a general obligation set out in the agreement rather than the specific advertising test that applies to a standard subclass 482 nomination. We treat the two as separate requirements and confirm what applies to a particular agreement rather than assuming one satisfies the other.
Source: Labour Agreement – Aged Care Industry (template), clause 10, "Nomination requirements".
Is a pathway to permanent residency automatically included?
No. The template offers two alternative options, and a given business's agreement carries only one of them. Option 1 approves temporary subclass 482 nominations with no permanent residency pathway. Option 2 adds a subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme pathway, subject to conditions including at least two years of prior relevant employment. Which option applies is a term of the individual agreement, not a default feature of the template.
Source: Labour Agreement – Aged Care Industry (template), Schedule 7, "Permanent Residency Pathway".
How long does the agreement itself last, and what does my business have to keep doing once it is signed?
Five years from the date the Commonwealth signs it under the template, reviewed after three years and, separately, in any year additional nomination numbers are sought. For the life of the agreement, the standard sponsorship obligations in Division 2.19 of the Migration Regulations 1994 apply, together with agreement-specific obligations including seven years of record-keeping after the agreement ends, reporting to the Department within 30 days of a request, cooperating with audits, and consulting the Relevant Industry Union at least every six months.
Source: Labour Agreement – Aged Care Industry (template), Item 4 of Schedule 1 and clauses 12 to 18. Migration Regulations 1994, Division 2.19, compilation F2026C00667, 1 July 2026.
Can the wage or English language requirements be reduced for these occupations?
The template allows for both an income threshold concession and an English language concession for the occupations it covers, but the specific figures are set for each business's own agreement rather than fixed once for every sponsor, and the template itself sets out two different English language schedules with materially different results. We confirm the concession terms that apply to a particular agreement, and the current standard thresholds they are measured against, at the initial consultation rather than publishing a figure that may not be the one your agreement carries.
Source: Labour Agreement – Aged Care Industry (template), Schedule 5 and Schedule 6.
Speak with a registered migration agent
Australian Migration Co is a migration practice based in Perth. Adam Kocoglu is a Registered Migration Agent, MARN 2418576, and acts for Western Australian aged care and disability providers in labour agreement, sponsorship and nomination matters.
Further information is available on our employer sponsored visas page, and on the subclass 482 Skills in Demand visa.
We cannot tell you what a decision on a labour agreement application, or on a nomination made under one, will be, and no registered agent will do so. What we can do is set out what the Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement actually requires of your business, whether your occupation needs it at all, and where the risk lies, before an application is lodged.
Information current at 26 September 2026, drawn from the Department of Home Affairs' published Labour Agreement – Aged Care Industry template. The terms of any individual business's agreement — including occupations, nomination ceilings, concessions and whether a permanent residency pathway is included — are set for that agreement specifically and may differ from the template defaults described here. Migration law changes, and this page is general information, not immigration assistance for your matter.