The Horticulture Industry Labour Agreement (HILA).

A labour agreement is an agreement the Minister makes in writing with a business, authorising it to recruit, employ or engage people in the occupations and at the locations the agreement covers. It can set the number of nominations, the occupations, salary, the employer’s obligations and visa requirements such as English, age, skills and experience.

An industry labour agreement is a version with fixed terms for a whole industry. The Department says the industry’s representative bodies negotiate those terms after showing ongoing labour shortages and consulting widely within the industry, so that every business in it gets the same concessions. Horticulture is one of ten industry agreements, alongside advertising, aged care, dairy, fishing, meat, minister of religion, on-hire, pork and premium dining restaurants.

reg 2.75C(1), (2) · Home Affairs, Industry labour agreements

Three: the subclass 482 Skills in Demand visa, the subclass 494 Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa and the subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme visa, each in its Labour Agreement stream. The template agreement calls them the SID, SESR and ENS visas.

The 482 is granted for the employment period the business asks for in the nomination, up to four years. The 494 is granted for five years. The 186 is permanent.

HILA template, cl 8.1–8.3 · cl 482.241, 494.232, 494.511, 186.242

Five years. The agreement takes effect on the date the Commonwealth signs it, as the last party to sign, and ends five years later. It is reviewed after three years, and also each year in which the business asks for more nominations.

Either side can end it early on 28 days’ notice without giving a reason. To keep going after five years, the business lodges a new labour agreement request in ImmiAccount.

HILA template, cl 3, 11.1, 16.6 and Schedule 1 Item 4 · Home Affairs, Labour agreements step by step

Each agreement sets a nomination ceiling: a number of nominations for each occupation, for each year of the agreement, with the work location category for each. A 494 nomination cannot be approved once the business has used up its approved nominations for that visa for the year.

To go above the ceiling the business asks for a variation and gives the Department updated workforce plans, recent labour market testing, salary records and the other information the agreement lists. The template says plainly that more nominations are not guaranteed.

The business also agrees to aim to keep overseas workers to no more than a third of its workforce in any year, and to rely on them less over the life of the agreement.

HILA template, cl 6.2–6.5, Schedule 2 Item 1 and Schedule 7 · reg 2.72C(21)(c)

Through ImmiAccount, as a labour agreement request. The Department charges nothing for the request itself; the costs come at the nomination and visa stages. The request needs evidence that the business is in good standing, such as business activity statements, financial reports prepared by an accountant, tax returns, a business plan, leases and evidence of current staff. It must also declare any adverse information, such as legal findings or insolvency, and include its labour market testing for the positions.

One practical point: the Department says the ImmiAccount form wrongly makes the stakeholder consultation field compulsory, and that industry agreement requests other than aged care may enter “n/a” there.

If the request is approved, the Department sends the agreement for signature. It comes into effect once the Minister or a delegate countersigns it.

Home Affairs, Labour agreements step by step · Home Affairs, Industry labour agreements

Thirty-one, listed in full in the table above. They run from professional roles, such as Agronomist, Entomologist and Mechanical Engineer, through trades such as Mechanic and Maintenance Electrician, to Horticulture Grower, Farm Manager, supervisor roles, Truck Driver, Fork Lift Driver and Irrigationist.

Each business’s own agreement lists the occupations and numbers approved for it, which can be fewer than the full list. A 494 nomination is approved only for an occupation the agreement specifies.

HILA template, Schedule 2 Item 1 · Home Affairs, Industry labour agreements · reg 2.72C(10)(a)(ii), (21)(a)

Several HILA roles, such as Horticulture Grower, Farm Manager and Facility Supervisor, have no match in ANZSCO, the occupation classification the Department uses. Where no close equivalent exists, the agreement uses the code 070499 and sets out the tasks of the role itself. The template lists, for example, a Horticulture Farm Manager’s tasks as planning production, controlling plant and quality procedures, monitoring output and costs, and directing staff.

Where a close ANZSCO equivalent exists, the agreement uses that code, and the skills required can still differ from ANZSCO’s. The occupation “caveats” that limit some occupations in the standard programs do not apply to any HILA occupation.

HILA template, Schedule 2 Item 2 and Schedule 3 Items 1–2 · Home Affairs, Industry labour agreements

The three Skill Level 5 occupations: Horticulture Section Manager, Irrigationist and Irrigationist Assistant. The template says the 494 is not available for Skill Level 5 occupations. Those three can be nominated for the 482 and the 186 only.

HILA template, Schedule 2 Item 1

An IELTS score, or the equivalent in another accepted test, of at least:

• 482: 5.0 overall, with at least 4.0 in each component.
• 494 and 186: 5.0 overall, with at least 4.5 in each component.

In the Labour Agreement stream the English requirement is whatever the agreement specifies, which is why these scores replace the standard program scores.

HILA template, Schedule 4 Item 2 · Home Affairs, Industry labour agreements · cl 482.243, 494.234, 186.243(2)

For the 494 and the 186, the worker must be under 50 when the visa application is lodged. The standard limit in both programs is 45; the regulations let a labour agreement set a different age, and the HILA sets 50.

There is no age limit for the 482.

HILA template, Schedule 4 Item 3 · Home Affairs, Industry labour agreements · cl 494.233, 186.241

It depends on whether the occupation is on the eligible skilled occupation lists.

• On the lists (15 occupations, such as Agronomist, Mechanic and Nurseryperson): the standard 482, 494 and 186 skills and qualification rules apply, including a positive skills assessment where the standard program asks for one.
• Not on the lists (16 occupations, such as Horticulture Grower, Truck Driver and Facility Supervisor): the worker must have a VETASSESS skills assessment showing a qualification at least equivalent to the one the agreement sets for the role, or the work experience it accepts instead. The routes for each role are in the occupations table.

HILA template, Schedule 4 Items 1a and 1b · Home Affairs, Industry labour agreements

For most HILA nominations, at least two years of relevant work experience. In more detail:

• 494: two years for every occupation. The standard 494 Labour Agreement stream asks for three years in the occupation or a related field, unless the agreement sets a different period. The HILA sets two.
• 482: for an occupation on the eligible lists there is no concession, so the standard rule applies: at least 12 months of full-time work, or its equivalent, in the occupation or a related field during the five years before applying. For an occupation not on the lists, two years.
• 186: the business can only nominate a worker it has employed directly as a primary 457 or 482 holder in the occupation for at least three years, or four years for a Skill Level 4 or 5 occupation. For an occupation not on the lists, the two years of relevant experience also applies.

For occupations not on the lists, VETASSESS must certify that the experience is genuine and relevant. Experience that counts toward the qualification route in the occupations table can also count toward the two years.

HILA template, Schedule 3 Item 4 and Schedule 4 Items 1a, 1b · cl 482.242, 494.235(2), 186.243(1)

The Department’s approach is to assess Labour Agreement stream experience in the same way as the 494 Employer Sponsored stream, and to treat meeting an agreement’s own experience requirement as enough. On that approach:

• the periods do not have to be continuous or immediately before the application;
• full-time means 38 hours a week, or 32 to 45 hours under an award or agreement consistent with the National Employment Standards;
• part-time work can count if it adds up to the full-time equivalent;
• casual work that was not full-time, unpaid work and volunteer work do not count;
• time in another occupation, unemployment and extended unpaid leave are left out;
• the tasks must be the same as or closely related to the nominated occupation, at the same skill level. The duties count, not the job title.

cl 494.225, 494.235(2)

Partly. For the 16 occupations not on the eligible lists, the agreement gives each role a qualification route, and most routes accept experience in place of the qualification. A Horticulture Grower, for example, needs a relevant Certificate III or IV, or three years in the role with relevant formal training, or five years without it.

The two years of relevant work experience is a separate requirement on top of the qualification route. A worker who qualifies through experience can count the same years toward both.

HILA template, Schedule 4 Item 1b and Table 5

No less than an Australian worker doing the same job is paid, and at least 90% of the relevant income threshold:

• the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) for the 494;
• the Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT) for the 482 and the 186.

For the HILA, earnings can include monetary and non-monetary benefits, such as accommodation, if they support the worker’s living costs, are costs the worker would otherwise have paid, can be valued, match what Australians in similar positions get, and are guaranteed in the employment contract. Overtime that is not guaranteed, bonuses and commissions do not count.

If an equivalent Australian worker is paid more over any twelve months, the business must pay the worker a top-up for the difference in the following month.

HILA template, Schedule 2 Item 3 and Schedule 5 Item 2 · Home Affairs, Industry labour agreements

Yes. The business must employ the worker full-time, which the agreement defines as 38 hours a week, or 32 to 45 hours under the relevant award and consistent with the National Employment Standards. The worker must work directly for the business. If a labour hire or recruitment company found the worker, it must be licensed under any state or territory licensing law.

HILA template, cl 1, Schedule 5 Item 2 and Schedule 6 Item 4

Not for recruitment. The business cannot recover its recruitment costs, or the cost of English testing or training, from the worker. It must not nominate anyone it knows or suspects, or ought to suspect, owes money because of being recruited.

Accommodation and board can be offered but cannot be compulsory, and can only be charged at a fair and reasonable market rate that complies with workplace laws. Deductions from pay need the worker’s written authority or another lawful basis, and wages, tax and superannuation must be paid directly from the business’s Australian bank account.

HILA template, Schedule 5 Item 9 and Schedule 6 Items 1–3

Labour market testing evidence must go with every 482 and 494 nomination. What it must show depends on where the job is:

• Category 1 (not a designated regional area): the same evidence as the standard program.
• Category 2 (cities and major regional centres): at least two separate attempts with national reach in the twelve months before the nomination.
• Category 3 (regional centres and other regional areas): at least two attempts in those twelve months, one with national reach, such as Seek, Indeed, Workforce Australia, an industry website or national media, and one that can be local or regional.

Before nominating, the business must also take all reasonable steps to recruit suitably skilled Australians who are available. See our page on the labour market testing instrument for how standard testing works.

HILA template, cl 6.4 and Schedule 3 Item 3 · Home Affairs, Industry labour agreements

Not for the 494. A 494 nomination is approved only if the position is in a designated regional area at the time the nomination is made. Category 1 is defined in the agreement as a postcode that is not designated regional, so a Category 1 position can only use the 482 or the 186. Categories 2 and 3 are the two regional categories, and the 494 is available in both.

Our page on designated regional areas explains how a postcode is classified.

HILA template, cl 1 and Schedule 1 Item 6 · reg 1.15M, 2.72C(6)

The business lodges the nomination in ImmiAccount and gives the nomination’s Transaction Reference Number (TRN) to the worker, who uses it to link their visa application to that nomination. For a 494, the occupation must be one the agreement specifies and the business must meet any requirements the agreement places on it.

Home Affairs, Labour agreements step by step · reg 2.72C(5)(b), (21)

Yes, by two routes.

• 494 to 191: a 494 holder can apply for the subclass 191 Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa after holding the 494 for at least three years. They need tax notices of assessment for three income years showing taxable income at or above the threshold set by instrument, and must have complied with the 494’s conditions: substantially for most of them, and fully with condition 8579 unless an exemption applies. Our subclass 494 page explains the regional conditions.
• 482 to 186: under the HILA the business can nominate a worker for the 186 after employing them directly as a primary 457 or 482 holder in the occupation for at least three years, or four years for Skill Level 4 and 5 occupations.

Schedule 1 item 1139(3)(c); cl 191.221, 191.222, 494.612 · HILA template, Schedule 3 Item 4

The 186 Labour Agreement stream requires someone who holds a 494, or whose last substantive visa was a 494, to have held it for at least three years, unless the labour agreement sets a shorter period. The HILA template does not set a shorter period for 494 holders, so the three years applies.

cl 186.241A · HILA template, Schedule 3 Item 4

The ordinary sponsorship obligations in the Regulations, with some made stricter by the agreement, plus the agreement’s own. In summary, the business must:

• employ HILA workers full-time and pay them directly, with any top-up owed;
• not recover recruitment or English testing costs, and charge only a fair rate for any accommodation;
• give the Department a report within 30 days of being asked, including workforce plans, labour market testing, salary records, any breaches of the law and any Australian workers made redundant in the past twelve months;
• keep records for seven years after the agreement ends, and cooperate with audits;
• tell the Department about adverse information about the business or people associated with it as soon as it becomes aware of it;
• get the Commonwealth’s consent to a change in control of the business.

The Department and the Australian Border Force may check compliance through audits and site visits.

HILA template, cl 10, 12, 17, 23.3 and Schedules 5–7 · Home Affairs, Labour agreements step by step

The Commonwealth can suspend the agreement, bar the business from making more nominations for a period, give its nominations and visa applications the lowest processing priority, end the agreement, or sue for breach of contract. It can also seek a civil penalty or issue an infringement notice for a breach of a sponsorship obligation.

If the agreement ends for any reason, the business is no longer an approved sponsor under it. Visas already granted remain subject to the normal operation of the migration law, including the rules on what happens when employment ends. Our condition 8607 page covers the time a 482 holder has to find a new sponsor.

HILA template, cl 15, 16 and 18

Often, yes. The template itself acknowledges that the Tribunal may have jurisdiction to review nomination and visa decisions, and that the agreement does not take away any merits review rights. That is now the Administrative Review Tribunal. Review deadlines are short, so the decision letter should be checked as soon as it arrives. Our employer sponsored refusals page covers the common reasons and the review rules.

HILA template, cl 21.2