Labour Market Testing: what an employer must do before sponsoring
Before you can nominate someone on the Skills in Demand visa, you generally need to prove you tried to fill the role with an Australian worker first. Here's what that actually involves.
Reviewed MARN 0317382Jul 2026 published6 min read
Labour market testing (LMT) is the requirement that an employer advertise a position in Australia before nominating an overseas worker to fill it, so Home Affairs can see a genuine attempt was made to find a suitable Australian or New Zealand citizen or permanent resident first. For most Skills in Demand (subclass 482) and Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (subclass 494) nominations, that means at least 2 valid advertisements, run for a combined minimum of 4 weeks, within the 4 months immediately before the nomination is lodged. There's no general exemption by occupation or skill level, though citizens of some countries are exempt under Australia's trade agreements, and a handful of other situations get alternative arrangements instead.
What counts as a valid advertisement
Two advertisements aren't enough on their own. Each one needs to meet a specific set of content and placement rules, and it's easy to get one detail wrong and have the whole nomination questioned.
The advertisement must be in English, run in Australia, and include the title or description of the position (a single ad covering multiple identical positions is fine), the skills or experience required, and the name of the approved sponsor or the recruitment agency placing it on the sponsor's behalf. If the annual earnings for the role are below AUD96,400, the ad also has to state the salary or a salary range, for example "AUD80,000 to AUD90,000."
Where it's placed matters too. Acceptable platforms are a prominent or professional recruitment website with national reach (industry-specific job boards used widely in that field count), national print media published at least monthly, national radio, or the sponsoring business's own website if it's an accredited sponsor. General classifieds sites and posts made only through social media aren't acceptable. LinkedIn's recruitment platform is fine, but a job restricted to LinkedIn profile connections only is not.
Timing: the 4-week, 4-month rule
For most Core Skills and Specialist Skills stream nominations, the position must have been advertised for a combined total of at least 4 weeks, with applications or expressions of interest accepted for that same period, and this advertising has to fall within the 4 months immediately before the nomination is lodged.
That 4 weeks doesn't have to be one continuous run. The same medium can be used twice, two different mediums can run at the same time, or the periods can overlap, as long as they add up to 4 weeks or more between them. Someone other than the sponsor, such as a recruitment agency or an associated entity, can place the ad; there's no rule that the sponsor has to do it directly. Evidence of both advertisements has to be provided at the time the nomination is lodged.
If an Australian citizen or permanent resident was made redundant or retrenched from the role in the 4 months before lodgement, the advertising has to have happened since that redundancy date, and details of the redundancy need to be included with the nomination.
Labour agreement nominations run on different timing
Where a labour agreement requires LMT, the same 2-advertisement standard generally applies, but the window is wider: LMT for Category 2 locations under a labour agreement must have occurred within the 12 months before lodgement, not 4 months. There's no LMT requirement at all for a Minister of Religion Labour Agreement, and under the Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement, a Memorandum of Understanding with the relevant union can satisfy the requirement instead of advertising.
Who's exempt
There's no exemption based on the occupation itself or its ANZSCO skill level, and none for a major disaster. The exemptions that do exist come from Australia's international trade obligations (ITOs), and they turn on the nominee's citizenship or the structure of the business relationship, not the job:
| Exemption basis | Who it covers |
|---|---|
| ITO-listed citizenship | Citizens/nationals of Brunei, China, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Thailand or Vietnam, or citizens/nationals/permanent residents of Canada, Chile, South Korea, New Zealand, Singapore or the UK, applying in an LMT-exempt ITO category |
| Associated entity transfer | A current employee of an associated overseas entity based in an ASEAN country, Canada, Chile, China, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, the UK, New Zealand, Peru, Samoa, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Niue, the Cook Islands or Vanuatu |
| Executive/Senior Manager, WTO country | An intra-corporate executive or senior manager responsible for all or a substantial part of the Australian operation, from an associated entity or a business setting up in Australia from a WTO member country |
| Two years' service | A citizen, or eligible permanent resident of Armenia, Canada, New Zealand or Switzerland, of a WTO member country who has already worked full-time in the nominated role in Australia for the last two years |
These ITO exemptions don't apply to nominations lodged under a labour agreement or to the subclass 494 visa. If none of them apply to your nominee, standard LMT is required regardless of the occupation.
When a written submission replaces standard LMT
A handful of situations let you submit a written explanation instead of running standard advertising:
- The nominee has an internationally recognised record of exceptional and outstanding achievement in a profession, sport, academia, research, or as a top-talent chef, and you explain why they're the only person, or one of very few, who could do the role.
- You're lodging a new nomination for an existing 482, 494 or 457 visa holder purely because their salary changed, or a business restructure means they're now employed by a different entity without changing position.
- The move is an intra-corporate transfer, with documentation explaining the transfer arrangement.
- The role's annual earnings are AUD250,000 or more, with an explanation of how you tested the local market, for example through an executive search process that included Australian applicants.
- The role falls within ANZSCO's medical specialist group (Minor Group 253, excluding General Practitioners and Medical Practitioners nec) or Ambulance Officers and Paramedics (Unit Group 4111), where a written submission on availability can stand in for advertising.
Where this sits in the broader nomination
LMT is one requirement inside the nomination, alongside the genuine position test, the relevant income threshold and the sponsor's other obligations as an approved sponsor. Getting the advertising wrong, wrong platform, missing salary detail, dates outside the window, is one of the more common reasons a nomination gets queried, because it's evidence-based rather than a judgment call, and Home Affairs checks it against the paperwork you actually lodge.
General information only, current at 18 July 2026. Not immigration assistance or advice for your circumstances. Visacorp Pty Ltd — MARN 0317382 · 1799004.
Common questions
Do I need to advertise on Workforce Australia?
No. Since 11 December 2023 it's no longer a requirement to advertise on the government's Workforce Australia service. Employers now need 2 valid advertisements instead of the previous 3.
Can the same job ad run twice in the same place?
Yes. The position can be advertised twice in the same medium, on two separate occasions, or in two different mediums at the same time, or across overlapping periods, as long as the total comes to at least 4 weeks.
Does my occupation get an LMT exemption?
No. Occupation-based exemptions that existed under the old subclass 457 visa don't carry over to the Skills in Demand (482) or subclass 494 programs. The exemptions that exist are based on the nominee's citizenship or business structure under Australia's trade agreements, not the occupation itself.
Do I have to include the salary in the job ad?
Only if the position's annual earnings are below AUD96,400. Above that, salary information isn't required in the ad, though it's still acceptable to publish a range either way.
What if I can't meet standard LMT for a high-earning role?
For roles at or above AUD250,000 in annual earnings, you can submit a written explanation of how you tested the local market, such as an executive search process that included Australian applicants, instead of running standard advertisements.
Unsure where your situation fits?
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