How We Helped A Recruitment Agency Engage Skilled Overseas Workers

A prominent Australian recruitment company specialising in IT resourcing faced challenges in engaging skilled overseas workers. Due to restrictions on their ability to on-hire visa holders, they needed a compliant solution to meet client demands while maintaining operational flexibility.

The client was unable to legally engage and on-hire skilled overseas workers due to immigration and sponsorship limitations. This restricted their ability to fill critical IT roles for their clients, leading to lost business opportunities and delayed project delivery. They required a solution that enabled them to supply visa holders without breaching employment and immigration laws.

The agency had a strong client base requiring skilled IT professionals, including skills that were difficult to find in Australia. However, restrictions prevented them from on-hiring visa holders due to immigration regulations, which limited their ability to service clients needing skilled overseas workers and resulted in lost business opportunities. Additionally, they faced compliance risks and administrative burdens associated with direct sponsorship.

Accelerate Workforce Solutions (formerly Pendragon Management) provided a comprehensive Immigration and Employer of Record Solution that allowed the recruitment agency to legally engage and on-hire skilled overseas workers to their clients.

The solution included:

- Workforce Enablement: Allowed agency to place overseas workers with their clients without direct sponsorship.
- On-Hire Labour Agreement (OHLA) Access: Leveraged Accelerate's agreement with the Government to legally onhire visa holders.
- Qualified Migration Agent: Undertook eligibility assessment and successfully lodging a visa application and nomination.
- Risk Management: Full adherence to immigration, Fair Work, and taxation regulations.
- Onboarding & Payroll: End to end delivery from Visa application, payroll, superannuation and entitlements.
- Scalability: Allowed the Agency to expand its talent pool and meet client demands.

Accelerate's approach involved:

1. Consultation: Ensuring the agency was informed about the process, the SID 482 Visa requirements, and the eligibility criteria for the candidate, confirming this was the correct pathway for the candidate and their business.
2. Assessment: Migration Agent assessed all relevant documentation, including qualifications, work experience, and English proficiency to ensure the candidate met all criteria before moving forward.
3. Lodgement: Working with the applicant to complete the visa application and managing any further documentation needed until approval.
4. Employment: Once the visa was approved, Accelerate on-hired the worker to the business, managing employment requirements, including contracts, entitlements, payroll, and invoicing.

By leveraging Accelerate's On-Hire Labour Agreement service, the recruitment company successfully met client demands and expanded its service capabilities without breaching immigration regulations. The solution addressed the skills shortage by enabling the recruitment company to supply visa holders to their clients, thereby expanding their talent pool and service offerings. The expertise in workforce engagement and compliance provided them with a seamless, scalable solution that enhanced their business operations and allowed them to capture previously unavailable business opportunities.