Exemption From Eligibility Requirements

Under certain exceptional circumstances, the employee may seek exemption from one or more of the eligibility requirements by lodging a submission for an exceptional appointment.

Skill exemptions

Exceptional circumstances for the skill requirement might be considered in the following case:

Skill	Exceptional circumstances
Does not have 3 years post-qualification work experience	The position is so unusual or highly specialised that it is unlikely a suitable person with at least 3 years of post-qualification work experience could be found in Australia or overseas.

Age exemptions

Exceptional circumstances for the age requirement might be considered in the following cases:

Age	Exceptional circumstances
45 years to less than 50 years old	the position is essential to the operation of the business and the employer demonstrates that it is not possible to find a suitably qualified person younger than the applicant.
50 years to less than 55 years old	the occupation is on the Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL) or is an Australian Standard Classification of Occupations (ASCO) major group 1, 2 or 3 occupation See: Is your occupation in demand? and the position is so unusual or highly specialised that it is not possible to find a suitably qualified person younger than the applicant.
55 years to less than 60 years old	the occupation is on the MODL or an ASCO major group 1 or 2 occupation See: Is your occupation in demand? and the position would normally require a person with skills and experience acquired over many years Example: Senior academics or scientists. and the position is so unusual or highly specialised that it is not possible to find a suitably qualified person younger than the applicant.

Note: Exceptional circumstances are generally not considered for applicants who are 60 years or older.

Vocational English exemptions

Exceptional circumstances for the vocational English requirement might be considered in the following cases:

Vocational English

Exceptional circumstances

Employee does not have vocational English

vocational English is not essential to perform the full range of required duties for the position the transfer of skills to other Australian employees can still take place (regardless of whether the applicant will be working with staff from the same or similar cultural background) can comply with, and understand, Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) requirements, deal with work emergencies or communicate with emergency workers can understand and deal with issues relating to their employment and workplace rights the employer has been unable to recruit, in Australia or overseas, a suitably qualified person who does have vocational English the applicant has worked full-time in the nominated position as a holder of a visa which allows them to work and has made a consistent effort to improve their English language ability through formal training or study.

Submission on exceptional circumstances

If the applicant is seeking an exemption from the age, skill and language requirements, the employer must write a submission outlining the exceptional circumstances that apply in the case.

The submission must demonstrate:

• the special skills required by the employee to fill the position
• the difficulties that the employer experienced finding an employee who does meet the skill, age or English language requirements
• details of time the employee has spent working in the occupation in Australia
• details of time the employee has spent working for the nominating employer.

The employer should give the submission to the employee to attach to their visa application. All requests for exceptional appointments will be assessed and decided at the visa application stage.

Nominating employers may assist their employees in demonstrating exceptional circumstances on skill, age or English by completing the relevant parts of the nomination form.
See: Form 785 - Employer Nomination under the Employer Nomination Scheme (228KB PDF file)

 

Before lodging an application, please read all related eligibility requirements.
See: Other eligibility