482 & 186 Visa FAQs — The Questions We Actually Get Asked
Real answers, not vague reassurances.
No. Finding the employer is what we do — that's our employer matching service. You come with skills and experience.
Yes — if you have 1+ year of experience in an eligible occupation, our employer matching service can find you a sponsor. If you're still building experience, the Career Launch program may suit you better.
Yes. The Skills in Demand (SID) visa is the Subclass 482 visa, renamed from Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) on 7 December 2024. The subclass number, the sponsorship process, and the path to permanent residency are unchanged. See our full explainer for everything that changed — and didn't.
No. Finding the employer is what we do — that’s our employer matching service. You come with skills and experience.
Yes — if you have 1+ year of experience in an eligible occupation, our employer matching service can find you a sponsor. If you’re still building experience, the Career Launch program may suit you better.
The Core Skills stream covers most skilled occupations on the CSOL and requires a minimum salary of $79,499 + super (CSIT, subject to annual updates). The Specialist Skills stream covers occupations requiring highly specialised knowledge, with a higher minimum salary threshold of $135,000 + super. Your consultant will confirm which stream applies to your specific ANZSCO code at the free assessment. Some occupations are only eligible under one stream.
Absolutely. If you already have an employer willing to sponsor you, you don't need our employer-matching service. You can engage Insight Idea directly for the legal lodgement of the SBS, nomination, and visa. Contact us via the consultation form and note that you have an existing employer, and we'll connect you with the right service.
Processing times vary significantly and are outside our control. The Department of Home Affairs (DOHA) publishes indicative processing times, and we reference those at your consultation. Based on our client history, most 482 applications are decided within 3–12 months. Priority processing is not available to standard applicants. We lodge complete, well-documented applications to minimise the risk of requests for further information (RFIs) that would extend the timeline.
If a 482 application is refused, Insight Idea will conduct an immediate review of the decision. Depending on the grounds for refusal, options may include merits review at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), reapplication with additional evidence, or an alternative visa pathway. Refusals are rare when applications are prepared correctly. We document every case thoroughly precisely to reduce this risk. Our milestone fee structure means you will not have paid a full service fee before this stage.
Yes, but the success rate is low. Most 'open to sponsorship' listings come from employers who have never sponsored before and are unprepared to manage the process when a visa-requiring candidate reaches the shortlist stage. The listing stays up; the candidacy quietly ends. A verified employer network — where every employer already holds SBS approval and has migration agent support in place — removes the most common failure point. Read our full guide to finding visa sponsorship jobs in Australia for a detailed breakdown of why cold-applying converts poorly and what works instead.
No — Career Launch is specifically designed for candidates who have the right qualification but have not yet reached the 12-month post-qualification experience threshold the 482 visa requires. Candidates typically join with anywhere from zero to 10 months of experience. If you already have 12 months or more of verifiable paid experience in your nominated occupation, skip Career Launch and proceed directly to our 482 employer matching service, or browse verified sponsorship roles on our visa sponsorship jobs page.
We don't publish a flat fee schedule because the correct fee depends on your specific pathway, the work already done (skills assessment, for example), and the complexity of your employer match. At your free consultation, we will provide a written fee proposal before any engagement commences. Government fees (SBS, nomination, SAF levy) are fixed by law and are disclosed separately. We do not take a single large upfront payment. Fees are structured across milestones.
Yes. By law, all costs associated with sponsorship must be borne by the employer. This includes the SBS application fee, nomination fees, and the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy. It is illegal for these costs to be charged to or recovered from the visa applicant. Employers also pay a recruitment placement fee to RedBridge for candidate matching. Full fee disclosure occurs at the employer enquiry stage, not after.
Your employer pays the SAF levy. Under Australian migration law, all costs directly associated with becoming a sponsor and nominating a position — including the SAF levy and nomination fee — must be borne by the sponsoring employer. Charging these costs back to the visa applicant, directly or indirectly, is prohibited and can result in penalties for the sponsor. See our employer sponsorship guide for a full breakdown of what employers are financially responsible for.
The Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy is a mandatory government charge that sponsors must pay at nomination lodgement. The levy is $1,200 per year of visa validity for small businesses (turnover < $10M) and $1,800 per year for large businesses. For a 4-year 482 visa, this amounts to $4,800 (small) or $7,200 (large). The levy cannot be waived, delayed, or charged back to the visa holder. It was introduced by the government to fund vocational training for Australian workers.
The service includes: a comprehensive eligibility assessment at intake; skills assessment preparation and submission support (ACS, AMI, CAANZ, EA); employer profile matching and introduction; interview preparation and offer negotiation guidance; SBS, nomination, and visa application management by Insight Idea; and milestone tracking through to 186 ENS eligibility at the 2-year mark. You are assigned one named consultant who manages all of this. You will not be handed off to a different team mid-process.
Our fee structure is explicitly milestone-based. Payments occur at defined delivery points: typically at contract signing, at employer introduction, at visa lodgement, and at visa grant. This protects both parties: you are not paying in full for an outcome that hasn't occurred, and we are incentivised to deliver each milestone to trigger the next fee. The exact schedule is detailed in your Client Agreement before any payment is made.
RedBridge Consulting Pty Ltd (ABN: 88 678 186 091) is a registered Australian company that provides employer matching, career pathway design, and client management services. Under Australian law, only MARA-registered migration agents may provide migration advice. All migration advice and visa lodgement services are provided by our partner Insight Idea, a licensed migration law firm and registered agent (MARN: 1467870), co-located at Level 9, Tower 3, 18–38 Siddeley Street, Docklands VIC 3008. See our About page for the full group structure and how each entity's role is defined.
This is the right question to ask, and we're glad you're asking it. Our employer verification process involves four steps: (1) confirming active sponsorship approval on DOHA's register; (2) reviewing the business's ABN, trading history, and the specific vacancy; (3) confirming CSIT salary compliance; and (4) rechecking at nomination stage, since approval can be revoked between steps. Employer profiles are not listed publicly. They are shared privately with candidates at the consultation stage after we have confirmed fit. We do not charge a fee before you have met an employer and confirmed your satisfaction with the introduction.
Our current employer network is strongest in: Information and Communications Technology (ICT) (software engineering, systems analysis, project management); Accounting and Finance (management accounting, tax, financial analysis); Marketing and Communications (digital marketing, market research, business development); and Engineering (civil, structural, mechanical, electrical). We do occasionally work with clients in other skilled occupations where an employer match is viable. Confirm your specific ANZSCO code at your free consultation and we will tell you honestly whether we can help.
Yes. Many of our clients begin consultations while still abroad or during a study visa period in Australia. Consultations are conducted via video call or WeChat. If you are offshore, there are additional considerations for certain visa pathways (for example, 482 applicants can be offshore at lodgement), and Insight Idea will advise on the specifics of your situation. Your eligibility is primarily determined by your occupation, experience, and skills assessment status, not your current location.
Siddeley Talent Link is a specialist recruitment company within the Siddeley Group, the same corporate group that operates RedBridge Consulting. Career Launch program placements (where clients gain structured, ANZSCO-aligned work experience to build their 482 eligibility) are managed through Siddeley Talent Link. RedBridge handles client assessment and pathway planning; Siddeley Talent Link handles the formal employment placement. This relationship is disclosed upfront and does not affect the cost or independence of your migration advice, which remains with Insight Idea.
In Australia, 'migration agent' has a specific legal meaning: someone registered with the Migration Agents Registration Authority (MARA) holding a current Migration Agents Registration Number (MARN). This is the credential that authorises someone to charge for immigration assistance — advising on visa eligibility, preparing applications, and communicating with the Department of Home Affairs. 'Immigration lawyer' typically refers to a legal practitioner with migration law expertise, who may also hold a MARN. 'Visa consultant' is not a protected title — anyone can use it. An unregistered person who charges for immigration advice is acting outside the law regardless of what they call themselves. You can verify any migration agent's registration status on the OMARA register using their MARN. Insight Idea, our licensed migration law partner (MARN: 1467870), handles all migration advice at RedBridge. Learn more about how RedBridge is structured on our About page.
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