Labour Market Testing for the 482 Visa: Requirements and Exemptions

Labour Market Testing (LMT) is the administrative hurdle that ends more 482 nominations than almost any other requirement. Not because employers are acting in bad faith — but because the rules are technical, unforgiving, and applied literally. A 27-day advertising period is not 28 days. An ad on Facebook does not count as a national recruitment platform. A job posting without the employer's name is non-compliant even if every other detail is correct.

The stakes are high: if the nomination is refused for a LMT breach, the $330 nomination fee and the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy — which could be $2,400 to $7,200 depending on the employer and visa duration — are not refunded. The process must restart from scratch.

The Purpose of LMT

Labour Market Testing exists to demonstrate that the employer made a genuine effort to hire an Australian citizen or permanent resident before turning to overseas sponsorship. This is not a rubber-stamp process. The Department assesses the evidence and can refuse a nomination if it determines the testing was not genuine — for example, if the advertisements were placed on platforms too obscure to attract relevant candidates, or if the salary advertised was set so low that qualified Australians would not apply.

Standard LMT Requirements

Employers must meet all four of the following requirements:

1. Duration: 28 Consecutive Days

The job advertisements must have been live for at least 28 consecutive days — not spread across different periods that add up to 28. If the ad ran for 14 days, was taken down, and then reposted for 14 more days, it does not meet the 28-day consecutive requirement.

2. Platforms: At Least Two National Recruitment Websites

Advertisements must appear on at least two national recruitment platforms. Acceptable platforms include SEEK, LinkedIn, Indeed, and Workforce Australia. Local platforms, industry-specific forums, Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree, and word-of-mouth do not qualify as national recruitment websites regardless of their audience size.

3. Timing: Within Four Months of Nomination Lodgement

The advertising must have occurred within the four months immediately before the nomination is lodged. Advertising from six months ago — even if it genuinely failed to find suitable Australian candidates — does not satisfy the current requirement. Employers who hired through older advertising need to re-advertise before nominating.

4. Required Ad Content

The advertisement must include all of the following:

• Job title and description of duties
• Required skills, qualifications, and experience
• The employer's name (a trading name or full company name — not anonymous)
• The salary or salary range if the annual earnings are below $96,400

The salary disclosure requirement is specific: if you are nominating a role with a salary below $96,400, you must advertise the salary or salary range. Omitting it on a role below this threshold is a technical LMT failure even if the job description is otherwise perfect.

How to Document LMT Evidence

After the 28-day period, the employer should retain:

Screenshots of each advertisement, ideally captured on the first day and last day the ad was live, with visible URL and date stamps. Use a system that captures the timestamp automatically (browser screenshot with date showing in the corner, or a screenshot tool that embeds metadata).

Application records: A log of everyone who applied, their status (screened, interviewed, offered, declined), and the reason Australian applicants were not hired. If no Australians applied, document that too.

Evidence of genuine consideration: If any Australian applicants were interviewed, document the interview outcomes and the reasons they were not selected. Refusing Australian applicants for unclear reasons while claiming no suitable candidates were found is exactly the scenario that triggers Department scrutiny.

LMT Exemptions Under International Trade Obligations

LMT is not required for nationals of certain countries under Australia's international trade agreements. The exemptions cover specific nationality-occupation combinations, not blanket exemptions for all roles.

Important: The exemption applies to the worker's nationality, not their country of residence or current visa status. An Indian national working in the UK does not receive an exemption under AUKFTA.

An additional exemption applies to intra-corporate transferees — senior executives or specialist employees transferred from an overseas office who are nationals of a WTO member country and have worked for the company for at least two years.

LMT Exemptions Under Other Criteria

Even without a trade agreement, LMT may be waived in specific circumstances:

• The nominated salary exceeds $270,000 (executive-level roles)
• The employer and worker are part of an emergency response operation
• The role relates to a recent Australian business acquisition or merger where the worker's ongoing presence is critical to the transaction

These are narrow exceptions. Do not assume any of them apply without confirming the specific conditions with the Department's guidance or a migration agent.

The Single Most Common LMT Failure

Across r/AusVisa forums and migration law blogs, the same failure pattern surfaces repeatedly: the advertisement ran for 27 or 28 days but the nomination was lodged less than four months after the ad started, and the ad itself was missing the employer's name or salary range.

A clean LMT record looks like this:

• Day 1: Ad goes live on SEEK and LinkedIn with all required details (title, duties, skills, employer name, salary if below $96,400)
• Day 28: Ad closes (or remains live — just ensure the 28 consecutive days are confirmed)
• Nomination lodged: Within four months of Day 1

For a day-by-day LMT calendar template and a mandatory wording checklist for SEEK and Workforce Australia advertisements — the two most commonly used platforms — see the Australia TSS 482 Visa Guide.

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