Skills shortages are affecting businesses all over the world post COVID19, so the Australian Government has significantly increased the number of places for skilled migration. That creates a great opportunity for Australian businesses to secure some talented people internationally. What it also does is to force businesses to navigate through the visa application processes, to make sure everything is done above board and to retain the new employees that need needed significant investment to secure.

At The Business Plan Company, we often work on projects where our client is a business seeking to become a Standard Business Sponsor (SBS). This is one of the early steps in the process before the business can then nominate for a Temporary Skill Shortage visa (TSS, Visa 482) or Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Visa 494). Mostly these business plans are created for newer (or brand new) businesses that need to communicate information about the business through a business  plan, as there is less evidence from actual trading.

Related: Guide to writing business plan for Visa 188 

From the many projects we have worked on, here are some tips on how to give your business plan for Standard Business Sponsorship the best chance of pushing your application over the line: 

  • Get good migration advice. Businesses can do applications themselves, but migration laws can be difficult to navigate and small mistakes can delay applications or lead to refusals; this ends up costing more in the long run. Many of our clients work with migration agents, who know their way around the systems and processes. A good migration agent can pay for themselves.
  • If you are new to Australia, understand the laws and landscape first. Oftentimes we work with clients who are setting up a new business branch from overseas. There are many facets to consider, so building a strong local team can help to navigate all requirements before making the commitment, as well as saving expensive mistakes. A preliminary business plan ahead of an SBS application can make a big difference.
  • Build a story. These business plans need to tell the case officer where your business is going, how it is growing and how the international employee fits into that plan. It needs to be convincing and how that the role can’t easily be filled by a local employee. Sounds easy enough, but that needs market research, organisational chart, projections and growth strategy to all align behind the narrative. During the assessment, all details will be scrutinised, and inconsistencies or a low level of detail picked up, raising red flags that work against the application.
  • Keep it realistic. Being overly ambitious with investment levels, projected revenues, team members and market information needs to be achievable and in context with the local market.
  • Make sure all details are consistent with local laws and migration requirements, particularly employment law. Including salaries that are too low, for example, will likely lead to refusal.
  • Make it stand out, with a sharp, concise and well-presented plan: small details - the 1%’s - collectively make you look more appealing.
  • Make the most of the process. Whilst clients are often writing business plans for visa applications (TSS / Visa 482 is our most common), it’s a great time to write a plan that is very useful for your business. All businesses benefit from business planning, so rather than just ‘ticking the box’, take time to plan your business future.

At The Business Plan Company we write hundreds of business plans for migration every year, working with more than 400 migration agents. With a team of experienced business people around the country, we make the process easy and understand the Australian market.