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For Employers · Published 2026-08-18 · Updated 2026-10-29

How to Sponsor an Early Childhood Teacher or Childcare Worker on a 482

Reviewed by a registered migration agent · MARN 1795282
Updated

Yes — an Australian childcare centre or early-learning provider can sponsor an overseas educator on the Skills in Demand (subclass 482) visa. But the single most important decision comes before any form is lodged: which occupation are you actually filling? A degree-qualified Early Childhood (Pre-primary School) Teacher (ANZSCO 241111) and a Child Care Worker (ANZSCO 421111) are two different occupations with different qualification requirements, different skills assessing bodies, different English levels and different timelines. Nominate the wrong one and the application can fail even when the candidate is genuinely skilled.

Which occupation am I sponsoring — teacher or educator?

Match the occupation to the role in your room, not to the candidate’s job title overseas:

The choice flows through everything: the qualification you need evidence of, the assessing body, the English test result, and ultimately the cost and timeline of the whole application. Occupation lists change, so confirm the occupation’s status on the CSOL before lodging rather than assuming it.

What does my centre need to do to sponsor?

The process is the same three-stage structure as any 482 sponsorship — our step-by-step employer guide to the 482 walks through each stage in detail:

  1. Become a Standard Business Sponsor (≈ $420, usually valid around 5 years, unlimited nominations).
  2. Nominate the role (≈ $330 per nomination) in one of the three streams — for early-learning employers this is almost always the Core Skills stream (CSOL occupation, salary at or above the Core Skills Income Threshold). The Specialist Skills stream (≈ $146,576, which changes every financial year) rarely applies to childcare salaries, and Labour Agreements are a niche alternative.
  3. The worker applies for the subclass 482 visa.

On pay: you must offer at least the Core Skills Income Threshold — around $79,423 from 1 July 2026, indexed — and the market rate for the role, whichever is higher. You also pay the Skilling Australians Fund levy upfront for the full visa period: $1,200 per year of visa if your turnover is under $10 million, $1,800 per year otherwise. The SAF levy can never be recovered from the worker.

What does the candidate need?

Across both occupations, the worker must have at least 1 year of relevant work experience in the last 5 years, meet the relevant qualification level for the occupation, meet the English requirement for their occupation (materially higher for the teacher role), and pass health and character checks. For 241111 the make-or-break item is the ACECQA skills assessment of the teaching degree; for 421111 it is evidencing the Certificate III-equivalent qualification and practical experience. Check the qualification against the assessing body’s criteria before you nominate — it is the most common point of failure for early-learning sponsorships.

The ACECQA migration skills assessment (as at 29 October 2026): the application fee is A$1,100 (review of an outcome A$990). ACECQA’s published timeframe is 80 calendar days from an “assessment ready” application, but it warns that a very high volume of applications means timeframes are currently much longer, and there is no fast track for expiring visas. Applicants without an NQF-approved qualification are assessed for equivalence in the same application. Home Affairs’ mandatory 482 skills-assessment instrument names only Trades Recognition Australia and VETASSESS occupations, so an ACECQA assessment is not automatically mandatory for a 482; it is required for the 186 Direct Entry stream and Home Affairs can ask for one at any time.

Ratios and qualifications under the National Quality Framework: in centre-based services for children preschool age and under, 50% of the educators counted in ratios must hold, or be actively working towards, an approved diploma-level qualification or higher; all other ratio educators must hold, or be working towards, at least an approved Certificate III. A sponsored educator only solves a ratio problem if their qualification is on the NQF-approved list or ACECQA has assessed it as equivalent. Working with Children Checks and child-protection training are state and territory requirements on top of the visa.

Why sponsor instead of churning through agency staff?

Educator-to-child ratios do not flex when someone resigns, and most centres are hiring in a market where qualified ECTs and Certificate III educators are persistently scarce. Sponsorship converts an overseas-qualified educator into a stable, ratio-counted staff member — and the retention mechanism is built in: after 2 years on the 482, the worker can typically move to permanent residence through the subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme (Temporary Residence Transition stream) with your centre nominating them. In practice, sponsored educators overwhelmingly stay through to PR — a level of retention agency staffing cannot match.

This page is general information, not immigration or legal advice, and figures are as at 29 October 2026 (indexed and subject to change). For advice on your centre’s situation, speak with a registered migration agent.

Sources & last checked

Verified 29 October 2026 against the Department of Home Affairs (subclass 482 Core Skills stream page and the skilled occupation list, which shows Child Care Worker 421111, Out of School Hours Care Worker 421114 and Early Childhood Teacher 241111 on the CSOL with ACECQA as assessing authority), and ACECQA’s migration skills assessment, indexed fees and educator qualification requirement pages. Start with our employer guide to sponsoring an overseas worker on the 482 for the full process.

Frequently asked questions

Can a childcare centre sponsor a worker on a 482 visa?

Yes, provided your centre becomes an approved Standard Business Sponsor, the role matches an eligible occupation, and you pay at least the relevant income threshold and the market rate. The most common route for early-learning employers is the Core Skills stream, which requires the occupation to be on the Core Skills Occupation List. Which occupation you nominate — Early Childhood Teacher or Child Care Worker — determines the qualification, skills assessment and English requirements the candidate must meet.

What is the difference between sponsoring an Early Childhood Teacher and a Child Care Worker?

They are separate ANZSCO occupations. Early Childhood (Pre-primary School) Teacher (241111) is a degree-qualified teaching role — the candidate generally needs a bachelor-level early childhood teaching qualification, a skills assessment from ACECQA, and a higher English level (around IELTS 7.0 in each component). Child Care Worker (421111) is a lower-qualification role, typically requiring at least a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care, with the skills assessment usually through VETASSESS or ACECQA depending on the qualification.

How much does it cost to sponsor a childcare educator?

The employer-side costs are the Standard Business Sponsorship application (about $420, usually valid around 5 years with unlimited nominations), the nomination fee (about $330 per nomination), and the Skilling Australians Fund levy — $1,200 per year of visa for businesses with turnover under $10 million, or $1,800 per year for larger businesses. The SAF levy is paid upfront for the full visa period and cannot by law be recovered from the worker. Figures are as at August 2026 and are indexed.

What salary do I have to pay a sponsored educator?

For the Core Skills stream you must pay at least the Core Skills Income Threshold — around $79,423 from 1 July 2026, indexed annually — or the market rate for the role in your area, whichever is higher. You cannot sponsor someone on less than an equivalent Australian employee would earn in the same position.

Will an overseas teacher's qualification be recognised in Australia?

For Early Childhood Teacher (241111), ACECQA became the skills assessing authority on 7 December 2024 (it took over from AITSL for this occupation). ACECQA generally looks for a bachelor-level early childhood teaching qualification; overseas three-year degrees often need a fourth-year top-up or bridging study to be assessed as equivalent. It is worth checking the candidate's qualification against ACECQA's requirements before you commit to a nomination.

Does sponsoring an educator lead to permanent residence?

Usually, yes. After 2 years working for your business on the 482, the worker can generally apply for permanent residence through the subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme (Temporary Residence Transition stream), with your centre nominating them again. For employers, that PR pathway is one of the strongest retention tools available — sponsored educators tend to stay through to permanent residence and beyond.

Other occupations you can sponsor

Employer guides for the roles we're asked about most: list status, caveats, skills assessment, salary and costs for each.

More guides

For Australian employers

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