Immigration update: cutting employer's costs and easier English rules

On 4 July 2025, Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher asked 30 regulators and eight portfolio departments to propose ways to reduce unnecessary compliance and costs.

These ideas have not yet been considered by Government, but the goal is to lift productivity and ease costs for business.

SAF Levy

For migration, the Department of Home Affairs has floated reform of the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy. The proposal is to create a fairer framework so that:

• employers pay only when they actually benefit from a sponsored worker; thats is, if an application is refused, they should be refunded the SAF Levy; and

• introduce clearer refund rules so some costs can be recovered if a worker changes employer.

If adopted, this would give sponsors more confidence to hire the skills they need. CLICK HERE for more info.

English Language Update

English settings have also shifted.

For the 482 visa, the PTE minimums are now: Listening 33, Reading 36, Writing 29, Speaking 24.

New approved test options have been added: CELPIP General, LanguageCert Academic, and Michigan English Test (MET). The instrument now refers to both IELTS General Training and IELTS Academic, and CAE is listed as Cambridge Advanced (C1 Advanced).

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