An important legal update to the subclass 400 visa (policy change)

The subclass 400 visa is commonly used by businesses that need workers in Australia on a short-term basis to complete non-ongoing highly specialised work. The visa can be granted for up to 3 or 6 months, depending on the business case put to the Department, with the general expectation being the 'non-ongoing' work will be completed within 3 months.

In August 2024, the Department of Home Affairs significantly amended their subclass 400 visa policy. The general theme of the change is that the Department will now place greater emphasis on scrutinising these applications to ensure businesses are not using the visa as a quick and cheap alternative to the subclass 482 visa, where work is not in fact 'non-ongoing'. The motivation behind this change is to ensure Australian citizens and permanent residents are not disadvantaged in the job market.