Business Migrants

1.1. Your benefit to state business activity must meet the Department of Home Affairs requirements in relation to active management, genuineness, and sustainability.

1.2. The Benefit to State requirements vary depending on the client's age, business type and location. You must confirm to meeting at least one of the listed requirements through your business in South Australia within the first two years of holding the visa. At the two-year review, you must provide evidence of the  Benefit to State achievement.

Requirements for applicants nominated by South Australia after 1 July 2020:

* Refer to purchase value (GST exclusive). **Refer to section 2.8 Export for further details on the limits that apply to wine or grape juice from 1 July 2020.

Previous requirements for applicants nominated from 1 July 2018 to 1 July 2020:

* Refer to purchase value (GST exclusive). **Refer to Section 2.9 Export for further to section 2.9 Export for further details on the limits that apply to wine export from 1 July 2018.

Previous requirements for applicants nominated prior to 1 July 2018:

* Refer to purchase value (GST exclusive).

Aged 55 years or over - Exceptional Benefit to State 1.3 The Exceptional Benefit to State nomination requirement is applicable to applicants aged 54 years and 9 months of age and above (at time of lodgement of the nomination application). This is to factor in processing times.

1.4 Skilled & Business Migration reserves the right to limit the number of nominations provided to clients who must achieve exceptional benefit.  

Regional Concessions - Benefit to State Requirements 1.5. To encourage investment outside of the capital city of Adelaide, the benefit to State requirements for State nomination are lower for country regional areas outside of Greater Adelaide. A regional business is defined as a business located in an area outside of metropolitan Adelaide. If insufficient evidence is  supplied, the regional concession will be refused and you must meet the standard benefit to state requirements based on your age.

1.5.1. Clients must be conducting business in regional South Australia. To be defined as conducting business in regional South Australia the physical location of the business and or the sourcing of the products must be regional. To meet this requirement your residential address is not required to be in regional South Australia.

Jobs 1.6. Full Time Equivalent (FTE) employees refers to employees under the direct employ of the business working a minimum of 30 hours per week paid at least the award wage. Employment for each FTE required is for a minimum of 12 months within 24 months of the 132 visa grant date.  

1.7. FTEs must be Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents New Zealand passport holders, or 489/491 South Australian State nominated visa holders, for the full 12-month period. Family members are not eligible to be included in the FTE requirement.

Export 1.8. The following export requirements apply to applicants nominated after 1 July 2020 and are required to be evidenced at the 132 Review stage.

1.8.1. Export refers to the sale of South Australian made goods or provision of services. South Australian made goods means that the whole of production, or the final stage of production occurs in South Australia. For wine (or grape juice) the grapes must also be sourced from South Australia.

1.8.2. The South Australian producer of the goods must be made aware that their products are being exported and to which specific overseas markets.

1.8.3. If South Australian made goods are purchased via a third-party distributor or wholesaler, this business must also be located and have a physical office in South Australia.

1.8.4. Exports need to be part of a genuine business activity to make a profit. The frequency of exports will reflect the genuineness of the business activity

1.8.5. For applicants aged under 55 years, the minimum total export value required varies depending on how much wine (or grape juice) is included. The table below outlines these various scenarios. Applicants aged 55 years or over must achieve at least $1.5 million in total exports, with no limits to wine (or grape juice).

Note that all values are in Australian dollars and refer to purchase value (GST exclusive) of South Australian goods and do not include any additional costs incurred by the applicant, such as shipping and warehousing.

1.9. The following export requirements applied to applicants nominated prior to 1 July 2020.

Must achieve $600,000 in total exports, but majority cannot be wine if total exports are less than $1 million.

Investment into a Business 1.10. South Australia state nomination is available to successful business owners who intend to establish a new or buy an existing business in South Australia. The amount of investment into the business must meet the minimum requirements defined in the table at 2.2.

1.11. Information is collected on how you plan to use the funds being transferred to Australia. 

1.12. Clients must demonstrate they are aware of the regulations and licenses required to undertake the proposed business in South Australia and provide details on how you have carried out sufficient research for the business proposal in South Australia.

1.13. Your significant business history will be considered in the context of your proposed business in South Australia.  Clients who have conducted unacceptable business or been found guilty of illegal business practices will be refused State nomination.  

Property Development 1.14.   South Australia state nomination is available to successful business owners who intend to engage in property development in South Australia. Property Development requirements apply as follows:

1.14.1. If 132 visa granted before 1 August 2017 then applicants are required to do the old property development requirements. These requirements were AUD$3 million for clients aged under 55 and AUD$6 million is aged 55 and over.

1.14.2. Clients approved for South Australia 132 State nomination or have a 132 visa grant on 1 August 2017 onwards can access the property development requirements published. 1.14.3. Clients who have received a nomination from South Australia for non-property development related business plans and who have yet to receive a visa grant from the Department of Home Affairs prior to 1 August 2017 may if they wish submit a fresh business plan to Skilled & Business Migration for  assessment by emailing bmu.sa@sa.gov.au.

1.15 Business plans must be submitted to Skilled & Business Migration by clients wanting to satisfy benefit to state requirements through conducting property development business.

1.15.1. Business plans for property development must be for sale to unrelated independent parties on commercial ‘arm’s length’ terms.  The subject property being developed is not for the provision of rental property or for speculative or passive investment.

1.15.2.   Business plans must include how active management requirements will be met.

1.15.3. Business plans for property development will not be accepted where Skilled & Business Migration is not satisfied that a development or property consulting company partnering with the client for the property development does not have at least two year’s relevant property development experience immediately prior the client's nomination application.  Skilled & Business Migration recommends that the client find out about builders’ reputations and check their qualifications before engaging them to carry out any works. Please refer to this website on choosing a qualified builder.

1.16 Nominations are only provided where clients can demonstrate a realistic intention to maintain the property development activities in South Australia on an ongoing basis, and where the subject property being developed is made available for sale to the open market.

1.16.1. A signed written undertaking by the client is required that the properties being developed pursuant to the project will be made available for sale no later than two months upon completion of the build.

1.16.2. It is a requirement that irrespective of any claims as to the prevailing state of the relevant property market, properties being developed pursuant to the nomination will be made available for bona-fide sale to unrelated independent parties on commercial ‘arm’s length’ terms no later than two months upon completion of the build.

1.17. Sufficient information should be provided to Skilled & Business Migration to assess, on a case-by-case basis, whether the property development and the business plan meets the aims of this program. Information required:

1.17.1.   Identification and location of the development

1.17.2.   Project cost information

1.17.3.   Proposed breakdown and details of own/debt/other financing

1.17.4.   Current Certificate(s) of Title for the subject land

1.17.5. Copies of any planning or development approvals

1.17.6. Expected commencement and completion dates

1.17.7. Explanation of the client's managerial role within the project, and submissions as to why the client has suitable experience to fulfil such role

1.18. Clients are required to register on arrival, and then provide online updates every six months and in person from visa grant to report on the progress of the property development.

1.18.1. During the client's regular six-monthly meetings with the Skilled & Business Migration Business Migration team, they will be required to provide evidence of investment into the property development. This may include investment items such as cost of site acquisition, consultation services (for example. legal, planning, design, building, marketing and promotion), employees, building and construction costs, and other expenditure identified by the client. This may include the provision of relevant contractual documentation

1.18.2. The client must also provide evidence of the source of the property development funding, to set out what percentage and amount is personal capital, debt finance, or any other source of funding.

1.18.3. Where Skilled & Business Migration is not satisfied that the development activities have not substantially progressed it reserves the right to withdraw support for the business plan, and the client will be required to select a different benefit to state requirement to satisfy their nomination migration requirements.

2.1. You must agree to register your arrival in South Australia with Skilled & Business Migration within three months.

2.2. You must maintain current contact details for the duration of your visa and provide updates online every six months for three years from the date of visa grant.

2.3. You must agree to participate in any surveys that the South Australia Government may conduct.

2.4. Any intention to change the primary nature of the applicant’s proposed business activity and Benefit to State must be agreed to in advance in writing by the South Australian Government.

3.1. State nomination is only for clients willing to commit to meet the Federal Immigration Criteria for the 132 Significant Business History visa. Your submission for State nomination incorporates this commitment.

3.2. This visa is intended to attract to Australia highly skilled business people who will use their skills to engage in business in Australia. In applying for State nomination please note it is expected the visa holder will be actively involved in the day-to-day management of an eligible business in Australia. While some 
aspects of business management may occur while the visa holder is overseas, the visa holder must provide evidence to the Department of Home Affairs at the 132 Review stage, that the time spent overseas has been to the benefit of the business in Australia.

4.1. Provide information to Skilled & Business Migration to enable a two year review after visa grant. This includes completing the review application form on this website and providing a full and complete Department of Home Affairs’ Survey of Business Skills Visa Holders (Form 1010). The information must detail the type of 
business being conducted, scale of the business and which of the Benefit to State requirements you have met. 

4.2. Refer to the 132 review information requirements listed in the 132 review tab above. All State requirement outcomes must be achieved within South Australia and must be met by the two year review stage. Failure to meet the requirements for State nomination may result in a revocation of your 132 visa by Department of 
Home Affairs.