The Meat Industry Labour Agreement: the skilled meat worker role, the skills check and the concessions

MARN 1576536 · Checked against the Home Affairs agreement template on 8 November 2026

Who it is for

The agreement is for businesses running a meat processing establishment: a plant wholly or predominantly concerned with killing, dressing, boning, slicing, preparing or packing fresh meat. It covers one occupation, Skilled Meat Worker, nominated under the administrative code 070499 because ANZSCO has no single matching occupation; its duties cover those of a slaughterer and a meat boner and slicer. The 482 and 186 are available in any location, and the 494 in Categories 2 and 3. Each agreement carries a yearly ceiling on nominations, set when it is made.

Skills and experience

For a 482, the worker's skills must be verified at a level at least equal to the Certificate III in meat processing (see the next section), and the worker must also have one of:

• two years of skilled work at an acceptable meat processing establishment;
• nine months on a 457 or 482 at an Australian meat processing establishment before the nomination; or
• one year of relevant work in Australia on another temporary visa at an Australian meat processing establishment.

For the 494, the skill requirement is the same but the experience is two years of recent and relevant work, in Australia or overseas. For the 186, it is three years of full-time work in Australia in the occupation.

The skills assessment

The assessment is done by a MINTRAC-registered assessor, or another assessor the Commonwealth approves, holding a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. It must be video recorded in real time, with proof of the worker's identity, and the recording kept; remote assessment is allowed. If recording is impracticable, the sponsor must tell the Department within 7 days. Once the worker arrives, the sponsor has 2 days to verify identity and must report any inconsistency straight away. If a worker turns out not to have the skills, the sponsor must tell the Department within a month and propose what it will do about it.

English and age

For the 482, 494 and 186, an overall IELTS 5.0 or equivalent, with no minimum for each component, in every location. For the 186, a current 457 holder who did not have to show English when the 457 was granted can give evidence of functional English instead. In Category 2 and 3 locations, the worker must be under 55 when a 494 or 186 application is lodged; in Category 1 the standard age rules apply.

Salary

In Category 1 and 2 locations there is no salary concession. In Category 3, guaranteed earnings must be at least 90% of the income threshold, and guaranteed or regular overtime can be counted. All positions must be full-time, and a worker on an annualised salary must be topped up if an equivalent Australian worker at the same site is paid more over the year.

Labour market testing

For the 482 and 494: in Category 1, the same evidence as a standard nomination; in Category 2, at least two separate attempts with national reach in the last 12 months; in Category 3, at least two attempts in the last 12 months, one with national reach and one that may be local or regional.

Permanent residence

A 186 nomination needs the worker to have worked directly for the sponsor as the primary holder of a 457 or 482 in the occupation for at least three years before the nomination. The template sets the 482 employment period at up to four years and the 494 at five. The agreement runs for five years, with a review after three.

Employer obligations

The sponsor cannot recover recruitment costs or the worker's English testing and training costs, must pay wages directly from its Australian bank account, and must pay the worker's travel costs to leave Australia. Accommodation and board cannot be compulsory and can only be charged at a fair and reasonable market rate. Deductions need the worker's written consent and must fit a deductions plan the Commonwealth approves. The sponsor commits to aim to keep overseas workers to no more than a third of its workforce in any year and to reduce its reliance on them over the life of the agreement.

Plan the agreement for your plant

A consultation places each site in its location category, checks your skills assessment arrangements against the agreement, and sets out the request, the ceilings and the first nominations.

Book a consultation — A$330 inc. GST, credited

General information only, current at 8 November 2026; not advice on your own case. Department of Home Affairs, Labour Agreement – Meat Industry template and industry labour agreements page. The terms of a signed agreement, including ceilings, are set when the agreement is made. Outcomes depend on the Department’s assessment of each request and application; no registered migration agent can guarantee a result (Code of Conduct, Migration Agents Regulations). Keshab Chapagain, MARN 1576536.