Aged care · ACILA · Workers & providers
The migration agent for aged-care sponsorship
Aged care is where Australian sponsorship genuinely works: a dedicated industry labour agreement, chronic shortages, and employers who actually nominate. It is also where half-right advice wastes the most money — wrong qualification, wrong English level, wrong sequence. Keshab Chapagain (MARN 1576536) handles both sides: providers building a sponsorship pipeline, and carers turning experience into a sponsorable position.
By Keshab Chapagain, registered migration agent (MARN 1576536) since 2015 · WIDEN, Sydney · Reviewed September 2026
Keshab Chapagain · MARN 1576536 · Registered since 2015 - Consultation
- $220 inc. GST · Zoom
- The agreement
- ACILA — carers, nursing support, PCAs
- Worker qualification
- CHC33021 Cert III (RPL possible)
- Languages
- English · Nepali · Hindi
For workers: what makes you sponsorable
Three things decide an aged-care sponsorship from the worker's side: the qualification (CHC33021 Certificate III in Individual Support or an assessed equivalent — or qualifying experience under the agreement), English at the agreement's level, and an employer holding or willing to negotiate the labour agreement. The consultation establishes which of the three is your gap and the fastest honest way to close it — including when the answer is that the timing is wrong. Employer search is free the whole way: SponsorTalent lists 1,000+ aged-care providers and lets them find you.
For providers: the sequence that survives
Facilities lose months the same way: nominating before the agreement is settled, advertising that fails labour-market-testing scrutiny, salaries set against the wrong benchmark. The engagement starts with a consultation mapping your facility's route — ACILA versus standard 482/494, realistic end-to-end costs and timeframes — then fixed-fee, in-writing document work: nomination packs, Genuine Position Statements, market-salary reports. Your team lodges; the file is built to be defensible.
Experienced carer, no certificate: the RPL door
Years of genuine care work can be assessed toward the CHC33021 by a Registered Training Organisation. The honest process: the 30-second checker first, then a free personal review of your evidence, and a professional fee only where the pathway is realistic — refunded if the qualification is not issued. WIDEN is a migration practice, not an RTO; the RTO assesses and issues, and no outcome is guaranteed.
Fees and booking
$220 inc. GST, 30 minutes on Zoom in English, Nepali or Hindi; extended hour $440 for multi-part matters. Credited in full toward the engagement, written summary every time. Book here → — bring your certificate or experience evidence (workers) or the roles you need filled (providers).
Questions we get asked first
Who is the agent, and what is the aged-care track record?
Keshab Chapagain, Registered Migration Agent MARN 1576536, OMARA-registered since 2015 — verify at portal.mara.gov.au. Employer sponsorship is the practice's core work: he writes the OMARA-approved CPD other agents take on 482 nomination preparation, prepares nomination documentation white-label for fellow agents, and runs SponsorTalent, whose directory includes 1,000+ aged-care providers. The practice trades as WIDEN under Dynamic Consultancy Pty Ltd.
Can aged-care workers really be sponsored?
Yes — aged care has its own industry labour agreement (ACILA) covering Aged or Disabled Carer, Nursing Support Worker and Personal Care Assistant, with concessions the standard 482 does not offer. The usual worker-side requirements: a relevant Certificate III (CHC33021 Individual Support or assessed equivalent) or qualifying experience, English at the agreement level, and an employer who holds or negotiates the agreement. Direct-care roles are among the most genuinely sponsorable occupations in the country.
I am a provider — what does sponsoring involve?
Three approvals in sequence: the sponsorship (or ACILA memorandum), the nomination of each role, and the worker's visa. The recurring failure points are labour-market-testing evidence, salary settings against the annual market rate, and qualification/English evidence for the nominee. A consultation before you start maps the sequence, realistic timeframes and total cost for your facility; documents-only preparation is available where your team lodges.
I have aged-care experience but no Australian certificate — options?
Recognition of Prior Learning can convert genuine, evidenced care experience into the CHC33021 Certificate III through a Registered Training Organisation — WIDEN checks your evidence free first and tells you plainly whether the pathway is realistic, with the professional fee refunded if no qualification issues. Note the qualification also carries mandatory work-hour requirements, so it is a genuine assessment, not a purchase.
What does it cost?
Initial consultation $220 inc. GST (30 minutes, Zoom); extended 60-minute session $440 for multi-part matters — either credited in full toward your engagement fee, with the advice in writing. Employer-side document services are fixed-fee and quoted in writing before any work, as the Code of Conduct requires.
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