🇦🇺 How to get a job in Australia as a South African

Australia has one of the biggest South African communities in the world, and Saffas are well represented in its hospitals, schools, mines, building sites and offices. Employers know our qualifications and like our work ethic. The catch is that almost nobody gets hired from South Africa without first sorting out a visa and, for most skilled jobs, a formal skills assessment. Here's how to approach jobs in Australia for South Africans, step by step.

Your right to work

South African citizens need a visa to work in Australia, and there's no working holiday option for us: South Africa isn't one of the countries in the Working Holiday (subclass 417) or Work and Holiday (subclass 462) programmes. To visit, South Africans need a Visitor visa (subclass 600), as we can't use the ETA or eVisitor. A visitor visa does not let you work, so don't accept "start now, we'll sort the visa later" offers.

The main routes are:

• Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482): employer-sponsored and temporary, it replaced the old TSS visa in December 2024. Your occupation usually needs to be on the Core Skills Occupation List, and the salary must meet the income threshold.
• Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186): permanent residence sponsored by an employer, often after time on a 482.
• Skilled Independent (subclass 189): points-tested permanent residence with no sponsor, by invitation through SkillSelect.
• Skilled Nominated (190) and Skilled Work Regional (491): points-tested visas where a state or territory nominates you.

For eligibility detail, partner visas and settling in, read Moving to Australia from South Africa.

Jobs in demand for South Africans

The Core Skills Occupation List decides which jobs can be sponsored under the main stream of the 482, and Jobs and Skills Australia publishes a separate Occupation Shortage List each year. The lists change, so check the current versions, but occupations that regularly appear and suit South African experience include:

• Registered nurses, midwives, GPs and other doctors, and allied health professionals: see healthcare and nursing jobs in Australia
• Early childhood and secondary school teachers: teaching jobs
• Electricians, plumbers, carpenters, welders and other trades: trades and construction jobs
• Civil, mining, electrical and mechanical engineers, plus mine site roles in Western Australia and Queensland: mining, energy and engineering jobs
• Software engineers, cybersecurity and data professionals: IT jobs
• Accountants and auditors: finance and accounting jobs

Browse all jobs in Australia, or go straight to roles that mention visa sponsorship in Australia. If you'd rather stay put for now, many Australian companies also hire remote workers based in South Africa.

Where to look

• SEEK is the dominant job board in Australia, and most employers advertise there first. Use its filters and set up alerts.
• LinkedIn matters for professional and corporate roles. Set your location to the Australian city you're targeting and say clearly that you're open to sponsorship.
• Workforce Australia is the government's job site. Indeed is also widely used.
• State health departments and education departments recruit nurses, doctors and teachers directly through their own careers sites, and some run international recruitment drives.
• Recruitment agencies handle a lot of mining, engineering, health and IT hiring. Specialist recruiters are often the quickest way to reach employers who already sponsor.

Government (APS) jobs usually require Australian citizenship, so focus on private employers, hospitals and state agencies that accept sponsored staff.