Immigration: Changes to the Minister of Religion Labour Agreement

Department of Home Affairs Logo Changes to the Minister of Religion Labour Agreement (MORLA) settings now allow religious institutions to sponsor overseas workers under the occupation Religious Assistant (ANZSCO 451816). This new initiative broadens visa sponsorship options that were formerly limited to the occupation of ‘Minister of Religion’.

Changes to the Minister of Religion Labour Agreement (MORLA) settings now allow religious institutions to sponsor overseas workers under the occupation Religious Assistant (ANZSCO 451816). This new initiative broadens visa sponsorship options that were formerly limited to the occupation of ‘Minister of Religion’.

Until systems changes can be made, the online labour agreement request form will only allow an applicant to submit a request for the occupation, Minister of Religion (ANZSCO 272211). Therefore, religious organisations seeking to sponsor an overseas worker under the occupation of Religious Assistant must utilise the existing on-line request form available in ImmiAccount and take the following additional steps when completing the request form.

Completing the on-line form to request a MORLA to sponsor Religious Assistants

The following additional steps represent a small fraction of required steps when completing a labour agreement request. Unless specified below, all questions in the MORLA request form should be answered as they currently are for applicants requesting a MORLA.

When specifying details in the ‘Position Details’ section of the request form, only one ANZSCO occupation code and type will be available for selection—that is—Minister of Religion (ANZSCO 272211)—you will need to select this option.
A free text field will then be displayed that will allow additional information to be entered about the occupation—you will need to specify the following in this field: Religious Assistant (ANZSCO 451816)
Complete the nomination table/s specifying the number of TSS and/or ENS visas you are seeking for each year of the agreement. You should only specify the number of overseas workers you are seeking to sponsor as a Religious Assistant. A separate MORLA request will need to be made if you are seeking a labour agreement to also sponsor Ministers of Religion.

Note: Per existing MORLA requirements, details of each Religious Assistant nominee, including their given name/s, ordinations status, qualifications etc. will need to be provided at the request stage.

Evidentiary documentation

At various points in the on-line request form, applicants are prompted to upload evidentiary documentation to support the request and allow decision makers to fully assess the requirements of the MORLA. Where appropriate, evidentiary documentation, as it relates to the nominated Religious Assistant position and the nominee/s should be uploaded. For example, job/positions duty statements, contracts, payslips of equivalent Australians, evidence of nominees work experience, evidence of ordination and tertiary qualifications.

Note: Existing MORLA holders seeking to sponsor overseas workers as Religious Assistants will not initially be able to vary an existing MORLA–a new MORLA request will be required. The reason for this is that the Department is required to undertake a full assessment of the new request and will be assessing requirements that are not usually considered in a variation request.

Summary of MORLA requirements/characteristics

Standard requirements	Varied/additional requirements
Australian registered business	Must be a religious institution under the Migration Regulations and must provide evidence of charitable status.
Good standing	Normal requirements apply, plus organisations must also provide specific advice regarding any royal commission involvement to mitigate the risks of any child protection issues arising.
Labour market Need	Exempt from labour market testing but must still explain why, given the nature of the position/skills required, it is unable to be filled by an Australian worker.
Reliance on overseas workers	This requirement will not generally be assessed unless there are significant concerns, given low numbers of overseas workers usually requested under this industry template.
Occupation	Occupation must be either: Minister of Religion (ANZSCO 272211) as specifically defined for the purposes of the labour agreement program Religious Assistant (ANZSCO 451816) as specifically defined for the purposes of the labour agreement process.
Salary	For Ministers of Religion: Standard requirements apply unless a concession is awarded on the grounds that a vow of poverty has been declared In addition, unlike in the standard skilled visa programs, non-monetary benefits can be counted when assessing whether the annual earnings for the equivalent Australian worker and the nominee are at least at the level of TSMIT. For Religious Assistants: The above requirements apply, however, no concessions can be awarded on the basis that a vow of poverty has been declared.
Skills	For Ministers of Religion, the nominee must: have been ‘ordained’ or have ‘professed to a religious life’ as a Minister of Religion (or under an equivalent accreditation process within a religion); and possess the minimum qualifications equivalent to a relevant Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) bachelor degree, or have undertaken at least five years of relevant structured training or instruction. Experience does not substitute for this requirement. Additional skills requirements are in place where the nominee will be undertaking the role of a Bishop. For Religious Assistants, the nominee must: possess the relevant qualifications equivalent to a relevant AQF Certificate II or III (ANZSCO Skill Level 4); or have at least two years of relevant experience as substitute for the formal qualification listed above.
English	Standard Short term stream TSS visa requirements apply unless concession awarded on the grounds that the nominee will be operating in a monastic or other cloistered environment. ENS visa applicants must demonstrate English proficiency to the level of IELTS 5 with a score of at least 4.5 in each of the four test components or equivalent unless they meet standard English exemptions available under the ENS program. Permanent residence ENS visa available after three year transitional period where a strong business case is provided.
Age	No age requirements for TSS visa. ENS visa nominees can be up to 60 years old – i.e. there is an age concession.
Other	Employers must identify nominees at the time of the request. The Department will not consider a MORLA while any immigration matter for a nominee is awaiting an outcome. Salaries must be paid from the organisation’s Australian bank account.