10. Private domestic employees
Missions and posts and their staff may employ Australian nationals or permanent residents as domestic staff without restriction. Individuals, agencies and contractors offering a range of household services such as cleaning, ironing, gardening and maintenance may be found through local newspapers and telephone directories. Caterers and wait staff for receptions and other functions and suitably qualified drivers may be hired locally on an ad hoc or ongoing basis. Accredited child care providers are also available to meet full time, part time or occasional childcare needs.
Household staff or drivers who are nationals of and employed by the sending State's mission may be nominated as members of the service staff of a mission or post. Service staff must be notified according to the processes outlined in Chapter 4. As with diplomatic visa holders, Service staff are expected to depart Australia on completion of a normal posting period and, at a maximum, may remain in Australia for ten years.
Household staff employed directly by eligible foreign officials may be brought to Australia under diplomatic or consular privilege subject to certain conditions being satisfied. Grant of entry to Australia for such private domestic employees is contingent on Protocol Branch agreement and the fulfilment of a range of immigration requirements and other conditions by both employer and employee (see Section 10.5 below). An approved private domestic employee may not work outside the household of the sponsoring diplomatic or consular official. The Department encourages employers to ensure their domestic staff have a basic understanding of English, or at least, the ability to communicate with their employer in another language.
Foreign officials who are permitted to bring private domestic employees to Australia are required to enter into an employment contract that is in accordance with Australian employment laws, and incorporates local standards for wages and employment conditions Please note that each state and territory has its own legislations and awards which need to be complied with, in addition to any Federal (or Commonwealth) laws.. The office of the Fairwork Ombudsman is able to provide advice about wages and entitlements (Phone: 131394 or website: www.fwo.gov.au).
10.1 Eligibility of employers
Heads of diplomatic missions, other members of the diplomatic staff, career heads of consular posts and career consular officers may apply to bring private domestic employees to Australia. Administrative and Technical staff and consular employees are not eligible for this privilege.
In general, the Department is prepared to approve up to three private domestic employees for heads of diplomatic missions, up to two for career heads of consular posts and one for other eligible officials. Only in exceptional circumstances, if an officer can demonstrate a need for additional staff which cannot be met in any other way, will the Department consider approving more than the usual number of private domestic employees.
Foreign officials may employ private employees from their own or another country. It is the responsibility of missions to establish that the private domestic employee who is being nominated is qualified to perform the duties which they have been employed to do. The Department strongly encourages foreign officials only to employ private domestic workers from countries which have substantive diplomatic or consular representation in Australia. Prospective employees must be over 18 years of age and must not be related to the employer or employer's spouse.
10.2 Dependants of domestic staff
Australian migration regulations do not permit dependants of private domestic employees to accompany them to Australia unless they are approved as private domestic employees in their own right.
10.3 DFAT approval and visa application
Formal requests to bring private domestic employees to Australia should be sent by diplomatic note to Protocol Branch or the nearest Australian diplomatic mission or consular post. The note should advise the name and position held in the mission of the employer, as well as the prospective employee's details, including name, date and place of birth, nationality and current place of residence. The note should also confirm that the employer, (or employers spouse) and the employee are not related to each other. Protocol Branch will provide confirmation to the relevant mission, post or foreign ministry whether the employer is entitled to bring a private domestic worker from abroad. It will also inform the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) of the entitlement.
Once Protocol Branch has confirmed the eligibility of the employer for the proposed arrangement, the prospective employee should apply to DIAC for a subclass 426 visa by completing an Application to Enter Australia for Temporary Residence (DIAC Form 147 - pdf) and submitting it, together with the visa processing fee, to an Australian diplomatic mission or consular post or, if in Australia, directly to the ACT and Regions Office of DIAC (see contact details in Section 10.8 below).
DIAC will require a number of conditions to be satisfied before a visa is granted. The applicant will be required to obtain a medical clearance (including a chest x-ray) and complete a police character checks before a visa can be approved. The visa process may take up to six weeks, or longer in some cases. Comprehensive information about the visa application process is available from DIAC.
10.4 The employment agreement
The employer and the employee must enter into an employment contract that accords with the standards for wages and employment conditions provided for under Australian laws. Both parties must sign a declaration to confirm this. The employer and employee declarations can also be downloaded from DIAC. As noted above, the office of the Fairwork Ombudsman can provide advice about relevant Australian wages and employment conditions.
The employment agreement should be in English, or, if it is drafted in another language, an English translation should be included. The contract should include the employee's basic conditions of employment. While the department regards any dispute between the employer and the employee as a private legal matter, employment disputes or lack of good faith on the part of the employer in implementing the contract may affect any subsequent requests to employ a domestic worker.
10.5 Terms of the work arrangement
The subclass 426 visa (Australian temporary residence visa) entitles a foreign domestic worker to be employed full time and exclusively in the household of his/her employer from the diplomatic or consular corps. Subclass 426 visa holders must:
- not undertake study
- not work outside the employer's household
- not transfer to another household without approval in advance from Protocol Branch
- maintain valid travel documents, including visas
- leave Australia at the conclusion of employment, or when their employer leaves, whichever is earlier.
10.6 Visa issue
When approved, a private domestic employee will be granted an Australian temporary residence visa (subclass 426) for travel to Australia. The visa will usually authorise multiple entries and will be valid for the length of the employer's posting.
Any queries relating to private domestic applications lodged in Australia should be directed to the ACT and Regions Office of DIAC (tel.02 6195 6114) or e-mail client.services.act@immi.gov.au. Enquires about visa applications lodged overseas should be directed to the DIAC office of the relevant Australian mission.
10.7 Arrival and departure procedures
Missions and posts are required to notify Protocol Branch or the relevant state or territory office of the initial arrival in Australia of a private domestic employee, using the Notification of Arrival of Private Domestic Staff form (Form C at Appendix 3 - pdf). The form should be signed by the employee and the employer. Private domestic employees are encouraged to provide details of their next of kin, and to register with their country's diplomatic or consular mission in Australia in case they require consular assistance.
Protocol Branch will process the arrival forms and provide a domestic kit for new domestic employees. Protocol Branch will advise the relevant mission once the kit is ready for collection and will require the domestic employee to collect the kit personally.
Private domestic employees are required to leave Australia when they cease to be employed in their employer's household or at the conclusion of the employer's posting, whichever is earlier (See Section 10.5).
If the contract is terminated or if the employment arrangement breaks down, it is the employer's responsibility to inform Protocol Branch or the relevant DFAT state or territory office of the situation without delay. This is particularly important if the employee leaves the employer's household without notice or ceases work for the employer but does not leave Australia. In these circumstances, the employer must immediately advise the Department to allow necessary action to be taken.
If the employee leaves the employer's household without notice and there is no further contact between the employer and employee, it is the responsibility of the employer to attend a police station and file a missing person report.
A Notification of Completion of Employment / Departure of Private Domestic Employee form (Form G at Appendix 7 - pdf) must be completed and sent to Protocol Branch or the relevant DFAT state or territory office, promptly on the departure of the private domestic employee from Australia or the employer's household, whether this coincides with or precedes the employer's departure. In exceptional cases where the Department approves the transfer of a private domestic worker to another employer, departure and arrival forms should be completed in respect of the worker's completion of duty for the first employer and commencement of duty for the new one.
The Department expects the employer to cover the cost of travel (arrival and departure) of his/her private domestic employees as part of the contractual agreement. It is not the responsibility of the domestic employee to pay for their own airfares or to have to reimburse the employer.
10.8 Replacement visas
It is essential that a private domestic employee holds a valid visa. If it expires, the holder will be regarded by DIAC as an unlawful non-citizen and may be detained or required to leave Australia, at the employer's cost.
A subclass 426 visa holder may apply for a new visa to continue working in the household of the diplomatic/consular employer. A new application will entail a full medical check, new police checks and employer and employee declarations, and such other conditions as DIAC may require Applicants may also be required to attend an interview with DIAC. The process should be commenced well in advance of the expiry date of the existing visa. Following is a summary of the steps that should be followed to obtain new visas:
- six weeks before the expiry of the private domestic employee's visa, a diplomatic note advising of the intention to seek a new visa should be sent to Protocol Branch or the relevant DFAT state or territory office
- once Protocol Branch has confirmed the identity and eligibility of the employer, the employee should lodge his or her subclass 426 visa application at DIAC's ACT and Regions Office:
Postal address:
Department of Immigration and Citizenship
ACT and Regions Office
Client Services
GPO Box 717
Canberra ACT 2601
Street address:
3 Lonsdale Street
Braddon ACT 2612
Fax: 02 6195 6104
Phone: 02 6195 6114
On completion of DIAC processing, if all relevant visa criteria are met, a new visa may be issued for a period consistent with the length of the posting of the current employer.
Consular employers should contact the relevant DFAT state or territory office for guidance and assistance with the provision of new visas for private domestic employees.
10.9 Transfers and extensions
Head of Mission or Head of Post
Because the household of the head of a diplomatic mission or a career head of a consular post has particular needs, a Head of Mission or Head of Post may submit a request that private domestic employees be permitted to remain in the household beyond his/her own departure and transferred to employment by his/her successor. A request for transfer should be submitted to Protocol Branch well in advance of the Head of Mission's / Head of Post's departure. If the transfer is approved in principle by the Department, a new visa application must be lodged with DIAC's ACT and Regions Office for the private domestic employee.
Other Foreign Officials
Any transfer of private domestic employees between households, other than for Head of Mission / Head of Post as set out above, should not be initiated until the full circumstances have been presented to, and approved by Protocol Branch.