Protocol Guidelines
10. PRIVATE DOMESTIC EMPLOYEES
10.2 DFAT approval and visa application
10.4 Terms of the work arrangement
10.5 Visa issue
10.6 Arrival and departure procedures
10.7 Replacement visas
10.9 Dependants of domestic staff
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 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, 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. 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 them in another language.
Foreign officials who are permitted to bring private domestic employees to Australia are required to enter into an employment agreement that is in accordance with the standards for wages and conditions provided for under relevant Australian legislation and awards. They are also expected to demonstrate respect for Australian laws and good employer practice.
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. In exceptional circumstances, if an officer can demonstrate a need for additional staff which cannot be met in any other way, the Department may consider approving more than the usual number of private domestic employees.
Officials may employ private employees from their own or another country. Prospective employees must be over 18 years of age and must not be related to the employer or spouse. Domestic employees are not eligible to be accompanied by dependants in Australia.
10.2 DFAT approval and visa application
Formal requests to bring private domestic employees to Australia should be sent by note verbale 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 and employee are not related to each other. Protocol Branch will provide confirmation to the relevant mission, post or foreign ministry as to 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 (see Section 10.5) 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. 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 character checks before a visa can be approved. The visa processes may take up to six weeks, or longer in some cases. Comprehensive information about the visa application process is available on the DIAC website.
10.3 The employment agreement
The employer and the employee must enter into an employment agreement that accords with the standards for wages and working conditions provided for under relevant Australian legislation and awards, and both parties must sign a declaration to confirm this. Information about DIAC requirements regarding the employment agreement can be found on the DIAC website. The employer and employee declarations can also be downloaded from the DIAC website.
The employment agreement should be in English, or, if it is drafted in another language, a translation into English should be made. The agreement would form the basis for negotiation between employer and employee in the event that an employment dispute arises. 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 agreement may affect any subsequent requests to employ a domestic worker.
10.4 Terms of the work arrangement
The subclass 426 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 full time 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.
10.5 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 authorise multiple entries and will be valid for a stay of up to two years.
It is essential that a private domestic employee’s visa be kept valid. If it expires, the holder will be regarded by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) as an unlawful non-citizen and may be detained or required to leave Australia, at the employer’s cost.
10.6 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.
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.
Should the contract be terminated early or the employment arrangement break 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 employerbut does not leave Australia. In these circumstances, the employer must provide advice immediately to allow necessary visa action to be undertaken.
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, whether this coincides with or precedes the sponsor’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.
10.7 Replacement visas
A subclass 426 visa holder may apply for a new visa for up to two years to continue working in the household of the diplomatic/consular employer. A new application will entail a full medical check, new police clearances and employer and employee declarations, and such other conditions as DIAC may require (see the DIAC website for details). Applicants may 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 note verbale advising of the intention to seek a new visa should be sent to Protocol Branch or the relevant DFAT state / territory office
- once Protocol Branch has confirmed the identity and eligibility of the employer, the employee should lodge his/her subclass 426 visa application at DIAC’s ACT and Regions Office are:
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 6274 4577
On completion of DIAC processing, if all relevant visa criteria are met, a new visa may be issued for another stay of up to two years.
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.
10.8 Transfers and extensions
Because the household of the head of a diplomatic mission or a career head of a consular post has special 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 DFAT, a new visa application must be lodged with DIAC for the private domestic employee.
The 426 visa is a temporary resident visa. The Department expects employers to make appropriate arrangements to replace private domestic employees who may have received multiple consecutive 426 visas, whether for the same employer or several employers.
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.
10.9 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.