Vendor and OEM engineers brought to Australia to commission new equipment, or to run site acceptance testing, generally come in on a Subclass 400 Temporary Work (Short Stay Specialist) visa, the work is specialised, tied to a defined scope, and ends when the equipment is handed over. Resource Visa prepares these applications for Australian employers and for OEM service divisions mobilising into Australia.
Why it fits
Why commissioning often fits the Short Stay Specialist visa (subclass 400)
Commissioning often fits the 400 well, because the things the Department wants to see are inherent in the work.
The scope is defined by a commissioning plan or an acceptance test procedure. The end point is a handover certificate. The skill is tied to a specific make and model of equipment, usually with an OEM authorisation or certification attached. And the reason it cannot be done locally is simply that the manufacturer’s engineers are where the manufacturer is.
Who comes in
Who typically comes in
- Manufacturer’s commissioning engineers for rotating equipment, compressors and turbines
- Control systems and instrumentation engineers for DCS, SCADA and PLC commissioning
- Vendor engineers following FAT through to SAT on site
- Specialist integrators bringing packaged plant online
- Commissioning engineers for lithium, nickel and critical-minerals processing plant
The evidence
What the application has to prove
- The scope and its end point. The commissioning plan, the ATP, or the contract clause that defines completion.
- Why this engineer. OEM authorisation, certification, or the fact that the equipment is proprietary.
- Why not locally. Usually straightforward here, the manufacturer’s trained personnel sit with the manufacturer.
- The commercial consequence of delay. Late commissioning delays first production or handover. Where liquidated damages or a contractual milestone are attached, that is evidence and it should be quantified.
Long programs
Commissioning that runs longer than three months
This is where commissioning cases go wrong.
How long
Normally up to three months in any 12-month period, counting every 400 stay with any employer. Up to six months only in exceptional circumstances, on strong evidence. A specialist who has already spent time in Australia on a 400 in the last 12 months may be granted only the balance, so offshore and FIFO rosters that add up to more than three months a year need a different visa. Large commissioning programs often run longer, or run in phases across a year, and it is tempting to treat repeat 400s as the mechanism.
Where a program genuinely runs beyond three months, the honest options are a phased approach with different engineers covering different scopes, or a Subclass 482, sponsored by the business that employs the engineer or an associated entity, if the engagement is really ongoing. Splitting a program into phases works only where each phase is a genuinely separate scope, documented before anyone travels. If the specialist stays employed by an overseas business, a 482 needs that business to hold its own sponsorship approval, which is available only for limited purposes such as setting up an Australian operation or fulfilling a contract. Otherwise the worker is employed in Australia.
Program over three months? Read Short Stay Specialist visa (subclass 400) vs Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482).
Vendor employers
When the vendor is the employer
Often the engineer works for the equipment manufacturer overseas, not for the Australian site. That is a normal commissioning structure and it works, but the application has to describe the arrangement accurately, including who directs the work on site and who is responsible for the engineer while they are here.
For OEM service divisions mobilising into Australia repeatedly, we run preferred-supplier arrangements: one nominated contact, batch mobilisations against your project calendar, and a standing business-case template so each new engagement starts from a prepared position rather than a blank page.
Mobilise into Australia regularly? Ask about a preferred-supplier arrangement.
When the crew is engaged through a contractor
One point of control
The 400 is the specialist’s application. Run it from one desk.
Your company briefs us once. Your specialist deals with one desk and one document list. We build the business case with you and drive lodgement against your date.
The process
How a mobilisation runs
Triage call
The work, the site, the dates, the fit, and an honest read on whether the 400 is the right instrument.
One document request
A single consolidated list, not a drip-feed. The one variable nobody controls is how fast your documents reach us, which is why we ask for everything once.
Lodged
Business case assembled and evidenced, your review, then lodgement.
Ongoing
Standing arrangements
For OEM service divisions and shutdown contractors that mobilise repeatedly: preferred-supplier arrangements, batch mobilisations against your shutdown calendar, one nominated contact, and each specialist’s 400 history checked before every lodgement.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
For a defined commissioning or acceptance-testing scope, generally the subclass 400. The subclass 400 (Temporary Work (Short Stay Specialist)) visa is for short-term, highly specialised work in Australia where the skills aren’t readily available locally. There’s no formal labour market testing for a 400. The application still has to show why the skills aren’t readily available in Australia, and certification, OEM authorisation and licensing usually show that better than a job ad.
A visitor visa doesn’t allow work. Business visitors can make general business or employment enquiries; investigate, negotiate, enter into or review a business contract; take part in an official government-to-government visit; or attend a conference, trade fair or seminar if the organisers aren’t paying them. Hands-on activity, such as running or directing a test, a repair or commissioning, is work and needs a work visa.
The 400 covers up to three months and repeat applications attract closer review since September 2024. The realistic options are phasing the program across different engineers by scope, or a Subclass 482 if the engagement is genuinely ongoing.
It is a common structure. The application needs to set out the arrangement accurately, who directs the work on site, and who is responsible for the engineer during the engagement.
Yes. Preferred-supplier arrangements cover repeat mobilisers with one nominated contact, batch processing against your project calendar and a standing business-case template.
Reviewed by a Registered Migration Agent (MARN 1686595) · Last reviewed [date]
Keep reading
Related pages
Short Stay Specialist visa (subclass 400) vs Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482)
The difference between the Subclass 400 and the Subclass 482 for Australian employers: sponsorship, duration, obligations and process, compared.
Short Stay Specialist visa (subclass 400)
The subclass 400 (Temporary Work (Short Stay Specialist)) visa is for short-term, highly specialised work in Australia where the skills aren’t readily available locally.
Instrumentation & Controls Technicians
Bringing DCS, SCADA and PLC platform specialists to Australian sites. Why platform-specific expertise is usually the core of the case.
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