Overseas non-destructive testing (NDT) inspectors brought in for an Australian shutdown or inspection campaign generally come in on a Subclass 400 Temporary Work (Short Stay Specialist) visa, where the campaign has a defined end date. Resource Visa prepares these applications for Australian resources employers and inspection contractors. We also flag the certification question early, because it can stop an inspector signing off work even after the visa is granted.
Every engagement starts with an employer. We don’t take on individuals seeking a visa on their own. If you need help with your own visa, you can search the Register of Migration Agents at mara.gov.au.
The shortage
Why shutdown season runs short of NDT inspectors
A shutdown is when inspection access exists, so inspection demand lands on the same few weeks every year. Every operator in the region wants certified inspectors in the same window, and local capacity runs out just when it’s needed most.
The squeeze is tightest in the advanced methods. Phased array ultrasonics (PAUT) and time-of-flight diffraction (TOFD) need their own qualification, and the pool of people holding them is small and committed well ahead of time.
Who it’s for
Who this page is for
- Operators planning shutdown or turnaround inspection scopes
- Inspection contractors who’ve won more scope than they can staff with local certified inspectors
- Asset integrity teams bringing in method specialists for a specific campaign
The right visa
Which visa applies to NDT inspectors
For a defined inspection campaign with an end date, the Subclass 400 Temporary Work (Short Stay Specialist) visa generally applies. It covers specialised, non-ongoing work, employer-backed, no sponsorship approval needed.
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. We establish the specialist’s full 400 history before anything is lodged.
For an ongoing inspection role within your team, the pathway is the Subclass 482 Skills in Demand visa, sponsored by the business that employs the inspector or an associated entity. 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.
Methods
“NDT inspector” isn’t one skill: name the methods
The strongest thing you can do for an NDT application is to be specific. Naming the methods and levels turns a general job title into a documented specialist skill.
Methods
Ultrasonic, radiography, magnetic particle, dye penetrant, eddy current, and advanced methods such as PAUT and TOFD. List the methods the campaign actually needs.
Certification and level
The certification (ISO 9712, ASNT or PCN) and the level (1, 2 or 3) for each method, per person.
The local search
What local sourcing actually returned for those methods in that window. Document it rather than asserting nobody was available.
Bringing in an inspection team
A crew on one project is assessed as one case: why this many people, why none locally, and what happens when they leave. We build one project-level business case and evidence it consistently across every applicant.
What a delayed inspection costs
Extended shutdown days, lost production per day, the restart date at risk. Quantify them.
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.
Certification
Will overseas NDT certification be accepted on your job?
This is where NDT mobilisations get caught out, so settle it before you engage anyone.
Overseas NDT certification isn’t automatically accepted for all Australian work. Whether it’s enough depends on:
- the standard the work is performed to
- your client’s specification
- the regulatory regime the asset sits under
Australia’s standard for NDT personnel certification is AS ISO 9712, which replaced AS 3998. ASNT SNT-TC-1A certification is employer-based and usually doesn’t carry over when an inspector changes employer, so check what your client’s specification accepts.
That check isn’t part of the visa process, and it runs on its own timeline. An inspector can be granted a visa, arrive, and still not be able to sign off inspections on your job. Check what your specification requires with your integrity team first.
Documents
What you’ll need to pull together
- Each inspector’s certifications, by method and level
- Work history showing relevant campaigns and asset types
- The inspection scope, the site and the campaign dates
- Your client or integrity team’s certification requirements for the job
- Who employs the inspectors and who directs the work
- What local sourcing returned
Common mistakes
Where NDT applications go wrong
- Certification assumed to be portable. Check it against your client’s specification before anyone flies.
- Methods not specified. An application that just says “NDT inspector” makes a weaker case than one naming PAUT Level 2 to ISO 9712.
- Booked too late in shutdown season. When everyone needs inspectors in the same few weeks, the late files have the least room to move.
- Crew changes after lodgement. A replacement inspector needs a new application of their own.
How we help
How Resource Visa helps
For NDT campaigns, we build the case around the methods and certifications, raise the certification question on day one, and prepare the whole inspection team as a batch against your shutdown dates. For inspection contractors who mobilise every season, standing arrangements give you one contact and a business case ready to go.
The process
How a mobilisation runs
Same-business-day triage.
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 within two business days of a complete file.
For crews, we agree the lodgement timetable at triage.
Business case assembled and evidenced, your review, then lodgement. That’s how fast we work. Decisions and processing times rest with the Department of Home Affairs.
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.
Enquiries after 3pm AWST, on weekends or on WA public holidays are triaged the next business day.
When the Short Stay Specialist visa (subclass 400) is the wrong visa for NDT work
If you need the inspector year-round, or the same person keeps coming back for campaign after campaign, the 400 isn’t the right fit. We’ll say so on the first call and set out the 482 pathway instead.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
For a defined campaign, generally a Subclass 400. An ongoing inspection role is a Subclass 482 matter.
Not automatically for all work. Whether ISO 9712, ASNT or PCN certification is enough depends on the standard the work is done to and the client specification. Check this separately from the visa, before you engage the inspector.
Possibly. 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.
Yes. Naming the methods and levels turns a general job title into a documented specialist skill.
As early as the scope allows. Demand lands in the same windows every year, which squeezes everything: visa preparation, certification checks and the inspectors’ own availability.
Generally, yes, provided the application accurately sets out who employs the inspectors and who directs the work on your site.
Same-business-day triage. One document request. Lodged within two business days of a complete file. For crews, we agree the lodgement timetable at triage. That’s how fast we work. Decisions and processing times rest with the Department of Home Affairs. Enquiries after 3pm AWST, on weekends or on WA public holidays are triaged the next business day.
Reviewed by a Registered Migration Agent (MARN 1686595) · Last reviewed [date]
Keep reading
Related pages
Shutdowns & Turnarounds
Bringing overseas specialists in for a plant shutdown or turnaround. What the Subclass 400 covers, how far ahead to start, and what happens when the date moves.
Rope Access Technicians
Bringing IRATA or SPRAT certified rope access technicians onto Australian resources projects. Which visa applies, what to evidence, and the ticket trap.
Oil & Gas
Resource Visa mobilises specialist personnel into Australian oil and gas operations.
Why Resource Visa
Migration advice that understands what’s riding on the project.
A visa application is rarely just forms: behind it sits a shutdown window, a commissioning milestone or a contract deadline.
Resource Visa brings migration expertise together with corporate and commercial experience, so the application is approached in the context of the business requirement behind it.
Our focus is the company bringing the specialist into Australia, not high-volume individual migration.
We understand the environments behind the visa request: shutdowns, maintenance, commissioning and project mobilisation.
Short of NDT inspectors for shutdown season?
Tell us the methods, the dates and the site. We’ll tell you what the visa needs and what to check on certification before anyone flies. Briefing us against next season’s shutdown calendar, not the week before, is the calm version.
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm AWST