What an Employer Letter for Subclass 400 Must Say in 2026

A Subclass 400 employer letter has to do six things on the page: describe the position, duties or project; state the duration of the work; explain why the person is required to work in Australia; state support for the visa application; set out employment conditions and wages; and identify the Australian workplace standards or Industry Award that applies. That list is taken from the Department of Home Affairs official page for the Temporary Work (Short Stay Specialist) visa (Subclass 400), in the "Work documents" part of its step-by-step guide, as at the August 2026 official page. It also reflects the overview section of the same page, which states that employers must provide a contract or letter of offer. Of the six items, the third one — why the work must happen onshore — carries the most legal weight, because it maps onto clause 400.211(2) of the Migration Regulations 1994, which requires the applicant to demonstrate that there is a need for them to be in Australia to do the work.

What exactly does the Department ask the letter to show?

The official page lists the letter of invitation, job offer, employment contract or other document from an Australian organisation as the work document that must confirm the person has been employed to work in Australia. Any one of those document types can carry the content, so the question is not the label on the document but whether all six items appear in it.

What the letter must show	How it should read	What the decision maker is testing
Details of the position, duties or project of work	Specific tasks, equipment, systems or deliverables, not just a job title	Is the work highly specialised (clause 400.221)?
The duration of the work	A fixed start date and end date	Is the work non-ongoing and finishable within a continuous six months (clause 400.222)?
The reason the person is required to work in Australia	Why on-site presence, not remote delivery or a local hire	Is there a genuine need to be in Australia (clause 400.211(2))?
Support for the visa application	An explicit statement of support on the organisation's letterhead	Is there a real Australian organisation behind the engagement?
Employment conditions and wages	Pay rate, hours, leave and other terms	Do the terms match Australian workplace standards (clause 400.224)?
The Australian workplace standards or Industry Award that applies	Name the specific award or standards relied on	Which benchmark applies to this position?

A letter that covers five of the six is the most common shape of a weak application, because the missing item is usually the one that is hardest to prove from any other document.

Why does "the reason you are required to work in Australia" matter so much?

Because that sentence is where the employer, rather than the applicant, makes the argument. Clause 400.211 has two limbs: the applicant must have personal attributes or an employment background relevant to and consistent with the proposed work, and the applicant must demonstrate a need to be in Australia to do it. The second limb cannot be satisfied by a CV — it is satisfied by facts about the work site, the asset, the event or the task.

Department of Home Affairs policy guidance (PAM3) treats the related question of local availability as part of this assessment: whether the employer has genuinely tried to recruit in Australia, and whether the skill is one that the Australian labour market cannot reasonably supply for this timeframe. A bare statement that the company "needs" the person is treated as insufficient; the guidance points to recruitment advertising, communication with unions or industry bodies, and plans to train local workers as the kind of evidence that backs the claim.

Assume an applicant is a field engineer sent to commission a machine that has already been installed at an Australian plant. The need to be in Australia is straightforward: the machine is there, and commissioning requires physical access. Now assume the same job is framed as "provide technical guidance to the Australian team". Remote delivery becomes plausible and the need weakens. The difference is not the applicant's skill level, it is how the letter describes the work.

How should the position, duties and project be described?

In enough detail to show specialisation rather than general labour. Clause 400.221 requires the work itself to be highly specialised, and Department of Home Affairs policy guidance (PAM3) links that concept to occupations at skill levels 1 to 3 in the occupational classification, while allowing decision makers to assess roles without a classification — such as those resting on proprietary skills or knowledge — on their own evidence.

Two constraints sit inside the same subdivision and are worth checking against the letter's wording before it is signed:

Entertainment activities. Clause 400.223 excludes work as an entertainer, or directing, producing or participating in film, television, radio, theatre, concert or recording content for Australian audiences, subject to limited exceptions. A letter that describes the engagement in those terms points away from this visa.
Effect on the local labour market. Clause 400.224 requires that the applicant does not intend to undertake activity that would adversely affect the employment or training opportunities, or the employment conditions, of Australian citizens and permanent residents. Large team deployments, rotating crews and low-skilled tasks attract closer scrutiny under this clause, according to the policy guidance.

Clause 400.225 also excludes an intention to study a course leading to a school, degree, diploma, trade certificate or formal award, other than language training — rarely a matter for the employer letter, but relevant if the engagement is described as including training.

What duration wording keeps the letter consistent with the "non-ongoing" test?

Clause 400.222 requires the work to be capable of being completed within a continuous period of not more than six months, with no expectation or arrangement for the applicant to continue working in Australia for the same purpose afterwards. The official page is consistent with that: the visa allows a stay of up to six months depending on the circumstances.

Three details from the official page shape the dates in the letter:

The stay period starts on the first date of arrival in Australia and does not restart on each arrival.
The applicant must arrive within six months of the grant date, or a lesser period specified by the Minister.
The visa cannot be extended to allow a longer stay.

So the letter should carry a fixed end date, and that end date should match the contract. Open-ended language — "for as long as the project requires", "with possible extension" — works against clause 400.222 directly. Where the same specialist returns to Australia for repeated short visits, the policy guidance indicates that decision makers look at the pattern of previous stays and the total time worked in any twelve-month period, so the letter is better written as one discrete, bounded engagement than as part of a rolling arrangement.

What must the letter say about wages, conditions and the applicable Award?

Two items on the official list cover this: employment conditions and wages, and the Australian workplace standards or Industry Award that applies to the position. Naming the award is not optional furniture; it tells the decision maker which benchmark the pay rate is being measured against, and clause 400.224 ties the engagement to Australian employment conditions.

Department of Home Affairs policy guidance (PAM3) refers to the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold, stated there as AUD 73,150, as the pay floor it associates with work at skill levels 1 to 3, and indicates that a wage and job classification statement may be required for lower-skilled or longer-stay cases. Income thresholds change over time, so treat the figure above as indicative only. For pay rates, shift calculations, leave and notice entitlements, the official page points to the Fair Work Ombudsman's Pay and Conditions Tool (PACT).

Does the letter have to say it supports the visa application?

Yes — support for the visa application is one of the six listed items, and it is the one that is most often reduced to a single vague line. It should be explicit, on the organisation's letterhead, and signed by someone whose name and position are shown.

One boundary is worth keeping in view: the letter is a document from the employer about its own engagement, while anyone appointed to give immigration assistance must, on the official page, be a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person. A separate authorised recipient can be appointed to receive documents. The same page also warns that information provided must be accurate, and points to the consequences of not providing true information — an accurate letter protects both sides of the engagement.

What changes if the work is freelance?

Some freelance work may be allowed, and the official page gives the example of a freelance journalist or photographer undertaking a media assignment. In that situation the page requires a copy of the itinerary and the details of the work assignment instead of the usual employment framing. The six-item logic still applies: whoever is commissioning the work still has to say what will be done, over what dates, why it must happen in Australia, and on what terms.

Documents that are not in English need to be translated, and the official page sets out how: translators in Australia must be accredited by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters, while translators outside Australia must include their full name, address and telephone number, and their qualifications and experience in the language, in English on each translation.

The sections above describe how the published criteria read in general terms; they are not advice on any individual case, and the wording that fits one engagement may not fit another, so the official page, the Regulations and a qualified professional remain the reference points for a specific application.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the employer letter have to come from an Australian organisation?

The official page describes the document as a letter of invitation, job offer, employment contract or other document from an Australian organisation confirming they have employed the applicant to work in Australia. The invitation side of the six-item list — support for the visa application — is what connects the overseas worker to an Australian entity.

Can an employment contract replace the invitation letter?

Yes, in the sense that the official page accepts a job offer or employment contract as an alternative document type. What matters is content: the contract still has to show the position and duties, duration, the reason for working in Australia, support for the application, employment conditions and wages, and the applicable award or standards.

How long can the work run before it stops being short stay?

Clause 400.222 requires the work to be non-ongoing and capable of completion within a continuous period of not more than six months, with no arrangement to continue afterwards. The official page states the visa allows a stay of up to six months depending on the circumstances, and that the visa cannot be extended.

Does the letter have to state a salary figure?

The official page requires the letter to show employment conditions and wages plus the Australian workplace standards or Industry Award that applies, so a pay rate is part of the expected content. Department of Home Affairs policy guidance (PAM3) associates a threshold — stated there as AUD 73,150 — with work at skill levels 1 to 3; that figure is indicative only.

Can someone be paid to write the letter or prepare the application?

Preparing the employer's own letter is part of the employer documenting its engagement. Providing immigration assistance is restricted under the official page to registered migration agents, legal practitioners and exempt persons, and anyone can be appointed separately to receive documents.

What if the letter is not in English?

It needs to be translated, and both the original and the translation should be provided. Translators in Australia must be accredited by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters; translators outside Australia must include their name, address, telephone number and language qualifications in English on each translation.

Do family members included in the application need anything from the employer?

The official page requires applicants to show they can support themselves and any family they bring, and it allows allowances, accommodation and other help from the employer to be considered as part of that. Family members included in the application are not permitted to work or study, except to do a language training program.