How do officers assess whether a 407 nomination is a real training opportunity in 2026?

Officers decide this question at the nomination stage, before any visa application exists. Under regulation 2.72A(16) of the Migration Regulations 1994, the nomination must be for a genuine training opportunity rather than work in disguise, and the Department's Procedures Advice Manual (PAM3) converts that single phrase into an item-by-item check: the training must be structured, tailored to the individual, delivered at least 70% in the workplace, and run for at least 30 hours a week (PAM3 3.3.4.13, 3.3.5.2). The Department of Home Affairs Training visa (subclass 407) page describes the visa as letting you visit Australia to do workplace-based training to improve your skills in your current occupation, area of tertiary study or field of expertise, or to complete a professional development training program — and the page states plainly that "this visa is not for ongoing work in Australia."

What follows describes how these criteria are framed generally, not how any particular nomination will be decided; anyone applying them to a real file should check the Department's current pages or get help from someone lawfully able to give immigration assistance.

What does a "real training opportunity" mean at the nomination stage?

Nomination is the point where the sponsor tells the Department who they want to train and what the training is. The Department's official page lists exactly what is expected at that step: details of the intended trainee, details of the training including its purpose or type, and how and where the training will happen. A Commonwealth Government agency sponsor does not need a nomination at all; every other sponsor does, and the nomination must be approved before the visa application can be made.

The officer's assessment follows a fixed sequence set out in the regulations and PAM3: confirm the sponsor is an approved temporary activities sponsor (regulation 2.72A(3)); check the nomination was made through the correct process (regulation 2.72A(4)); test it against each nomination type in regulation 2.72B; and then examine the training program's detail, structure, duration and genuineness. Functional English, adverse information about the sponsor, and the "no detrimental effect" test are assessed alongside. Genuineness is therefore not a single yes/no box — it is the conclusion drawn from how the whole file hangs together.

How is the 70% workplace requirement measured?

PAM3 3.3.5.2 defines workplace-based training with two numbers working together: at least 30 hours per week, and at least 70% of the training taking place in the workplace rather than in a classroom or similar teaching environment. Officers are also directed to separate the hours that are practical work from the hours spent being instructed, guided or observed, so a plan that labels every hour "training" without showing that split looks weaker than one that allocates them explicitly.

This is the part of the file most often settled by arithmetic. A program of 30 hours a week in which 21 or more hours are on the job satisfies the ratio; a program built around classroom modules, online modules or shadowing with little hands-on responsibility does not. Evidence that helps here is a week-by-week plan showing locations, hours and who supervises each block.

What makes a training plan count as structured and individual?

For nomination types 2 and 3, PAM3 3.3.5.3 requires the plan to contain training objectives, an assessment of the nominee's current skills, a training needs analysis, a pathway of tasks with timeframes, and a supervision and evaluation mechanism. Tasks are expected to move from simpler to more complex, and to be supervised by a suitably qualified person.

"Individual" is the operative word. A plan that reads as if it could be handed to any trainee in the organisation — the same objectives, the same modules, the same timeline — is the one officers are most likely to read as labour placement rather than training. PAM3 flags repeated nominations from the same sponsor and generic training plans as indicators that the arrangement is really about filling a position. The counter-evidence is specificity: what this person already does, what gap the training closes, why it has to happen in Australia, and how progress will be measured.

How do the three nomination types change the test?

The type chosen sets which extra criteria apply, and officers must work through the types rather than stop at the first one that fails (PAM3 3.3.5.1).

Nomination type	What it covers	Additional tests the officer applies
Occupational training required for registration	Training needed to obtain registration	Nominee must have appropriate qualifications or experience (regulation 2.72B(2)(e)); duration must match the registration requirement, taking the nominee's existing experience into account
Occupational training to improve skills in an eligible occupation	Skills improvement in a listed occupation	Occupation must be on the MLTSSL, ROL or STSOL as specified by the relevant legislative instrument; nominee needs at least 12 months full-time equivalent relevant experience in the 24 months before nomination (regulation 2.72B(3)(c))
Occupational training for capacity building overseas	Overseas qualification, government support, or professional development	Professional development is mainly face-to-face classroom delivery (at least 55%), for nominees in managerial or professional roles with an overseas employer, and must relate to that employer's business

ANZSCO is used as the reference point for occupation skill level and task descriptions. For type 2, the main duties must correspond to the nominated occupation, though PAM3 allows tasks to touch other ANZSCO codes where the primary duties still match.

Where do officers look for signs that the nomination is really labour supply?

Two directions of inquiry run through the assessment.

The first is the no-detriment test in regulation 2.72A(13) and PAM3 3.3.4.10: whether the training would replace an existing Australian citizen or permanent resident employee, whether comparable training opportunities are given to Australian staff, and whether the sponsor is using government-funded services without paying for them in full.

The second is control and delivery. Regulation 2.72A(12) requires the training to be provided directly by the sponsor, unless a Commonwealth agency support letter is relied on, the arrangement is specified in a legislative instrument, or another specified situation applies. Where several providers are involved, the sponsor must show it retains sufficient control over the training (PAM3 3.3.4.9, 3.3.4.15). A Commonwealth agency support letter is valid for 12 months and must carry specified content, including the training's nature, the arrangements and a statement about the absence of detrimental effect. Unpaid arrangements attract extra scrutiny: PAM3 3.3.4.16 expects documentation on the lawfulness of the unpaid placement under the Fair Work Act, and reasonable accommodation from the sponsor under regulation 2.85.

How is the length of the training assessed?

Training duration must be justified by its purpose rather than chosen for convenience. For type 1, the period should line up with what registration actually requires, discounted for experience the nominee already has. For types 2 and 3, duration follows the identified training need. The visa itself may be granted for up to two years (clause 407.511), and officers may allow a stay of up to two months beyond the training program itself — for example to finish registration requirements, arrange departure or lodge another visa application (PAM3 3.3.6.1, 3.3.7.2).

A mismatch is itself evidence. A six-week training need presented as an 18-month program, or a two-year program with no milestones, invites the question of what the nominee will actually be doing for most of that time.

What happens when officers are not satisfied?

They are expected to ask before refusing. PAM3 3.3.4.14 requires officers to request further information in writing where it is needed to decide a nomination; the sponsor then has 28 days to respond, and that period can be extended for a reasonable reason. At the visa stage, further information can be requested under section 56 of the Migration Act 1958, and where the officer intends to rely on adverse information, the applicant must be given a chance to comment on it.

If the sponsorship application itself is refused or withdrawn, the nomination is to be marked as otherwise finalised and the nomination fee refunded (PAM3 3.3.4.3). A refused visa application carries written reasons and information about review rights, and the official page notes the application charge is not refunded in that case.

What actually strengthens a nomination file?

Read the criteria as an officer reads them and the answer is mostly about internal consistency:

A plan that names objectives tied to this nominee's assessed skill gaps, not to the team's workload.
A timetable that shows the 30-hour week and the 70% workplace split, with classroom and supervised practice hours kept separate.
Named supervisors with their qualifications, plus a stated method and schedule for evaluating progress.
Evidence supporting the type-specific tests: registration requirements, ANZSCO correspondence and the 12 months of relevant experience for type 2, or the managerial or professional role and overseas employer link for professional development.
Full details of every employer or training provider, the relationship between them and the training locations, plus any Commonwealth agency support letter within its 12-month validity.
For unpaid placements, the Fair Work documentation and the sponsor's accommodation undertaking.

The common thread is that a real training opportunity can be described without referring to the sponsor's staffing needs. If the strongest argument for the nomination is that the position needs someone, the genuineness test is already in trouble.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is genuineness assessed on the nomination or on the visa application?

Both, but the substantive examination of the training itself happens on the nomination. The Department's official page sets out that the nomination is where the sponsor gives details of the trainee, the training and how and where it will occur, and it must be approved before a visa application can be made. The visa stage then checks that the approved nomination is still in force and that the applicant meets the criteria in Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994.

Does the 70% rule apply to the program as a whole or to each week?

PAM3 3.3.5.2 states both elements together: workplace-based training is at least 70% in the workplace rather than a classroom, and at least 30 hours per week. A file is strongest when the weekly timetable shows the split rather than leaving the officer to average it out across the program.

Can a trainee be paid during a 407 program?

The criteria are concerned with whether the arrangement is training rather than ordinary employment, not with payment as such. Where the placement is unpaid, PAM3 3.3.4.16 expects evidence of the arrangement's lawfulness under the Fair Work Act, the relevant forms, and reasonable accommodation from the sponsor under regulation 2.85.

What if a nomination fits none of the three types?

PAM3 3.3.5.1 directs officers to assess the other types before refusing, so a program that fails one type should still be tested against the remaining two. If none fits, the nomination cannot be approved, because regulation 2.72B requires the training to be one of the three types: training required for registration, training to improve skills in an eligible occupation, or training for capacity building overseas.

Can the visa run longer than the training program?

Yes, by up to two months. PAM3 3.3.6.1 and 3.3.7.2 allow that extra period so the person can complete registration, arrange departure or apply for another visa, but the visa grant itself cannot exceed two years.

Is functional English checked at the nomination stage?

Yes. Regulation 2.72A(14) is part of the nomination criteria, and PAM3 3.3.4.11 allows functional English to be established through approved test results, at least two years of full-time study in English for a degree or diploma, a passport from the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, New Zealand or the Republic of Ireland, or an interview where the Minister is satisfied.