Complex Australia – Connecting Filipino Talent with Australian Opportunities

We begin with a detailed consultation to understand your company’s workforce needs, required qualifications, and compliance with Australian labour laws. Our team then initiates the accreditation and recruitment steps through our DMW-accredited Philippine partner agency.

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) is the official Philippine government agency responsible for protecting and facilitating overseas employment for Filipino workers.

Philippine law protects workers recruited for jobs abroad. Under section 126 of the 2023 DMW Rules, foreign employers may not hire Filipino workers directly, apart from narrow exceptions. Employers therefore recruit through a DMW-licensed Philippine agency and are accredited by the Migrant Workers Office (MWO) at the Philippine Embassy in Canberra, which checks that the company and the jobs are real and that the contract meets Philippine standards.

Only in limited cases. An employer that has hired no more than five Filipino workers directly and is not accredited with a Philippine agency can ask the MWO in Canberra to verify the contract of a worker who is still in the Philippines (MWO Advisory 03/2026). Other employers recruit through a DMW-licensed agency.

Obtaining accreditation from the DMW is an essential step before recruitment can begin in the Philippines. You send the job order, the master employment contract and the recruitment agreement with a DMW-licensed Philippine agency to the Migrant Workers Office (MWO) at the Philippine Embassy in Canberra, together with an affidavit of undertaking, your company profile, business registration, IDs and a copy of the agency’s DMW licence. The MWO verifies the three main documents. Accreditation is valid for up to five years.

Once you provide us with your qualifications and role requirements, we identify matching candidates from our extensive database. Our recruitment team conducts an initial screening and pre-interview to confirm that each worker’s skills and experience meet your expectations and align with their CVs. After pre-qualification, candidate profiles — including résumés, certificates and passport copies — are sent to you for review.

Interviews can be held in person through our partner agency in Manila or virtually via platforms such as Zoom or Google Meet. Our recruitment coordinators are always available to assist both employers and applicants throughout the interview process, ensuring everything runs smoothly.

If you have already found the workers you want to employ, we can help with the Philippine side. With no more than five workers you may be able to use the direct-hire route, where the MWO verifies each contract; otherwise you are first accredited with a licensed Philippine agency. We then contact the workers and collect their documents for processing.

From initial selection through to arrival in Australia, the full process generally takes around three to twelve months, depending on visa processing times and documentation requirements.

That depends on the employment contract and the visa. The Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) can be granted for up to four years, and after two years of full-time work you can nominate the worker for permanent residence (subclass 186). Visa extensions and nominations are handled by our partner migration lawyer, by your own registered migration agent or lawyer, or by you as the sponsor.

You pay the flights. For workers recruited from the Philippines, the MWO’s standard contract requires the employer to pay the airfare to Australia and back at the end of the contract and to provide accident insurance. Health insurance for the whole stay is a condition of the worker’s visa (condition 8501).

Yes. For workers recruited from the Philippines, the MWO’s standard contract provides free suitable housing and either free food or a food allowance.

Our partner migration lawyer, or your own registered migration agent or lawyer if you prefer. Under the Migration Act only a registered migration agent, an Australian lawyer or you as the sponsoring employer may prepare or advise on sponsorship, nomination and visa applications. Complex Australia is a recruitment company, not a migration agent, so we do not give visa advice ourselves. We find and test the candidates, handle the Philippine side and collect the candidates’ documents for the lawyer.