For the 188A – Business Innovation Stream
Application must meet the Home Affairs requirements for the Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188A) – Business Innovation stream.
NSW additional Criteria
Personal background
You must be under 50 years of age and have:
- a bachelor’s degree recognised as equivalent to the Australian standard, or
- In the past 10 years have at least:
- 3 years of business experience in a NSW target sector, or
- 5 years of business experience in a non-target sector
Personal and business assets
You must have combined net personal and business assets of:
- A$1,750,000 – Sydney
- A$1,250,000 – Regional NSW
Business turnover
You must have a qualifying ownership stake in up to two businesses that have a combined annual turnover of the below amount in two of the four most recent fiscal years:
- A$1,250,000 – Sydney
- A$750,000 – Regional NSW
Points test
Your SkillSelect EOI must show a minimum score of 65 points.
Applications showing the following will be prioritised:
- 15 points for business experience, or
- Points for business innovation qualifications
NSW target sectors
Sydney
Sydney target sectors include:
- Advanced manufacturing
- Food and beverage manufacturing
- Agricultural technology
- Aerospace and defence
- Renewable energy and sustainability
- Emerging digital technology
- Cyber security
- Medtech
Regional NSW
Regional NSW target sectors include those for Sydney in addition to:
- Technology-enabled primary industries
- Critical minerals
- Recycling and waste management
Business requirements
Your business plan
You must provide a business proposal that clearly describes how your business will contribute to the NSW economy and create new jobs.
Creating new jobs in NSW
You must create a minimum of two new full time equivalent jobs.
If you are purchasing an existing business
You must show growth in the business since taking over through either an:
- increase in annual turnover of at least 10%, or
- increase in business assets of at least 25%
Exemption
You may be exempt from the job creation and business growth requirement if your eligible business:
- has implemented innovative practices that did not previously exist in the marketplace, or
- is located in Regional NSW and trades primarily in a Regional NSW target sector
Business investment
NSW will refuse your nomination application for a permanent visa (subclass 888) if during your provisional visa you have not a made a business investment of:
- $A500,000 – Sydney
- $A300,000 – Regional NSW
Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188B) – Investor stream
Meet the Home Affairs requirements for the Business Innovation and Investment (provisional) visa (subclass 188) – Investor stream.
NSW Additional Criteria:
Personal background
You must be under 50 years of age and have either:
- a bachelor’s degree recognised as equivalent to the Australian standard, or
- in the past 10 years have at least:
- 5 years of successful investment history, or
- 3 years work experience in a NSW target sector, or
- 5 years work experience in a non-target sector
Investment background
For at least one of the five most recent fiscal years, you have directly managed one of the following:
- a qualifying business in which you, your partner, or you and your partner together had at least 10% ownership interest, or
- an eligible investment of at least A$1,500,000 owned by you, your partner, or you and your partner together
Net assets
For the two most recent fiscal years, you, your partner, or you and your partner together have combined personal and business net assets of at least A$2,500,000.
Complying investments
You must make a complying significant investment of at least A$2,500,000 and have a genuine intention to hold that investment for the life of your provisional visa.
It must be invested in the following proportions:
- at least A$500,000 in venture capital and growth private equity funds which invest in start-ups and small private companies
- at least A$750,000 in approved managed funds. The managed funds must invest in emerging companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange
- a ‘balancing investment’ of at least A$1,250,000 in managed funds
Investing in NSW
To qualify for NSW nomination, you must show that your complying investments will make a contribution to the NSW economy.
NSW will refuse your nomination application for a permanent visa (subclass 888) if you cannot show your complying investments meet the following criteria:
Venture Capital and Growth Private Equity investment
At least 50% of your venture capital component must be invested in:
- a venture capital fund investing in startups and
small-to-medium enterprises in NSW, or - a venture capital limited partnership that sources investments in NSW
Emerging companies
At least 50% of the emerging companies component must be invested in emerging companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange that are headquartered in NSW.
Balancing investment
At least 50% of your balancing investments must bring benefits to NSW. This can be shown where:
- the funds have an office in NSW; or
- the business of underlying investment is headquartered in NSW; or
- the business activities of underlying investment are of economic benefit to NSW
Living in NSW
You must have a genuine commitment to reside in NSW and contribute to NSW through your investment activity.
Points test
Your SkillSelect EOI must show a minimum score of 65 points. Applications showing the following will be prioritised:
- Points in investor experience, or
- 35 points in financial assets, or
- Points for business innovation qualifications
NSW target sectors
Sydney
Sydney target sectors include:
- Advanced manufacturing
- Food and beverage manufacturing
- Agricultural technology
- Aerospace and defence
- Renewable energy and sustainability
- Emerging digital technology
- Cyber security
- Medtech
Regional NSW
Regional NSW target sectors include those for Sydney in addition to:
- Technology-enabled primary industries
- Critical minerals
- Recycling and waste management
Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188C) – Significant Investor stream
You must meet the Home Affairs requirements for the Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) – Significant Investor stream.
Age
There is no age limit for this visa stream and you are not required to meet the Home Affairs points test.
Complying investments
You must make a complying significant investment of at least A$5,000,000 and have a genuine intention to hold that investment for the life of your provisional visa.
It must be invested in the following proportions:
- at least A$1,000,000 in venture capital and growth private equity funds which invest in start-ups and small private companies
- at least A$1,500,000 in approved managed funds. The managed funds must invest in emerging companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange
- a ‘balancing investment’ of at least A$2,500,000 in managed funds
Investing in NSW
To qualify for NSW nomination, you must show that your complying investments will make a contribution to the NSW economy.
NSW will refuse your nomination application for a permanent visa (subclass 888) if you cannot show your complying investments meet the following criteria:
Venture Capital and Growth Private Equity investment
At least 50% of your venture capital component must be invested in:
- a venture capital fund investing in startups and
small-to-medium enterprises in NSW, or - a venture capital limited partnership that sources investments in NSW
Emerging companies
At least 50% of the emerging companies component must be invested in emerging companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange that are headquartered in NSW.
Balancing investment
At least 50% of your balancing investments must bring benefits to NSW. This can be shown where:
- the funds have an office in NSW; or
- the business of underlying investment is headquartered in NSW; or
- the business activities of underlying investment are of economic benefit to NSW
Living in NSW
You must have a genuine commitment to reside in NSW and contribute to NSW through your investment activity.
Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188E) – Entrepreneur stream
You must meet the Home Affairs requirements for the Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) – Entrepreneur stream.
Age
Applicants must be under 55 years of age.
NSW Additional Criteria:
Entrepreneur program
You must be accepted by a NSW Startup Accelerator Program or Startup Incubator Program.
Accelerators and Incubators include (but are not limited to):
- Stone and Chalk
- The Studio
- 25fifteen
- Cicada Innovations
- BlueChilli
- Fishburners
- Future Transport Digital Accelerator
- Microsoft ScaleUp Program
- Caltex C-lab
- Tank Stream Labs
- The Founder Institute
Funding from a third party
You must show you have adequate funding secured to complete your project from an approved entity.
Approved entities include a:
- Commonwealth Government agency
- NSW government agency
- Publicly funded research or innovation organisation
- Higher education provider specified as a Table A or Table B provider under Part 2-1 of the Higher Education Support Act 2003, or
- Investor registered as an Australian Venture Capital Limited Partnership or Early Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnership
Business proposal
Your business proposal must clearly demonstrate how your innovative ideas will benefit NSW, and how you intend to commercialise your product or service, and develop your enterprise or business.
You must also clearly show that you have:
- completed a proof of concept (e.g. customer interviews, surveys, or focus groups)
- a potential business customer (B2B) or business channel to market (B2C)
- a scalable solution that can be deployed to multiple customers
- the IP or the rights to commercialise
Living and working in NSW
Applicants must have a genuine and realistic commitment to permanently live and work in NSW, and continue to contribute to NSW through entrepreneurial activity.
Your proposed business must:
- be headquartered in NSW, and
- have a NSW registered ABN
