Opening in Sydney: Send Your Own Chef, or Hire Locally?

Sydney is one of the few cities abroad where local hiring, plus working holiday makers, covers most of the kitchen: 61.7% of Japanese nationals in Australia are permanent residents with no work limits. For the one or two roles you do send from Japan, sponsor on the 482 visa (Core Skills Income Threshold A$79,423); if the chef is already your employee, no local job ads are needed and, at A$96,400 or more, the English test is waived too. Superannuation is separate from Japan's pension, and the 2009 agreement exempts a secondee from it for up to five years.

1. Local hiring already covers most of the kitchen

Japan's foreign ministry counted 105,566 Japanese nationals in Australia on 1 October 2025, of whom 65,085 (61.7%) were permanent residents who can work full time for any employer with no visa limit; that share stands out among the countries with large Japanese communities. Working holiday makers add a second channel: Home Affairs lists tourism and hospitality, including restaurants, as a critical sector, so a working holiday cook can now stay with the same Sydney employer beyond six months without asking permission. You do not need to plan on the assumption, as you would in Dubai or Singapore, that every Japanese staff member comes from Japan. Where the candidates concentrate, how to reach them and what to offer are on our Sydney hiring guide; do not build a second version of that search here.

2. Sending your own employee costs less paperwork than a new hire

For the head chef or counter role you do bring from Japan, the route is the Core Skills stream of the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482), at a Core Skills Income Threshold of A$79,423 for nominations lodged 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027. The full process, the labour market testing rules and the total government cost are set out in our 482 guide; we do not repeat that table here.

What is worth deciding early is whether the person you send is already your employee in Japan, because two requirements ease if so:

Both depend on the chef being employed by the group at the time of nomination; if they resign first and then join the Australian business, neither eases. This is the one number worth acting on when you decide who to send: pay at least A$96,400 to an existing employee and you can skip both the advertising round and, usually, the English test. The documents this still requires from the Japan side, and a bilingual briefing template, are on preparing a Japanese chef for the 482.

3. Superannuation and the Japan-Australia agreement

The Japan-Australia social security agreement took effect in January 2009 and, according to the Japan Pension Service, coordinates Japan's public pension and Australia's superannuation guarantee, currently 12% of ordinary earnings, paid by the employer. This section states only what is specific to Australia; the general mechanism for applying is set out once in social security agreements and chefs.

• Five years regardless of the expected length. Even if the assignment is expected from the start to run longer than five years, the employee stays in Japan's pension system only, exempt from Australian superannuation, for the first five years.
• Extensions are case by case. Beyond five years, an extension needs unforeseen circumstances and both countries' agreement; without it, the employee moves onto the Australian scheme after five years.
• Certificate of coverage. The Japanese employer applies at a pension office, generally from around six months before the start date, and the secondee gives the certificate to the Australian workplace.
• What it is worth. On a secondee paid the A$79,423 threshold, the 12% super guarantee the employer would otherwise pay is about A$9,531 a year, avoided for each exempt year. A local hire on the same wage carries that cost from day one; cost secondee and local roles separately rather than assuming one figure for both.

Local hires are covered only by the Australian scheme. The Japan-Australia tax treaty has been in force since December 2008; for how a secondee's tax residence is decided, see tax for employees working abroad.

4. Mixing secondees, working holiday makers and local hires

Sponsor only the person who genuinely sets the food; local pay, award grades and worked penalty-rate examples are on our Sydney hiring guide. A job ad in Japanese reaches both permanent residents and working holiday makers; see how to write a job ad.

5. A schedule counted back from opening day

This week: list who you might send as a current employee against the A$96,400 and certificate-of-coverage tests, and start the local search for every other role in parallel rather than after the 482 is lodged.

An assignment offer you can adapt, in both languages:

General information, not legal, tax or immigration advice. Australian visa requirements, charges and award rates change every year. Check the official sources below, verified in September 2026, and consult a registered migration agent, the Japanese pension office or a tax adviser as needed.