Key takeaways: TRA does not find employment for you — locating and approaching employers is entirely your responsibility. Once you find one, the employer must register on the TRA Online Portal and submit an Employment Verification Report (EVR) before any hours count toward your 1,575-hour requirement. You can work with up to 5 employers across your JRE stage, with a minimum of 6 months full-time-equivalent service required with at least one of them.
Why This Is the Highest-Leverage Step in the Whole JRP
Every other JRP stage runs on a fixed TRA timeline you can't speed up. Finding the right employer is the one variable almost entirely in your control — and it's also where we see the most avoidable delay. Get it right and you can start your 12-month clock within weeks of a positive PSA. Get it wrong and you can lose months of otherwise-eligible work.
Step 1: Understand What "TRA-Approved" Actually Means
A TRA-approved employer isn't a business on some pre-existing government list — almost any legitimate Australian employer operating in your trade can become one. "Approved" simply means the employer has registered on the TRA Online Portal against your specific case and completed an Employment Verification Report (EVR) confirming your role, hours and duties.
This is good news: it means your job search isn't limited to a narrow shortlist. It also means the registration paperwork is on you to arrange, since most employers have never heard of TRA and won't register unless you ask them to and explain what's required.
Step 2: Where to Actually Find Roles
- Your RTO's employer network — Registered Training Organisations that specialise in international students often maintain relationships with employers who already understand the JRP and TRA registration process
- Direct approach to local businesses in your trade — construction firms, workshops, salons, kitchens and care providers hiring in your ANZSCO occupation
- Industry associations and trade bodies — many maintain job boards specific to your trade
- Migration agent employer networks — a MARA-registered agent working with JRP clients regularly will often know which local employers have successfully registered on the TRA portal before
- Regional job boards — regional employers are frequently more open to sponsoring JRP hours precisely because local trade labour is scarcer; see our regional employment guide for the hour-reduction benefit this can unlock
Step 3: What to Look for in an Employer (Red Flags Included)
- They pay you properly — PAYG payslips, superannuation, correct award wages. Cash-in-hand arrangements cannot be verified by TRA and will not count toward your hours
- The role genuinely matches your ANZSCO occupation — this is critical and one of the most common reasons JRWA assessments fail. A qualified cook working exclusively food prep, or front-of-house, is not performing the full scope of ANZSCO 351311 duties
- They're willing to complete paperwork — some employers, especially very small operators, are reluctant to engage with any government portal. Confirm this upfront before accepting a role
- Avoid anyone asking you to pay for the "opportunity" of employer registration — TRA employer registration is free, and any employer or third party charging you specifically for this is a red flag
Step 4: Get the Employer Registered — Immediately
This is the step that costs applicants the most lost time. Once you've accepted a role:
- Ask your employer to register as a JRP employer on the TRA Online Portal as soon as your start date is confirmed — don't wait until your first pay cycle or probation period ends
- Provide the employer with your PSA reference number and occupation details so they can complete the registration accurately
- Confirm the employer submits the Employment Verification Report (EVR) covering your role, duties and hours
- Keep your own record of your registration date — this is the date your hours legally start counting, not your actual first day of work if registration happens later
The single biggest preventable delay we see: applicants start work immediately but the employer doesn't register for six or eight weeks. Those early weeks of genuine, paid trade work simply don't count. Chase registration on day one, not after your first pay run.
Step 5: Understand the Multiple-Employer Rules
You're not locked into one employer for the full 12 months. TRA allows:
- Employment across up to 5 different TRA-approved employers during your JRE stage
- A minimum of 6 months full-time-equivalent service with at least one of those employers
- All hours across all registered employers count cumulatively toward your 1,575-hour (or 1,050-hour regional) total
This flexibility matters if your first employer's hours dry up, if you relocate, or if a better-matched role becomes available partway through — you don't need to restart the clock, provided each new employer is properly registered before the new hours begin.
Step 6: Keep Your Skills Progress Reports (SPRs) on Schedule
While employed, you and your employer will need to lodge periodic Skills Progress Reports documenting your development against the occupation's ANZSCO tasks. Submit these on time. SPRs cannot be lodged retroactively at the JRFA stage, and a pattern of missing reports during JRE can block your progression to JRWA — an entirely avoidable, purely administrative setback.
Ready for Your Employer Search?
A MARA-registered agent who works with JRP clients daily can often shortcut this process significantly — from vetting whether a prospective employer's role genuinely matches your ANZSCO description, to making sure registration paperwork doesn't stall. Book a free consultation before you accept an offer, not after.