Employer sponsor obligations

Becoming a sponsor

• The business must be legally established and currently operating, in or outside Australia.
• Provide an ABN (or ARBN, or overseas registration) and evidence the business is operating, such as tax returns, activity statements or a business plan for a new business.
• Declare a strong record of, or commitment to, employing local labour and that you will not discriminate in recruitment.
• The application fee is A$420. Approval lasts 5 years from the approval date. Accredited status may be available and has benefits.
• A standard business sponsor can sponsor workers on the Skills in Demand (482) and Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (494) visas.

What sponsors must do

Tell the Department. Notify in writing, using the Notification of sponsor changes form in ImmiAccount or by email. Within 28 calendar days, tell the Department when:

• the visa holder's employment ends or is expected to end
• the visa holder's duties change
• you pay the return travel costs of a visa holder or family
• you become insolvent or the business ceases to exist
• a company appoints a new director or an administrator, or goes into liquidation

Also notify changes to legal or trading name, structure, owners, directors or address. This duty runs until two years after sponsorship ends.

Employ in the nominated occupation. The employee must work only in the nominated occupation. For a different occupation, lodge a new nomination and, for a 482 or 494, the worker needs a new visa. You must employ the worker under a written contract and cannot supply them to another business unless exempt.

Equivalent terms. Annual earnings must be at least what the nomination said, and conditions no less favourable than an equivalent Australian worker. This applies where earnings are below A$250,000.

No discriminatory recruitment based on citizenship or visa status. Keep records to show it.

Keep records in a reproducible format: payment of travel costs, reportable events, the tasks performed, earnings, non-monetary benefits, equivalent worker terms, the written contract and training compliance.

Provide records when a departmental officer asks, within the time and in the manner requested.

Pay the costs yourself. You must pay the cost of becoming a sponsor, nomination charges, migration agent costs and recruitment costs such as agency fees, advertising, screening, interviews and background checks. You cannot charge or transfer these to the worker or their family.

Pay travel costs. Reasonable and necessary costs for the worker and sponsored family to leave Australia: travel from their home in Australia to the departure point, and economy air travel to the country of their passport. Pay within 30 days of a written request. Pay once only.

Pay removal costs. If a sponsored person becomes an unlawful non-citizen you may have to repay the Commonwealth's costs to locate and remove them, up to A$10,000. This can last five years after they leave.

Cooperate with inspectors by giving access to premises, people and documents. This continues for five years after sponsorship ends.

Monitoring and sanctions

The Department monitors sponsors up to five years after sponsorship ends, can make site visits with or without notice, and shares information with the Fair Work Ombudsman, the ATO and others. Sanctions include barring you from sponsoring for a set time, refusing new applications, cancelling all existing approvals, and compliance notices. Non-compliant sponsors can be named publicly.

Labour market testing

For the 482 and 494 employer-sponsored streams, the position generally must be advertised for at least four weeks in the four months before the nomination is lodged, with at least two advertisements in Australia, in English. Each must include the position title or description, skills or experience required, the sponsor or recruitment agency name, and the salary if the annual earnings are below A$96,400. Acceptable places include a national or industry recruitment website (not a general classifieds site or social media alone), national print media, national radio, and the business's own website if an accredited sponsor. Since 11 December 2023 advertising on Workforce Australia is no longer required. If an Australian worker was made redundant from the occupation in the previous four months, advertising must occur after the redundancy.

Salary rules

If the salary is below A$250,000, the employer must show the market rate is correctly set and that both the market rate and the pay meet the relevant threshold. See the 482 guide for thresholds.