Who this may suit
For employers preparing an international hire or reviewing sponsorship for an existing worker. This checklist helps construction, manufacturing, healthcare, automotive, hospitality, education and other businesses organise an initial assessment.
Key considerations
- The business, nominated position and candidate each need assessment.
- The evidence should describe the real workplace and employment arrangement consistently.
- Recruitment, cost and ongoing obligations vary by pathway; assign responsibility before lodging.
1. Prepare a one-page hiring brief
Start with a short summary that a decision-maker can understand without opening every document. Name the employing entity, the role, where the person will work, the proposed salary and the recruitment problem. Note whether a candidate is already identified and what is driving the desired start date.
Use three working labels beside each item: available, needs checking, or missing. Add an owner and a target date. A checklist is useful when it exposes gaps; marking every box complete without evidence only moves uncertainty to a later stage.
- Role: duties, seniority, hours, reporting line and reason for the vacancy.
- Business: employing entity, operating locations and current sponsorship position.
- Candidate: relevant experience, current location, visa position and availability.
- Decision: temporary hiring, permanent nomination or a regional role to assess.
Sources: Home Affairs: Standard business sponsor · Home Affairs: Skilled occupation list and applicable visa pathways
2. Confirm which entity will employ the worker
Check the legal entity against the contract, payroll and any existing sponsorship approval. A shared brand, common director or group relationship does not make the approvals interchangeable. Flag a recent purchase, restructure, new ABN or change in trading arrangements before using an old approval.
Standard business sponsorship is relevant to the standard 482 and 494 programs. An employer-nominated 186 follows different nomination requirements; do not assume every pathway starts with the same sponsorship application. If a labour agreement or overseas business is involved, review that arrangement separately.
- Collect registration details, a business-structure summary and existing approval references.
- Identify evidence of current operations, such as contracts, premises, trading activity and relevant financial records.
- Flag compliance concerns or adverse information for assessment rather than leaving them unexplained.
Sources: Home Affairs: Standard business sponsor · Migration Regulations 1994: sponsorship and nomination requirements, including regulation 5.19
Understand Standard Business Sponsorship →
Review overseas business sponsorship →
3. Describe the actual position and work locations
Prepare a position description that reflects the work to be done. Include tasks, skill level, supervision and how the position fits the organisation. A title alone cannot establish an occupation match, and a general industry shortage does not make every job eligible.
List every intended workplace and explain client-site work, travel, remote arrangements or associated entities. For example, a construction company should distinguish its office address from project sites; a hospitality group should identify the venue and actual employing company. Do not assume a head-office postcode resolves the location question.
- Check the occupation, applicable visa list and any relevant caveats.
- Identify state or territory licensing or registration that the work requires.
- For 494, verify designated regional locations. In the Employer Sponsored stream, allow for Regional Certifying Body assessment of the annual market salary rate.
Sources: Home Affairs: Skilled occupation list and applicable visa pathways · Home Affairs: Designated regional areas · Home Affairs: Regional certifying bodies for subclass 494
Explore regional employer sponsorship →
4. Review the candidate against the proposed pathway
Ask for a current CV with dates, hours and duties, then identify the evidence needed to support it. Qualifications, employment references, skills assessments, English results and professional registration answer different questions. A strong interview does not replace the visa assessment.
For a person already in Australia, obtain current visa details and check work rights. They can send a VEVO result, or give permission for the employer to check it. Resolve whether the proposed duties, employer and hours are permitted before work starts.
- Flag visa expiry, prior refusals or cancellations, and any proposed travel.
- Check whether age matters for the proposed permanent or regional pathway.
- Identify assessment or registration steps with external lead times.
- Let the candidate discuss health, character and sensitive family matters privately with the migration professional through an agreed secure channel.
Sources: Home Affairs: Hiring someone in Australia and checking work rights · Home Affairs: 186 Direct Entry stream · Home Affairs: 494 Employer Sponsored stream
Plan permanent residence from 482 →
5. Build a defensible salary file
Identify the relevant income threshold for the intended nomination date and stream, then establish the annual market salary rate. Paying above a visa threshold does not by itself show that an equivalent Australian worker would receive equivalent pay.
Keep the basis for the comparison: an applicable award or enterprise agreement, relevant classification, equivalent employee records, and appropriate market evidence where needed. Explain why the evidence matches the duties, experience and location. Generic national salary figures may not be sufficient.
- Show base pay, superannuation, allowances and other benefits separately.
- Check what counts for the visa earnings assessment; do not rely on a package total.
- Reconcile the approved budget, advertisement, contract and nomination figures.
- Recheck thresholds before lodgement, especially when preparation crosses 1 July.
Sources: Home Affairs: Salary requirements to nominate a worker
6. Check recruitment requirements before advertising
For standard 482 Core Skills and Specialist Skills nominations and 494 Employer Sponsored nominations, labour market testing generally requires at least two compliant advertisements, with applications accepted for at least four weeks, within the four months before nomination. Check the permitted media, content and evidence before spending money.
Exemptions and alternative arrangements need a documented basis. International-trade exemptions available for certain 482 cases do not apply to 494 nominations. Labour Agreement requirements depend on the agreement. Do not automatically apply the standard 482 advertising checklist to every 186 case.
- Save complete advertisements, platform details, publication dates and evidence of the application period.
- Keep a clear recruitment outcome record explaining why a suitable local worker was not available.
- Flag recent redundancies or retrenchments in the nominated occupation; they can affect the required timing and evidence.
- Reassess advertising if the role changes or the intended nomination date slips.
Sources: Home Affairs: Labour market testing · Migration Regulations 1994: sponsorship and nomination requirements, including regulation 5.19
7. Assign the evidence and cost responsibilities
Create a shared document index with an owner for each item. Keep employer and candidate records in appropriately restricted locations, and reconcile the information that appears in both applications. An outdated contract or unexplained date difference is easier to fix before submission.
Budget for sponsorship and nomination charges where applicable, the Skilling Australians Fund levy, visa charges, assessments, checks and professional assistance. Obtain current amounts and a written scope. The employer must bear sponsorship and nomination costs that cannot be transferred to the worker, including the applicable SAF levy. Do not assume a proposed repayment clause is lawful.
- Business owner or authorised manager: approve the role, employing entity, budget and factual business explanation.
- HR and recruiting team: coordinate the position description, contract, recruitment record and candidate contact.
- Finance or payroll: support turnover, remuneration and financial evidence.
- Candidate: supply accurate personal and employment evidence and disclose material changes.
- Migration professional: assess the pathway, identify gaps and coordinate the agreed application work.
Sources: Home Affairs: Cost of sponsoring · Home Affairs: Standard business sponsor · Migration Regulations 1994: sponsorship and nomination requirements, including regulation 5.19
8. Plan the handover into ongoing employment
Before lodgement, have one person check that the occupation, entity, worksite, salary and employment dates agree across the file. Record unresolved questions and obtain an assessment rather than guessing. Keep the proposed start date conditional on the necessary work rights and approvals.
After approval, sponsorship obligations continue. Put visa and sponsorship dates, record keeping, payroll checks and change notifications into ordinary HR processes. Many specified events must be reported within 28 calendar days; the applicable obligation and trigger need checking. Include departures, changed duties and business changes in the process.
- Name the person who monitors visa status and receives change reports.
- Keep records of the sponsored work, pay, contract and required notifications.
- Brief managers to seek review before changing the role, entity or work arrangement.
- Provide a clear route for the worker to raise questions or problems.
Sources: Home Affairs: Hiring someone in Australia and checking work rights · Home Affairs: Sponsorship obligations for Standard business sponsors
How we can help
Ausdirect assesses the position, location and candidate, identifies the relevant pathway and evidence gaps, and prepares and lodges nomination and visa applications where engaged. We can help organise the employer and applicant work around a clear scope of assistance.
Questions to consider
Can we start preparing before finding a candidate?
Yes. You can review the business, role, location, salary basis and recruitment approach first. A final pathway assessment also needs the candidate’s circumstances. Recruitment evidence must remain suitable for the eventual nomination date.
Does sponsorship approval cover every company in our group?
Do not assume it does. Confirm the approved entity and the permitted employment arrangement, particularly after restructures or a change in employing company. Identify this before relying on an existing approval. Read the sponsorship guide
Must we advertise for every sponsored visa?
The requirement depends on the subclass, stream and circumstances. Standard 482 and 494 requirements, exceptions, alternative arrangements and agreement-specific terms need separate checking.
Can the employee start once the nomination is lodged?
Lodgement alone does not establish work rights. Check the person’s current visa conditions and whether they are permitted to work in the proposed arrangement before setting a start date.
Which documents should we send first?
Begin with the hiring brief and a list of documents already available. Confirm a secure channel and the requested scope before sending passports, personal records or confidential business information. Explore employer migration support
Your next step
Bring the hiring brief, position description, proposed pay, work locations, business details and candidate summary to an employer consultation. Start with a summary; arrange secure document sharing for personal and business records.