Who this may suit
Standard Business Sponsors and accredited sponsors managing subclass 482 or 494 workers, including relevant continuing obligations for earlier sponsorship arrangements.
Key considerations
- The sponsor remains responsible when an adviser or payroll provider assists.
- Some duties continue after employment or sponsorship ends; there is no single end date for every obligation.
- This guide summarises key duties. The applicable visa, nomination and any labour agreement must also be checked.
Employment, pay and the nominated occupation
Use a written employment contract and ensure the employee works in the nominated occupation. A proposed occupation change requires a new nomination; Home Affairs states that SID subclass 482 and subclass 494 workers also need a new visa. Review changes before implementing them.
Where the equivalent-terms obligation applies, earnings must meet the approved nomination and employment terms must be no less favourable than those for an equivalent Australian worker. Home Affairs identifies a high-earnings exception to this particular obligation. It does not remove general workplace-law protections or the sponsor’s other duties.
Check associated-entity and occupation-specific exceptions before placing a worker with another business. Australian-operating sponsors must also avoid discriminatory recruitment practices.
- Practical control: compare duties, work location, payroll and the approved nomination when a manager proposes a promotion, transfer or material role change.
- Keep recruitment decisions and equivalent-worker comparisons traceable. Migrant employees retain workplace rights under Australian law.
Changes that must be reported
Home Affairs requires notification of specified events within 28 calendar days. Use the Notification of Sponsorship Changes form in ImmiAccount or the notification channel published by Home Affairs. Retain the submitted notice and confirmation.
Examples include employment ending or being expected to end, changed duties, payment of return-travel costs, relevant changes to the business or its officers, and insolvency or cessation. Non-commencement must also be reported. The detailed event list depends on the entity’s structure.
- Route resignations, non-starts and changed end dates to the person responsible for sponsor notifications immediately.
- Have finance and company-secretarial teams flag director or partner changes, restructures, insolvency events and changes to business identity or contact details.
- Do not treat a notification as approval for a new occupation, employer or legal entity.
Records and requests for information
Maintain reproducible records of employment contracts, actual duties and locations, required pay and benefit information, relevant equivalent-worker terms, travel requests and payments, and sponsor notifications. Keep supporting turnover evidence where required for the nomination training contribution charge.
The immigration record-keeping obligation continues until two years after both sponsor approval has ceased and there are no remaining sponsored persons. That obligation does not require an individual record to be retained beyond five years. Other laws can require longer retention, so use a coordinated retention schedule.
Provide required records and information in the form and by the deadline specified in a departmental request. Allocate a backup owner so correspondence is covered during leave.
Costs the sponsor must bear
Do not recover, transfer or seek reimbursement of prohibited sponsorship, nomination and associated migration-agent costs, or relevant recruitment costs. This includes the nomination training contribution charge where payable. Review repayment clauses, payroll deductions and third-party arrangements before using them.
Keep employer-side costs separate from any independently assessed applicant-side expenses. A worker’s agreement to pay does not make a prohibited cost transfer lawful. The classification depends on what the expense is for, not the label on an invoice.
Travel and potential removal costs
A qualifying written request from the sponsored employee, or Home Affairs on their behalf, triggers the obligation to pay reasonable and necessary departure travel for the employee and sponsored family members. Payment is required within 30 days of receiving the request; the duty is subject to its statutory scope and cessation rules.
Budget for the applicable travel and record the request, payment and notification. A separate obligation can require reimbursement of Commonwealth costs of locating or removing a sponsored person who becomes unlawful. Do not assume that ending employment extinguishes these responsibilities.
Inspection readiness and ongoing responsibility
Cooperate with authorised inspectors, including lawful requests for access, interviews and documents. For an approved SBS, the inspection-cooperation obligation continues for five years after the sponsorship approval ceases.
Non-compliance can lead to sanctions. Maintain an accessible approval file, a notification log and a named escalation contact. If a potential breach is identified, preserve the evidence and obtain advice promptly rather than altering records or waiting for a renewal.
How we can help
Discuss an obligations review, a proposed employment change or a departmental request with Ausdirect.
Questions to consider
Do accredited sponsors have lighter obligations?
Accredited status does not remove SBS obligations. The business must also maintain the criteria for its accredited status.
Can we close the compliance file when a worker leaves?
First check notifications, travel requests, record retention and the continuing duties that apply. Each obligation has its own trigger and end point.
Your next step
Bring current sponsor and nomination approvals, the relevant contract, recent payroll records and a dated account of any proposed or completed change.