Who this may suit
Businesses preparing to sponsor skilled employees, renew an existing approval or assess accredited status.
Key considerations
- Identify the employing legal entity before collecting evidence or preparing applications.
- Assess sponsor eligibility separately from the proposed role and the worker’s visa requirements.
- Read the paired Standard Business Sponsor obligations guide before committing to sponsorship.
What Standard Business Sponsorship covers
Standard Business Sponsorship (SBS) supports employer sponsorship under the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) and the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 494), where the relevant stream requires SBS. Labour agreement arrangements should be assessed separately.
The business approval does not approve a job or grant anyone a visa. A nomination addresses the proposed position and the visa application addresses the person. Plan these workstreams together, including occupation, remuneration, recruitment evidence and any regional requirements.
Eligibility and overseas businesses
The applicant must run a legally established, operating business in Australia or overseas. Home Affairs considers adverse information about the applicant and associated persons, unless it is reasonable to disregard it. An Australian business must demonstrate its commitment to local employment and declare that it will not discriminate in recruitment.
A business operating only overseas has additional SBS criteria: the intended subclass 482 worker must establish or help establish an Australian business operation with overseas connections, or fulfil or assist in fulfilling a contractual obligation of the applicant. An overseas business sponsor cannot nominate under the subclass 494 Employer Sponsored stream, under regulation 2.72C(5)(a). Any later regional plan requires a separate assessment of the entity’s sponsorship position and the applicable pathway.
Prepare an evidence pack
Match the documents to the business’s legal structure, trading history and Australian presence. A registration certificate alone does not explain whether the business is operating. Keep names, ownership information and financial periods consistent throughout the application.
- Identity and structure: relevant ABN, ARBN or overseas registration evidence; company or business-name extracts; and applicable trust, franchise or joint-venture documents. A trust-related application must identify the trustee correctly.
- Operating history: financial statements, annual reports, tax returns, business activity statements or bank records appropriate to the business’s size and age.
- New or expanding operations: a business plan supported by available contracts, premises arrangements, staffing evidence and trading records. An overseas business should explain its Australian expansion or contractual purpose.
- Application explanation: identify who employs and supervises staff, what the business does, and any matters that need context rather than leaving unexplained gaps in the documents.
Use the employer sponsorship preparation checklist →
Application and decision process
The sponsorship application is lodged through ImmiAccount with supporting documents and the current application charge. Retain the transaction reference number and a complete copy of the submission. Home Affairs can seek further evidence; submitting an incomplete file creates avoidable uncertainty.
After a decision, record the approved entity, sponsorship number and expiry date. Coordinate nomination and visa timing with the actual approval position. A planned start date should remain conditional on the required immigration and workplace arrangements.
- Before lodgement: reconcile entity names and documents, identify the proposed visa stream and review compliance capacity.
- During assessment: allocate responsibility for correspondence and respond to requests within the stated deadline.
- After approval: establish a sponsor register and an internal process for reporting changes to HR and the responsible adviser.
Approval period, renewal and business changes
Home Affairs states that SBS approval lasts five years from approval. This is separate from an employee’s visa period. It recommends starting renewal about two months before expiry; that recommendation is not a processing-time guarantee.
Check the approval and renewal position before lodging linked nominations. A restructure that creates a new legal entity requires a fresh sponsorship approval for that entity and new nominations for affected sponsored workers. Seek advice before transferring employment, rather than relying on a change of trading name or common ownership.
Accredited status within SBS
Accreditation is an additional status for qualifying Standard Business Sponsors. The published categories assess matters such as the organisation’s characteristics, employment practices, financial position, sponsorship history and compliance. The evidence depends on the category.
You can request accreditation with an SBS application or renewal. Accredited sponsors retain the same sponsorship obligations, must continue meeting the relevant criteria and may lose the status if they do not. Accreditation is not a separate visa and does not guarantee an outcome or a fixed processing time.
How we can help
Discuss sponsor eligibility, the evidence plan, linked nominations and compliance preparation with Ausdirect.
Questions to consider
Can a new business apply?
A recently established business can be considered, but it needs credible evidence that it is lawfully operating. Prepare the business plan and available trading evidence, and assess the proposed position separately.
Does SBS cover training visas?
Subclass 407 uses Temporary Activities Sponsorship. Check the separate TAS setup and obligations guides for a training proposal.
Your next step
Prepare the entity’s registration details, recent operating records, any existing sponsor approval and an outline of the intended roles.