Many sponsorship problems arise before an application is lodged. A business finds a strong candidate and makes an offer, only to discover later that the role, salary or candidate does not meet the relevant requirements.
A Skills in Demand (subclass 482) sponsorship involves three separate assessments:
- Sponsor: the business must be an approved sponsor.
- Nomination: the position must meet the occupation, salary and genuineness requirements.
- Visa: the worker must meet the relevant skills, experience, English, health and character requirements.
Sponsors also take on obligations that continue after a visa is granted. A breach can lead to sanctions, including being barred from future sponsorship. Businesses should therefore confirm that sponsorship is viable before making an offer.
What to Check Before You Begin
- The Role
Sponsorship must relate to a genuine position in the business. The Sponsor must be prepared to provide evidence to the Department of Home Affairs to demonstrate that the role genuinely exists and that the duties match the nominated occupation.
- The Occupation
The nominated occupation must be eligible for the relevant stream and align with the position’s actual duties, not just its title.
Sponsors should check:
- the current occupation requirements for the Core Skills stream;
- whether the role may instead qualify for the Specialist Skills stream; and
- Whether a skills assessment, registration or licence is required.
- Salary
The proposed salary must satisfy two tests:
- Income threshold:the salary must meet the applicable stream threshold, which is indexed each year on 1 July.
- Market salary rate: the salary must be consistent with what the business pays, or would pay, an Australian worker performing comparable work in the same location.
Whichever of these two amounts is higher applies.
The offer also has to comply with any relevant award or enterprise agreement. If the sponsored worker is paid noticeably more than existing employees in a similar role, be ready to explain why.
Keep records of the evidence on file, such as the person’s experience, the recruitment difficulty and the market rates you relied on.
- Employment Arrangements
The employment terms must support the nomination and comply with workplace law. That means conditions no less favourable than those of an Australian employee doing the same work, contract that meets the Fair Work Act, the National Employment Standards and any applicable award or enterprise agreement and a clearly identified work location.
Sponsored workers have the same workplace rights as any other employee. Underpaying or exploiting one can lead to penalties under both workplace and migration law.
- Sponsorship Obligations and Costs
Sponsors must:
- pay at least the nominated salary, and provide terms and conditions equal to those of an Australian worker in the same role;
- Employ the worker in the nominated position;
- Keep the required records;
- Notify the Department of Home Affairs of specified changes within the required timeframes, including when a sponsored worker stops working for the business;
- Cooperate with monitoring; and
- Not recover prohibited sponsorship costs from the worker.
Make sure to budget for sponsorship, nomination and visa charges, as well as the Skilling Australians Fund levy.
Fitting Sponsorship into Your Workforce Plan
Timing
Sponsor approval, skills assessments, nomination and visa processing can take time, with timeframes varying depending on individual circumstances. Allow sufficient time in your recruitment plan to account for each stage of the process.
Labour Market Testing
Labour market testing requires the business to demonstrate genuine efforts to recruit suitable local candidates. Plan the timing and job posting in advance and maintain records to demonstrate compliance with the applicable labour market testing requirements.
Retention and Continuity
A sponsored worker’s visa arrangements are generally tied to their sponsoring employer. If the worker resigns, the sponsorship arrangement ends and their visa position may be affected. Consider how the business will manage continuity if the employee leaves earlier than expected.
Permanent Residence
If permanent residence forms part of the recruitment proposition, discuss the candidate’s expectations early in the process. While permanent residence pathways may be available, they are not guaranteed and are subject to separate eligibility criteria and requirements.
Common Misconceptions
- “If the nomination is approved, the visa will be granted.”
Not necessarily. Nomination approval means the Department is satisfied with the sponsor and position. The worker’s visa application is assessed separately, including their health, character, English and skills requirements.
- “Once we are an approved sponsor, we can sponsor anyone.”
No. Each nomination is assessed independently. The occupation, salary and genuineness of the position are assessed each time.
- “The candidate is skilled, so we can simply nominate them.”
Skills are important, but the candidate must also fit the nominated occupation and satisfy its formal requirements, which may include qualifications, work experience, a skills assessment or registration.
- “We only need to meet the minimum salary.”
The threshold is a base and not necessarily the final salary. If the market salary rate for the role is higher, the higher amount applies.
- “Our responsibilities end when the visa is granted.”
They do not. Sponsorship obligations continue while sponsorship and employment arrangements remain in place, and this is often where compliance issues arise.
- “A temporary visa leads to permanent residence.”
It may provide a pathway, but permanent residence is not guaranteed, and the relevant rules may change.
Pre-Sponsorship Checklist
Before making an offer, work through the following steps in order. If the business cannot answer a question confidently, address that issue before proceeding.
| Step | Questions to answer | What you should have |
| 1. Your business | · Is it lawfully and actively operating?
· Any compliance history that could count against you? · Already an approved sponsor? |
Confirmation that you can sponsor, or a plan to apply |
| 2. Role and occupation | · Is the position genuine and ongoing?
· Does an eligible occupation match the real duties? · Is a skills assessment or registration needed? |
A role matched to an eligible occupation |
| 3. Salary and terms | · Does the offer meet the stream threshold and the market salary rate?
· Are the terms equal to those of Australian workers and lawful under workplace law? |
A compliant remuneration and contract |
| 4. The candidate | · Do they meet the skills, experience, English, health and character requirements?
· Is there anything in their history that could affect the visa? |
A realistic view of the visa outcome before you offer |
| 5. Obligations and budget | · Who will keep the records and report changes?
· Have you budgeted for sponsorship, levy, visa and assessment costs? |
Nominate someone for the role and an approved budget |
| 6. Timing and long-term plan | · Can the business wait for processing?
· What happens if the application is delayed or refused, or the worker leaves? · What is the plan for permanent residence, if any? |
A timeline, a fallback and agreed expectations |
Completing these checks before committing sponsorship helps the business decide whether it is the right recruitment strategy and provides a clear record of the decision-making process should the sponsorship be reviewed later.
Seeking advice early is more effective and cost-efficient than addressing issues after an application has been refused. If you are considering recruiting from overseas, seek advice before advertising the role or making an offer.
