Visa Sponsorship in Australia: How a Sponsored Work Visa (482) Works

Visa sponsorship in Australia means an approved employer sponsors a skilled worker and nominates a position, and for the 482 visa that takes three approvals: standard business sponsorship ($420), the nomination ($330 plus the Skilling Australians Fund levy) and the worker’s visa ($4,015). The employer must show it cannot find a suitable Australian worker, pay at least $79,423 (Core Skills) and the market rate, and meet sponsor obligations; the worker needs an eligible occupation, 1 year of experience and English at the required level. The first step is the employer’s: becoming a sponsor, or confirming it already is one.

The three approvals come in this order, each with its own charge and published processing time:

What does visa sponsorship mean?

Visa sponsorship is an employer’s formal commitment, approved by Home Affairs, to employ a named overseas worker in a nominated position and to meet obligations to that worker and to the government. The word has three senses in Australian visas. Employer sponsorship is the one this page and the 482 use. A state or territory nomination for the 190 or 491 is a nomination, not an employer sponsorship. Family sponsorship, for partner and parent visas, is outside this guide.

For the worker, sponsorship has a plain consequence, which the Home Affairs learn about sponsoring page states: while the employer is the sponsor, the skilled worker works only for that employer. Under condition 8607, the worker works only in the nominated occupation, for the sponsor or an associated entity. If the job ends, the worker has up to 180 days at a time, and 365 days in total across the visa, to find a new sponsor, be granted another visa or leave (Schedule 8 condition 8607(5), from 1 July 2024).

Who can sponsor a worker?

Five kinds of employer can sponsor a 482 worker, with conditions (Home Affairs standard business sponsor and learn about sponsoring pages):

1. Any lawfully operating business, in or outside Australia, with no adverse information known about it, or information it is reasonable to disregard.
2. An Australian business, which must also show a strong record of, or a demonstrated commitment to, employing local labour, and declare that it does not recruit in a discriminatory way.
3. An overseas business, which can sponsor a worker for its own business only, not for an associated entity.
4. An employer that is party to a labour agreement, including an agreement under a Designated Area Migration Agreement.
5. A business holding both: standard business sponsorship and a labour agreement at the same time.

On-hire is not permitted under standard business sponsorship; placing a sponsored worker with an unrelated business needs a labour agreement.

Can an individual sponsor a worker?

Home Affairs says “any legally established and operating business can apply to be a sponsor”, so the test is whether a lawfully operating business exists, not who owns it.

How does a worker get sponsored?

A worker gets sponsored in four steps, and only the third is the employer’s:

The requirements for the temporary visa itself are set out in the guide to the 482 visa, and the worker’s side of finding an employer is explained in how to get sponsorship for Australia.

What must the worker meet?

The worker must meet six requirements:

1. Occupation: on the Core Skills Occupation List (456 occupations), or in ANZSCO Major Groups 1, 2, 4, 5 or 6 for Specialist Skills.
2. Work experience: 1 year full-time (or equivalent) in the occupation or a related field in the last 5 years.
3. English: IELTS 5.0 in each component or an equivalent score, unless exempt.
4. Skills assessment: where IMMI 18/039 requires one for the occupation and passport.
5. Health and character: health for the worker and every family member who applies, character for each applicant aged 16 or over.
6. Health insurance: adequate arrangements while in Australia (condition 8501).

What must the employer meet?

The employer must meet five requirements:

1. Approved sponsor: a standard business sponsor, or party to a labour agreement.
2. Labour market testing: unless an exemption applies.
3. A genuine full-time position: one that fits the business and was not created to secure a visa.
4. Salary: at least the income threshold and the annual market salary rate.
5. A written employment contract.

The employer pays all sponsorship and nomination costs and cannot pass them on to the worker (Home Affairs cost of sponsoring page).

Sponsorship, nomination and visa are three applications, each refused on its own evidence, and an immigration lawyer who prepares all three keeps the occupation code, salary and dates consistent across them, which makes each approval more likely.

Which visas are sponsored?

Three visas are employer-sponsored, and each has a labour agreement stream:

1. The 482 (Skills in Demand): temporary, granted for 1, 2, 3 or 4 years as nominated (Hong Kong passport holders up to 5 years), under regulation 2.73(10) and Schedule 2 clause 482.511 of the Migration Regulations 1994.
2. The 186 (Employer Nomination Scheme): permanent.
3. The 494 (Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional): provisional, 5 years, for a position in a designated regional area.

The three are compared row by row, with labour agreements, on the types of employer sponsored visas page.

Is there a regional sponsorship visa?

Yes: the 494 is the regional employer-sponsored visa, for designated regional areas, which cover all of Australia except Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Regional employers can also use one of the 13 Designated Area Migration Agreements, which are labour agreements for a defined regional area.

Supplementary: the employer’s steps

An employer that has never sponsored starts with standard business sponsorship, then tests the labour market, sets the salary and lodges the nomination with the levy, and meets sponsor obligations from approval. Each of those steps, with its cost and time, is in the guide to employer sponsorship Australia.