Summary:
- Australian visa sponsorship compliance: Understand your obligations when hiring workers on visas, including sponsorship rules, work rights, and documentation.
- Legal risks for employers of visa holders: Discover the consequences of non-compliance, such as fines, audits, and visa breaches that may go unnoticed.
- Best practices for hiring international workers: Learn how to use VEVO, avoid illegal cost-shifting, manage exit costs, and stay updated on immigration law changes.
Employing someone who holds a visa can be a smart move for your business, particularly when skills are in short supply. But navigating the legal obligations that come with it isn’t always straightforward. If you’re sponsoring overseas workers or thinking about it, there are rules that go well beyond recruitment.
Visa sponsorship in Australia is a highly regulated space. The laws are precise, the expectations are clear, and the consequences for getting it wrong can be significant.
Here’s what every employer needs to know when engaging workers on visas.
Different visas, different rules.
Not all work visas are created equal. Some allow full-time work, others cap hours. Some enable short stays for niche work, while others support longer-term employment or even permanent residency.
For example:
- A Temporary Work (Short Stay Specialist) visa (Subclass 400) is ideal for short-term, highly skilled tasks.
- The Temporary Skill Shortage visa (Subclass 482) is the most common for ongoing roles and often provides a path to residency.
- Student visa holders have strict limitations on how many hours they can work per fortnight, and Temporary Graduate visa holders have different work rights altogether.
If you assign tasks, change hours, or relocate someone without checking their visa terms, you may breach immigration law, even with good intentions. Use VEVO to verify visa status before offering a job or making any changes to employment conditions.
Becoming a Sponsor is not just a formality.
Businesses that want to sponsor visa holders must be approved as a Standard Business Sponsor. But sponsorship is not a one-time approval, it’s a long-term legal commitment.
Once approved, your business takes on responsibilities that continue throughout the visa holder’s employment and, in some cases, even after they’ve left the business.
You’ll need to:
- Pay the worker at the same rate you’d offer a local employee in a comparable role.
- Only employ the person in the exact occupation approved by the Department.
- Keep thorough records showing compliance with sponsorship rules.
- Report changes in circumstances (e.g. job termination, address changes, or business restructuring) within 28 days.
Tip: Sponsorship is not just a HR or payroll task, it’s a compliance regime that should be monitored at the executive level.
Visa breaches can occur silently.
Even minor variations in duties or work locations can create a breach.
For example, reassigning a sponsored employee to a new position, even with the same title, could be non-compliant if the tasks no longer align with what was approved under their nomination.
Similarly, giving additional hours to a part-time worker on a student visa may seem reasonable but it can easily exceed the legal limit and lead to a breach.
Never make assumptions about what’s permitted under a visa. Confirm first, act second.
Cost-shifting to visa holders is illegal.
It’s unlawful to ask a sponsored employee or their family members, to repay any of the costs associated with becoming or being a sponsor. This includes:
- Department fees
- Migration agent expenses
- Recruitment charges
- The Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy
These costs must be borne by the employer, not passed on or recovered in any form, even if the worker offers to pay. Cost-shifting breaches can result in cancellation of your sponsorship status, fines, and future ineligibility.
You may be liable for exit and removal costs.
If your sponsored employee leaves your business, whether through resignation or termination and they request help returning home, you may be obligated to pay their travel costs (including for accompanying dependants).
The requirement applies only when formally requested, but when it does, it’s enforceable.
Additionally, if the visa holder becomes unlawful and the government steps in to locate or remove them, you could be asked to cover part of those expenses too, up to $10,000. Keep a plan in place for how to respond to travel cost requests, the deadline is usually 30 days from the request.
You must play fair when hiring.
Using the visa program to target only specific nationalities or to bypass local applicants can land your business in trouble. Under Australian law, you must avoid discriminatory recruitment practices.
This includes:
- Advertising only in foreign-language outlets
- Only interviewing applicants on particular visas
- Preferring visa holders over Australian citizens without merit
Internal transfers, promotions, and re-nominations are allowed. But open recruitment processes must be fair and non-discriminatory.
Your compliance can be audited, even years later.
The Department of Home Affairs and related bodies like the Fair Work Ombudsman have the power to conduct audits and investigations. They can show up unannounced, ask for records, or request information in writing.
These audits are backed by law and may involve:
- Site inspections
- Cross-agency data sharing (e.g. with ATO)
- Reviews of visa conditions and employee records
Keep contracts, payroll data, job descriptions, nomination documents, and communications with the Department. These should be retained for at least five years.
Immigration rules don’t stand still.
Work visa settings change regularly, especially when political or economic priorities shift. Changes in eligible occupations, permanent residency pathways, or sponsorship criteria can all affect your compliance status overnight. Revisit your sponsorship obligations at least annually. Relying on templates or advice from previous years is risky.
Compliance isn’t optional, it’s a strategic necessity.
You don’t need to be a migration expert to run a compliant business but you do need systems in place.
At a minimum:
- Know which employees are on visas.
- Understand what their visas allow and restrict.
- Track expiry dates and compliance triggers.
- Have someone accountable for immigration matters.
- Get professional advice when expanding or restructuring.
Sponsorship is not just about filling a vacancy, it’s about fulfilling a legal responsibility to the Australian Government.
Employing visa holders can bring enormous value to your workforce but it also places your business under a regulatory spotlight. The key is not to fear the system, but to respect it. With the right systems, professional advice, and awareness of your legal obligations, sponsorship can be a powerful tool for business growth.
Need help getting your sponsorship obligations right?
Book a consultation with one of our experts today!
Disclaimer – Content in these articles does not constitute immigration or legal advice, it is not intended as a substitute for such advice and must not be relied upon as such. This material is designed to provide informative guidelines for general informational purposes only. The information provide is accurate during the time of publication. Please consult with our Australian MARN registered agents via our content forms on our website or call on 1800 567 663 to make an appointment.
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