482 Sponsor Obligations After Visa Grant: What Employers Must Continue to Do

Visa grant does not end the sponsorship framework.

The Migration Regulations impose ongoing obligations on approved work
sponsors, including Standard Business Sponsors employing subclass 482
visa holders.

Home Affairs can monitor compliance and request records or information.

Some obligations begin when sponsorship is approved, some when the
worker starts employment, and some when the visa or nomination is
granted.

Employers should therefore maintain sponsorship compliance throughout
the employment relationship.

Home Affairs requires sponsors to maintain the annual earnings stated in
the approved nomination and, where the relevant obligation applies,
employment conditions that are no less favourable than those provided to
an equivalent Australian worker.

The rules include an exception within this particular sponsorship
obligation where the sponsored worker's annual earnings are at least
$250,000.

That exception should not be interpreted as removing other employment,
sponsorship or workplace-law obligations.

A sponsor must ensure that the primary sponsored person works in the
nominated occupation or activity as required by the sponsorship
framework.

A substantial change in duties can therefore have migration
consequences.

A promotion does not necessarily create a problem if the underlying
duties remain consistent with the nominated occupation.

If the role changes materially, the employer should check whether a new
nomination or visa process is required before implementing the change.

For a sponsored worker, relevant records can include:

• the written employment contract
• duties performed
• where the duties were performed
• earnings paid
• money dealt with on behalf of the worker
• non-monetary benefits and their agreed value
• terms and conditions applying to an equivalent Australian worker
• reportable events and how they were notified to Home Affairs
• written requests for return travel costs and evidence of payment
• recruitment and sponsorship compliance records where applicable

Records must be kept in a reproducible format, and some need to be
capable of independent verification.

• the sponsorship or work agreement has ended, and
• the business no longer employs a sponsored visa holder.

This means an employer should not dispose of sponsorship records simply
because one sponsored worker resigns or receives another visa.

Other Australian workplace, taxation or corporate laws can also impose
separate record-retention requirements.

Home Affairs currently requires notification within 28 calendar days
for events including:

• the sponsored worker's employment ending or being expected to end
• a change to the end date previously reported
• changes to the worker's duties
• payment of return travel costs under the sponsorship obligation
• insolvency
• the business ceasing to exist as a legal entity

Companies must also report the appointment of a new director.

Other sponsor-specific events can also be reportable.

The employer cannot itself cancel the worker's visa.

The worker's immigration position is governed separately by their visa
conditions and the current sponsored-worker mobility rules.

The sponsor should accurately record the employment end date and make
the required notification rather than assuming the worker's resignation
completes the migration process.

The sponsor should notify Home Affairs within the required timeframe and
retain appropriate employment and sponsorship records.

Ending employment does not remove obligations that continue beyond the
employment relationship.

For example, a valid request for return travel costs may still engage
the sponsor's travel-cost obligation while that obligation remains in
force.

A Standard Business Sponsor can be required to pay reasonable and
necessary travel costs to enable the sponsored worker and their
sponsored family members to leave Australia.

The obligation is triggered by a written request from:

• the sponsored worker, or
• Home Affairs on behalf of the sponsored worker.

Home Affairs states that the required travel costs must be paid within
30 days of receiving the request.

• travel from the worker's usual residence in Australia to the
  Australian departure point
• travel from Australia to the country for which the worker holds a
  passport and intends to travel
• economy-class air travel or a reasonable equivalent

The sponsor only needs to pay these travel costs once under the
obligation.

The obligation also has defined end points, including certain
circumstances where another sponsor's nomination is approved or the
worker receives another type of visa.

Home Affairs requires sponsors to assume costs including:

• the cost of becoming a sponsor
• nomination charges
• migration-agent costs associated with sponsorship and nomination
• recruitment-agent fees
• advertising
• screening and shortlisting
• interviews and reference checks
• relevant recruitment and HR costs

The sponsor must not transfer or charge these prohibited costs to the
sponsored worker or their sponsored family members.

This obligation can continue beyond the immediate visa-application
stage.

The Migration Regulations prohibit sponsors from recovering, seeking to
recover, transferring or seeking to transfer specified costs.

A repayment clause should therefore not be assumed to be lawful merely
because the worker signed it.

Employers should distinguish carefully between prohibited
sponsorship/recruitment costs and other expenses before proposing any
deduction or repayment arrangement.

Approved sponsors have an obligation to cooperate with inspectors
exercising powers under the Migration Act.

Compliance activity can include requests for access to records and
information relevant to sponsorship obligations.

The obligation reinforces the importance of keeping accurate records
throughout the sponsorship period.

Home Affairs can use the information to assess whether sponsorship
obligations are being or have been met and whether administrative action
may be appropriate.

The information must be provided in the manner and timeframe requested.

Home Affairs also requires sponsors to keep records demonstrating
compliance when recruiting SID, TSS or SESR workers.

Employer sponsorship should address genuine skills needs without using
visa or citizenship status as an improper basis for recruitment
decisions.

The Migration Act and Regulations allow compliance and enforcement
action against sponsors.

Depending on the circumstances, consequences can include:

• administrative action against sponsorship approval
• restrictions on future sponsorship
• infringement notices
• civil penalties
• other enforcement action available under the migration framework

Home Affairs also publishes information about certain sanctioned
sponsors.

Employers should address compliance issues promptly rather than waiting
for a monitoring request.

Each obligation has its own commencement and cessation rules.

For example, record-keeping and information obligations can continue for
a period after sponsorship or employment ends.

The return-travel obligation has its own defined end points.

Employers should therefore check the particular obligation rather than
applying one universal end date to every sponsorship responsibility.

• whether the duties remain within the nominated occupation
• whether salary and employment conditions remain compliant
• whether the change is reportable to Home Affairs
• whether a new nomination is required
• whether the worker needs a new visa
• whether the change affects any future permanent-residence strategy

A normal workplace change can have migration consequences when the
employee is sponsored.

• employment contract
• nominated occupation and actual duties
• work location where relevant
• salary and employment conditions
• records of earnings and benefits
• changes to duties
• employment start and end dates
• reportable events and 28-day notifications
• sponsorship and recruitment cost allocation
• return-travel requests
• Home Affairs requests for records
• changes that may require a new nomination or visa

Post-grant compliance should be built into normal HR and payroll
processes rather than handled only when a migration issue arises.