Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457)

This visa can be valid for up to four years after it is granted. You will need to check the letter you received from us when your visa was granted to confirm the date your visa expires.

If your sponsor is a start-up business or has traded in Australia for less than 12 months, then the visa will be granted for 18 months.

This visa allows you to:

• work in Australia for an approved sponsor for the life of your visa (which could be up to four years)
• bring your family to work or study in Australia
• travel in and out of Australia as often as you want.

If you are granted a subclass 457 visa, there are certain conditions which apply to you depending on whether you are the primary or a secondary visa holder. You must comply with the visa condition or conditions which apply to you, as failure to do so might result in your visa being cancelled.

From 19 November 2016, the primary visa holder must not cease to be employed with the approved sponsor for more than 60 days.

Visa conditions

Condition 8107 applies to all primary visa holders only.

Condition 8501 applies to all primary visa holders and all secondary visa holders.

Condition 8107

This condition is only relevant to a primary holder of a subclass 457 visa. You must:

• only work in your nominated occupation
• start work within 90 days of arrival in Australia if you were outside Australia when your visa was granted, or within 90 days after your visa was granted if you were already in Australia at the time
• only work for the sponsor, who nominated the position you are working in (if your sponsor is a standard business sponsor and is an Australian business, you can also work for an associated entity of the sponsor)
• not cease employment for a period of more than 60 consecutive days
• obtain any licence, registration or membership necessary to perform your occupation in Australia and comply with any provisions, and
• if your visa was granted on or after 1 December 2015 you must also:
  • hold the licence, registration or membership within 90 days of arrival in Australia if your visa was granted while you were outside Australia, or within 90 days after your visa was granted if your visa was granted while you were in Australia
  • not engage in work that is inconsistent with your licence, registration or membership
  • notify us in writing as soon as practicable if your application for the licence, registration or membership is refused
  • notify us in writing as soon as practicable if your licence, registration or membership ceases to be in force or is revoked or cancelled.

To notify us of registration, licence or membership issues you should send an email to: sponsor.notifications@border.gov.au

You are considered to have ceased employment when either you or your employer notifies us of the date you stopped work.

If you stop working for your sponsor, you must do one of the following within 60 days:

• find another employer to sponsor you (they will need to lodge a nomination and it must be approved before you can start working for them)
• be granted a different visa
  or
• depart Australia.

If more than 60 consecutive days have passed since the date your sponsor advised us you would be ceasing employment on, you could be in breach of Condition 8107 and your visa could be cancelled.

If you abandon your employment, or are absent without leave, you could be considered to have ceased employment.

If your visa is about to expire and you want to keep working in Australia, you must apply for another subclass 457 visa.

If you want to change employers while you hold a valid 457 visa you do not need to apply for a new subclass 457 visa, however your new sponsor must lodge a new nomination and this must be approved before you commence working for the new sponsor.

Medical practitioners and general managers

Medical practitioners and general managers must work in their nominated occupation but they can work for employers other than their sponsor or an associated entity of their sponsor.

The specific occupations that this applies to are listed in Exemption from the requirement to work directly for the sponsor.

Condition 8501

This condition is relevant for all primary and secondary visa holders. You must maintain adequate arrangements for health insurance while you are in Australia.

Report changes

You must tell us if your circumstances change. This includes a new residential address, a new passport, or a pregnancy, birth or death in your family.

You can use the following forms:

• Form 929 Change of address and/or passport details (89KB PDF) — if you move to a new address or change your passport
• Form 1022 Notification of changes in circumstances (77KB PDF) — if there are other changes in your circumstances.

You might be able to update your address and passport details using ImmiAccount.

Children born in Australia

If your child is born in Australia while you hold a 457 visa, you must notify us in writing. Your child will then hold a subclass 457 visa.

You must provide a copy of your child’s Australian birth certificate and the personal details page of their passport. This is particularly important if you are intending to travel outside Australia after the birth of your child.

You must email this information to 457@border.gov.au. General 457 enquiries submitted to this email address will not be responded to.

Changing employer or occupation

If you have been granted a subclass 457 visa and you want to change your employer or occupation you are not required to apply for a new visa, however before you start working for a new employer or in a new occupation, you must be nominated by your proposed new employer and have that nomination approved first.

If you start working for your proposed new employer or in your new occupation before the nomination is approved, you will be in breach of visa condition 8107 and your subclass 457 visa might be cancelled.

The approval of a new nomination only allows you to change your employer or occupation. It does not extend the length of your subclass 457 visa and does not change the conditions attached to it.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you have a valid visa to remain in Australia at all times. To check the visa conditions and expiry date of your visa, refer to Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO).

Your employment rights in Australia

All employees in Australia are covered by the Fair Work Act 2009. This includes you as a subclass 457 visa holders.

You are entitled to fair pay and to basic rights and protections in the workplace. Your sponsor must provide you with the same terms and conditions as Australian workers performing the same work in the same work location.

For more information contact the Fair Work Ombudsman on 131 394, or Unions Australia on 1300 486 466 or visit www.fairwork.gov.au.

You can read the obligations that your sponsor must meet from the sponsor tab.

Payment

What you are entitled to be paid depends on factors including which state or territory you work in, your age, what award you are covered by and the details of your workplace agreement or contract. Your employer must pay you regularly. Your employer must not make deductions from your salary (other than for tax purposes) without your permission.

Conditions of employment

All workers in Australia have minimum conditions of employment. These standards cover things such as working hours, payment for overtime, rest breaks, sick leave and holidays.

Paying tax in Australia

In Australia, tax is paid out of money you earn from a job, business or investment. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) collects taxes from individuals and businesses to pay for important community services like hospitals, schools and roads. If you are working, your employer automatically takes tax out of your pay.

Before you start work, you should apply for a tax file number (TFN) from the ATO. If you do not have a TFN, your employer must take the maximum amount of tax from your pay. Be sure to keep your TFN secure. Allowing someone else to use your TFN can cause serious problems.

Rights to representation

All workers in Australia have the right to join and be represented by a trade union. Unions provide their members with advice on wages, employment conditions and workplace rights. They help with workplace problems, and bargain with employers about members’ pay and employment conditions.

You do not have to tell your employer you are a union member. Your employer must not treat you unfavourably or dismiss you because you are a member of a union.

If you want to join a union but do not know which union to join, contact Unions Australia on 1300 486 466.

Unfair treatment at work

You have the right not to be dismissed unfairly. You have the right not to be discriminated against for reasons of your race, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, disability or for being a member of a trade union.

More information is available at www.fairwork.gov.au.

Other workplace rights

You have the right to work in a safe and healthy workplace. If you have been injured at work, you could be entitled to workers compensation. Your employer cannot treat you unfavourably or dismiss you because you make an inquiry or complaint about your employment (to your employer or to anyone else) or because you seek to enforce your rights.

If you believe your workplace is unsafe, you can contact your union or the relevant state authority below.

• New South Wales – WorkCover NSW 13 10 50
• Victoria – WorkSafe Victoria 1800 136 089
• Queensland – WorkCover Queensland 1300 362 128
• Western Australia – WorkCover Western Australia 1300 794 744
• South Australia – SafeWork SA 1300 365 255
• Tasmania – Workplace Standards Tasmania 1300 366 322
• Australian Capital Territory – WorkCover ACT (02) 6205 0200
• Northern Territory – NT WorkSafe 1800 019 115.

To become a sponsor, you must be able to show that your business:

• is a lawfully operating business
• has no relevant adverse information against your business.

Australian businesses must also demonstrate their commitment to employing local labour as well as non-discriminatory recruitment practices.

There are two ways you can become an approved sponsor:

• Option 1: Apply to be a standard business sponsor
• Option 2: Negotiate a labour agreement.

Option 1: Apply to be a standard business sponsor

The standard business sponsorship arrangement is the most common way to sponsor a skilled worker using the subclass 457 visa program. You must lodge an application to become a standard business sponsor.

You can have only one standard business sponsorship approved at any given time (that is, one sponsorship approval per legal entity) which is usually valid for five years. You can apply to extend your sponsorship at any time during this five-year period by lodging a variation application.

The requirements for approval as a standard business sponsor differ for businesses that are outside and in Australia.

Business in Australia

You must attest, in writing, that you have a strong record of, or a demonstrated commitment to employing local labour. You must also declare that you will not engage in discriminatory recruitment practices.

Make the attestation and the declaration about your workplace record in your sponsorship application form.

You must also meet training requirements. This means you must either:

• meet the training benchmarks if you have traded in Australia for 12 months or more
• have an auditable plan to meet the training benchmarks if you have been trading in Australia for less than 12 months.

Business outside Australia

You must be seeking to employ a skilled worker to either:

• establish, or help establish, a business operation in Australia
• fulfil obligations for a contract in Australia.

If your business does not yet have an operating base in Australia, you are not required to satisfy the training requirement.

Option 2: Negotiate a labour agreement

A labour agreement is a formal arrangement negotiated between an Australian employer and the Australian Government. You might be able to enter into a labour agreement if you are in one of the following situations:

• the occupation of the workers you want to employ is not listed on the Skilled Occupation Lists (Formerly Known as Form 1121i) or the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO)
• you are a recruitment company seeking to sponsor skilled workers to be on-hired to another businesses, and the occupations requested are on the Consolidated Sponsored Occupations List (CSOL)
• standard immigration options are not suitable.

You must be able to provide evidence that:

• there is a genuine and systemic shortage of skilled workers
• there are no suitably qualified Australian workers available
• you have a commitment to training Australians.

A labour agreement comes into effect when it has been signed by all parties involved in the negotiations. A labour agreement is typically valid for three years.

How to propose a labour agreement

You need, among other things, to:

• identify the relevant skills shortage in the business and why these vacancies cannot be filled by Australian workers (you need to show you have tried to recruit in Australia)
• specify the number of skilled workers needed from outside Australia
• specify the skill and English language requirements that relate to the nominated occupations. Semi-skilled occupations can be considered provided they are specialised and in demand
• include copies of correspondence showing that relevant stakeholders have been consulted.

You might be able to use a template labour agreement if there is one for your industry or your worker’s occupation. A template labour agreement is a set of standard parameters for similar employers: it does not guarantee an agreement will be approved.

If the template does not suit your needs, you might be able to negotiate an individual agreement.

Labour agreements include a requirement to provide training to Australian employees.

When you have a labour agreement in place, you are an approved sponsor for the term of operation of the agreement. You can then nominate skilled workers from outside Australia under the terms of the labour agreement.

You will also need to meet your sponsorship obligations and any other terms and conditions specified in the agreement.  If you breach the terms and conditions of your agreement, we could suspend or terminate it.

To find out more about the labour agreement process, contact us by email labour.agreement.section@border.gov.au.

To sponsor a worker as a standard business sponsor, you must:

• be a lawfully operating business
• have no relevant adverse information against your business.

If your business is in Australia, you must also:

• meet training requirements
• demonstrate your commitment to employing local labour
• not engage in discriminatory recruitment practices.

You can use Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO for Organisations) to check the work entitlements of your prospective employees.

A lawfully operating business

You must be a lawfully operating business to apply to be a standard business sponsor. This applies to businesses both in and outside Australia.

To demonstrate this you must show both of the following:

• your business is legally established
• your business is actually operating.

A business that exists only on paper cannot satisfy this sponsorship requirement.

If you do not operate in Australia, you must be able to show that you need a skilled worker to:

• come to Australia to establish, or help establish, a business operation with connections with a business located outside Australia
• fulfil, or help in fulfil, a contractual obligation.

If your business is new, you can still satisfy this requirement if you can provide evidence that your business is in fact operating, even if this has been for only a short period of time.

Examples of the documents you can use to show that your business is legally established and operating are in the Document checklist.

If you operate a business under a trust arrangement you must provide details of the Trust Name and the Trust ABN when you complete the application form.  The application should be made using the name of the Trustee as it appears in the Trust Deed.

Details of the principals of your business such as Owners, Partners, Directors and major Shareholders should be provided when you complete the application form.

Training requirements

You must show that you have contributed to the training of Australian workers by providing evidence of meeting the training benchmarks. These benchmarks were introduced to ensure that the employment of workers from outside Australia is not seen as an alternative to training Australian workers.

To be approved as a standard business sponsor, you must either:

• meet the training benchmarks if you have traded in Australia for 12 months or more
• have an auditable plan to meet the training benchmarks if you have been trading in Australia for less than 12 months.

If you negotiate a labour agreement, your business will have to meet a similar training requirement as part of the agreement.

Training benchmarks

If your business has been trading in Australia for more than 12 months, you must show you have contributed to the training of Australians.

You show this by meeting one of two benchmarks. This can be either:

• Training benchmark A: recent expenditure to the equivalent of at least two per cent of the payroll of the business, in payments allocated to an industry training fund that operates in the same industry as the business
• Training benchmark B: recent expenditure to the equivalent of at least one per cent of the payroll of the business, in the provision of training to employees of the business who are Australian citizens or Australian permanent residents.

You must provide evidence of expenditure relating to the training benchmarks when you submit your sponsorship application. Not providing evidence can cause a significant delay in processing your application.

Businesses that do not yet have an operating base in Australia do not need to meet the training benchmarks.

Payroll

Payroll is the amount of money an employer pays in wages to their employees in the 12 months immediately before you lodge your application for sponsorship.

Payroll expenditure includes any:

• wages
• remuneration
• salary
• commission
• bonuses
• allowances
•  superannuation contributions (mandatory or otherwise)
• eligible termination payments that are defined as wages in the Act relating to payroll tax in the relevant state or territory.

Payments to contractors or sub-contractors count as payroll if the contractor provides some labour services in fulfilling the requirements of the contract. For example, if your contractor is a bricklayer or a carpenter, any payments you make to them should be included as payroll expenditure.

Recent expenditure

For expenditure to qualify as recent, it must have occurred in the 12 months immediately before you lodge your application. This applies to both benchmarks.
If you include payments to contractors in your payroll expenditure, you can also count any eligible training expenditure on them towards the benchmarks.

Industry training funds

Industry training funds are statutory authorities responsible for providing funding for training of eligible workers in certain industries, such as construction and mining.

You should contribute to a fund that operates in the same industry as your business. If your industry does not have an eligible training fund, you can contribute to:

• a recognised industry body that provides training opportunities for its members, provided they reserve the funds contributed for training
• a recognised scholarship fund at a university or TAFE college that supports education or training for Australians in the same or a similar industry as your business.

Examples of ways to meet the training benchmarks

You can show you meet the training benchmarks in relation to your Australian employees by:

• paying for a formal course of study for your Australian employees
• funding a scholarship in a formal course of study approved under the Australian Qualifications Framework for your Australian employees
• employing apprentices, trainees or recent graduates on an ongoing basis in numbers proportionate to the size of the business
• employing a person who trains your Australian employees
• paying external providers to deliver training for Australian employees
• providing on-the-job training that is structured with a timeframe and clearly identified increase in the skills at each stage, and demonstrating all of the following:
• the learning outcomes of the employee at each stage
• how the progress of the Australian employee will be monitored and assessed
• how the program will provide additional and enhanced skills
• the use of qualified trainers to develop the program and set assessments
• the number of people participating and their skill and occupation.

Expenditure that cannot count towards this benchmark includes expenditure for training that is:

• delivered on the job, other than on-the-job training that meets the requirements outlined above
• confined to only one or a few aspects of the businesses broader operations, unless the training is in the primary business activity
• only done by people who are not Australian citizens or permanent residents
• only done by people who are principals in the business or their family members
• only relating to a very low skill level having regard to the characteristic and size of the business
• wages paid to staff for the time they spend at training.

Expenditure on apprentices and trainees

Apprenticeships and traineeships are training positions. You can count 100 per cent of the salary provided to an apprentice or trainee towards training benchmark B if:

• they are employed under a formal agreement (known as a training contract)
• the training contract has been lodged with the relevant state or territory government authority.
• If you employ an apprentice through a Group Training Organisation you cannot include any commission paid to third parties but you can still include 100 per cent of their salary.

Expenditure on graduates who are part of a formal training program

One hundred per cent of a graduate’s salary can be counted towards training benchmark B if the graduate’s position is part of a formal, structured graduate program of up to two years, or if it is part of a professional year following their graduation. The occupation in which the graduate is working must be relevant or related to the subject of their recently completed qualification.

Expenditure on graduates who are not part of a formal training program

Graduate positions that are not part of a formal, structured graduate program are considered differently because they are already fully qualified for their positions and they can already perform all their duties:

• you can count only the expenditure that is for the formal training aspects of the graduate position towards training benchmark B
• you cannot count the total salary of these graduates because graduate positions are not, in themselves, considered to be wholly training positions.

A recent graduate is someone who has completed their higher education studies within the 24 months before you lodge your application to become a standard business sponsor.

Training provided by a franchise head office for franchisees

Training provided to employees of franchisees can be counted towards training benchmark B if you:

• submit quantifiable evidence of structured training provided to your employees (for example, session plans, learning objectives)
• make a commitment to continue to provide training to your employees
• quantify the actual expenditure on training.

If the franchise head office provides the training, you must provide documents that show exactly what percentage of the franchise fee is attributed to training. An estimate of the training component will not be accepted; neither will the entire franchise fee.

Auditable plans

An auditable plan must clearly identify how the applicant intends to meet one of the training benchmarks. An auditable plan must:

• relate to the immediate future (within the next 12 months)
• clearly articulate the forecast payroll for the next 12 months
• show the intended expenditure towards training benchmark A or training benchmark B
• show a clear intent to implement the plan.

An auditable plan to meet training benchmark B must clearly articulate the type and duration of training, and the estimated cost of delivering the training.

Agree to the number of subclass 457 workers to be nominated

In your sponsorship application, you must tell us the number of people that the business proposes to nominate during the period of approval as a sponsor. You will need to justify why you are proposing that number. The visa processing officer could use the information in your application to propose an alternative number of people to you. You must agree in writing to a number for the sponsorship agreement to be approved.

You can apply for accreditation if you have a long history of good dealings with us. This includes lodging a high volume of good quality, decision-ready applications and an excellent record of compliance with relevant laws.

The advantages of accreditation are:

• your sponsorship is valid for six years
• you will receive priority processing of all nomination and visa applications.

Your accredited status can be revoked if you no longer meet the required characteristics. This means you will no longer receive priority processing. Your sponsorship will still remain valid for six years.

Sponsors with accredited status must still comply with all sponsorship obligations.

How to apply for sponsorship accreditation

Accredited status can be applied for by either submitting a new sponsorship application or applying for a variation of a current sponsorship agreement.

You can apply for accredited status using the same forms you use to apply to become a standard business sponsor. If you do not meet the characteristics for accredited status, your application for standard business sponsorship will still proceed and be assessed in the usual way.

Who can apply for accreditation

To be approved for accredited status, you must meet the standard sponsorship requirements at the time of application as well as all of the following characteristics:

• be a government agency, a publicly-listed company, or a private company, with a minimum of AUD 4 million turnover per year for the last three years
• have been an active subclass 457 visa sponsor for the past three years (with a break of no more than six months, not due to any sanction)
• have no adverse information known about you based on monitoring by us and the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
• have sponsored at least ten primary subclass 457 visa holders granted in the last 24 months
• have an excellent record of compliance with immigration and workplace law
• have lodged a high level of decision-ready applications over the previous two years
• have a non-approval rate of less than three per cent for the previous three years
• have Australian workers comprising at least 75 per cent of your workforce in Australia and a commitment to maintain this level
• have all 457 holders engaged as employees under a written contract of employment that includes at least the minimum employment entitlements as required under the National Employment Standards (unless their occupation is exempt from this requirement)—a copy of a template contract used for this purpose must be attached to the application
• have all Australian employees paid in accordance with an Enterprise Agreement or an internal salary table that reflects the current market salary rates for all occupations in your business—a copy of the Enterprise Agreement or internal salary table must be attached to the application in addition to evidence and a description of how the business used the evidence to determine that the salary rates contained in the document reflect the current market salary rates for occupations in your business (for example: awards, remuneration surveys, job advertisements, the Australian Government’s Job Outlook)
• have provided details of all business activities undertaken by your business to the department—evidence relating to the other business activities must be attached to the application (for example: profit / loss statements, Business Activity Statements, annual reports)
• have provided details of all Principals / Directors of your business to the department—if the business is a company, a current / historical extract from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) must be attached to the application.

Sponsors with accredited status after 1 July 2016

Sponsors approved for accredited status after 1 July 2016 will also be eligible for streamlined processing of nominations where the nominated base salary is equal to or greater than either of the following:

• the Fair Work High Income Threshold (currently AUD 136,700) and the occupation is classified as skill level 1 or 2 in the ANZSCO
• AUD 75,000 and the occupation is classified as skill level 1 or 2 in the ANZSCO with the exception of the following occupations:
  • recruitment consultant
  • sales representative (industrial products)
  • customer service manager
  • corporate general manager
  • procurement manager
  • quality assurance manager
  • sales and marketing manager
  • specialist manager not elsewhere classified
  • hotel/motel manager
  • contract administrator
  • information and organisation professionals not elsewhere classified.

Standard business sponsorships will be approved for a certain time period:

• sponsorships for start-up businesses (those which have traded for in Australia for less than 12 months) – 18 months
• if your business becomes an accredited sponsor – six years
• all other standard business sponsorships – five years.

If you have a labour agreement in place, you are an approved sponsor for the term of the agreement.

This information explains what you need to do to apply to become a sponsor for a Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457).

There are two ways an eligible business can become an approved sponsor:

• negotiate a labour agreement  –  contact us by email at labour.agreement.section@border.gov.au to ask for an information pack about becoming a labour agreement sponsor
• apply to be a standard business sponsor using the forms listed below.

You can lodge your sponsorship application at the same time as a nomination and visa application.

Prepare all relevant documents

You need to provide documents to prove the claims you make in the application. These documents are listed in the Document checklist.

Some documents could take some time to obtain. You should have all the required documents ready when you lodge your application to reduce any delays in processing.

Lodge your application to be a standard business sponsor

You can apply to become a standard business sponsor online at:

• eVisa application 1196 Employer Sponsored Workers (e457)

You must provide all relevant documents and pay the visa application charge by credit card when you apply. Upload your documents through your ImmiAccount when you apply. This will help reduce delays in processing your application.

Fees

There is a fee for businesses applying to become an approved sponsor. Payment of this fee must accompany your application. Payment does not guarantee approval of the application.

To check the current application fee, see Temporary work sponsorship and nomination fees, which can be found under the work tab.

You must tell us if your circumstances change. Use the following forms:

• Form 929 Change of address and/or passport details(89KB PDF file) — if you move to a new address or change your passport
• Form 1022 Notification of changes in circumstances (77KB PDF file) — if there are other changes in your circumstances.

You might be able to update your address details using ImmiAccount.

The types of changes that must be notified are:

• a change to your business trading name, your ABN, or other business details
• a change to your contact or address details
• corrections to information you provided in your application.

Changing your business structure

• Businesses sometimes decide to change their structure and this can have implications if your business sponsors 457 visa holders.  If a change in your business structure results in a new legal entity being created (for example, a sole trader commences operating as a company) then the new entity will need to apply to become a standard business sponsor and new nominations will be required for each of your 457 visa holders.  If you do not do this you could be breaching your sponsorship obligations and your workers will not be complying with their visa conditions which might result in their visa being cancelled.
• Changing your business structure could also have implications for you and your 457 visa holder if you want to sponsor them for a permanent visa in the future.  You should read the Employer Nomination Scheme pages for more information.

If your application to be sponsor is approved, we will send you a letter with:

• the date your sponsorship ceases
• your sponsorship agreement number
• the obligations you have as a sponsor.

If your application is not approved, we will send you a letter stating:

• why your application was refused
• your rights (if any) to a merits review of the decision and relevant time limits.

Sponsorship obligations apply to all sponsors of subclass 457 visa holders. They are in place to ensure that overseas skilled workers are protected from exploitation, and that the subclass 457 visa programme is being used to meet genuine skills shortages, and not to undercut local labour wages and conditions.

Some obligations apply beyond the term of sponsorship approval.

As a sponsor you must:

• cooperate with inspectors
• ensure equivalent terms and conditions of employment
• keep records
• provide records and information to the Minister
• tell us when certain events occur
• ensure  the visa holder  participates in the nominated occupation, program or activity
• not recover from, transfer or charge certain costs to another person
• pay travel costs to enable sponsored people to leave Australia
• pay costs  to remove unlawful non-citizens
• provide training to Australians and permanent residents
• not engage in discriminatory recruitment practices.

Cooperate with inspectors

You must cooperate with inspectors appointed under the Migration Act 1958 (the Act) who are investigating whether:

• a sponsorship obligation is being, or has been, complied with
• you have hired an illegal worker
• there are other circumstances in which we could take administrative action.

This obligation:

• starts on the day the sponsorship is approved or work agreement commences
• ends five years after the day the approved sponsorship ends  or work agreement ceases.

Cooperating with inspectors can include (but is not limited to):

• providing access to premises
• producing and providing documents within the requested timeframe
• not preventing  or attempting to prevent ,access to a person who has custody of, or access to, a record or documents
• providing officers with access to interview any person on their premises.

Ensure equivalent terms and conditions of employment

If you are a standard business sponsor, the  terms and conditions of employment for the person you have sponsored must be no less favourable than those you provide, or would provide to an Australian performing equivalent work in the same location. Further, if you are a standard business sponsor, the terms and conditions of employment for the person you have sponsored must be no less favourable than the terms and conditions you advised you would be providing to the sponsored person at the time of the nomination.

This obligation does not apply to a sponsor if the annual earnings of their sponsored visa holder are equal to, or greater than AUD 250,000.

If you sponsor someone under a work agreement, you must ensure that the people you sponsor are paid the amount specified in the work agreement.

This obligation starts on the day (whichever is the earliest):

• the person you have sponsored is granted a subclass 457 visa
• your nomination is approved (if they already hold a subclass 457 visa when your nomination was approved)

This obligation ends either:

• on the day the sponsored visa holder stops working for you, or
• on the day they are granted a further visa other than another subclass 457 visa, or a bridging visa, a criminal justice visa, or an enforcement visa.

If the sponsored visa holder is granted another subclass 457 visa to continue to work for you, this obligation continues.

Keep records

You must keep records that show your compliance with your sponsorship obligations. All of the records must be kept in a reproducible format and some must be capable of verification by an independent person. Records that must be kept, in addition to records that must be kept under other Australian Government, and state or territory laws, include the following:

• written requests for payment of outward travel costs for a sponsored visa holder  or their family, including when the request was received
• how the outward travel costs were paid for a sponsored visa holder or their family, how much was paid, for whom they were paid, and when they were paid
• notifying us of an event required to be reported to us, including the date and method of notification and where the notification was provided
• tasks performed by the sponsored visa holder  in relation to the nominated occupation and where the tasks were performed
• money paid to the sponsored visa holder (unless the sponsored visa holder earns over AUD 250,000)
• money applied or dealt with in any way on behalf of the sponsored visa holder  or as the sponsored visa holder directed (unless the sponsored visa holder earns over AUD 250,000)
• non-monetary benefits provided to the sponsored visa holder , including the agreed value and the time at which, or the period over which, those benefits were provided (unless the sponsored visa holder earns over AUD 250,000)
• if there is an equivalent worker in your workplace, a record of the terms and conditions that apply to the equivalent worker, including the period over which the terms and conditions applied (unless the sponsored visa holder earns over AUD 250,000)
• the written contract of employment each sponsored visa holder is engaged under
• if you were lawfully operating a business in Australian at the time of your approval as a standard business sponsor or variation of the terms of your approval as a standard business sponsor—how you are complying with the training obligation
• if you are a party to a work  agreement, the records required to be kept under the work  agreement.

The obligation starts the day the sponsorship is approved or work agreement begins.

This obligation ends two years after both of the following:

• your sponsorship or the work agreement ceases
• you are no longer sponsoring anyone.

Provide records and information to the Minister

You must provide records or information, if they are requested by a departmental officer that goes to determining whether:

• a sponsorship obligation is being or has been complied with, and
• determining whether other circumstances, in which the Minister might take administrative action, exist or have existed,
  in the manner and timeframe requested by us.

We might ask you in writing to provide records or information which relate to your sponsorship obligations, and any other matters that relate to your sponsorship of Subclass 457 visa holders. You must provide the records or information requested if it is a record or information that:

• you are required to keep under Commonwealth, state or territory law
• you have an obligation to keep as a sponsor.

This obligation starts to apply on the day the sponsorship is approved or work agreement commences.

This obligation ends two years after:

• your sponsorship or work agreement ceases, and
• you no longer have a sponsored visa holder.

Tell us when certain events occur

You must tell us in writing when certain events occur. Send the information by registered post or electronic mail to a specified address and within certain timeframes of the event occurring.

Examples of events include (but are not limited to):

• a change to your address or contact details
• the end or expected ending of a primary sponsored visa holder’s employment, program or activity
• a change to the duties carried out by the primary sponsored visa holder.

This obligation starts to apply on the day the standard business sponsorship is approved or the work agreement commences.

This obligation ends two years after:

• your sponsorship or the work  agreement ends, and
• you are no longer sponsoring anyone.

Changes or events that all sponsors must notify within 28 calendar days

You must notify us within 28 calendar days if:

• the sponsored visa holder’s employment ends, or is expected to end(the sponsor must tell  us if the end date changes)
• there are changes to the work duties carried out by the sponsored visa holder
• you are a standard business sponsor and there is a change to the information in the sponsorship application or the application to vary a term of sponsorship approval relating to the training requirement and the sponsor’s address and contact details
• if you are a party to a work agreement and there is a change to the address and contact details or the training information provided in the work  agreement
• you have paid the return travel costs of a sponsored visa holder  or any of their family members in accordance with the obligation to pay return travel costs
• you have become insolvent within the meaning of subsections 5 (2) and (3) of the Bankruptcy Act 1966 and section 95A of the Corporations Act 2001
• your business ceases to exist as a legal entity.

If your business is a company

A company must also notify us of the following changes or events within 28 calendar days if:

• a new director is appointed
• an administrator is appointed for the company under Part 5.3A of the Corporations Act 2001
  • the company resolves by special resolution to be wound up voluntarily under subsection 491(1) of the Corporations Act 2001
  • a court has ordered that the company be wound up in insolvency under Part 5.4, or on other grounds under Part 5.4A, of the Corporations Act 2001
  • a court has appointed an official liquidator to be the provisional liquidator of the company under Part 5.4B of the Corporations Act 2001
  • a court has approved a compromise or arrangement proposed by the company under Part 5.1 of the Corporations Act 2001
  • the property of the company becomes subject to a receiver or other controller under Part 5.2 of the Corporations Act 2001
  • procedures are initiated for the deregistration of the company under Part 5A.1 of the Corporations Act 2001.

If you are an individual

If you operate your business as an individual, you must also notify us of the following changes or events within 28 calendar days:

• you enter into a personal insolvency agreement under Part X of the Bankruptcy Act 1966
• you enter into a debt agreement under Part IX of the Bankruptcy Act 1966
• a sequestration order is made against your estate under Part IV of the Bankruptcy Act 1966
• you become a bankrupt by virtue of the presentation of a debtor’s petition under Part IV of the Bankruptcy Act 1966
• you present a declaration of intention to present a debtor’s petition under Part IV of the Bankruptcy Act 1966
• a composition or scheme of arrangement is presented in relation to you in accordance with Division 6 of Part IV of the Bankruptcy Act 1966.

If your business is a partnership

You must also notify us of the following changes or events within 28 calendar days:

• a new partner joins the partnership
• any of the events listed for an individual or a company occurs.

If your business is an unincorporated association

An unincorporated association must also notify us within 28 calendar days if:

• a new member is appointed to the managing committee of the association
• any of the events listed for an individual or a company occurs.

Where to send a notice of an event or change

You must send details of these events by email or to one of our state or territory offices listed below.

By email (preferred): sponsor.notifications@border.gov.au

By registered post:

• Australian Capital Territory
  Sponsor Monitoring
  GPO Box 717
  Canberra ACT 2601

• New South Wales
  Sponsor Monitoring
  GPO Box 9984
  Sydney NSW 2001

• Queensland
  Sponsor Monitoring
  GPO Box 9984
  Brisbane Qld 4001

• Northern Territory
  Sponsor Monitoring
  GPO Box 864
  Darwin NT 0801

• South Australia
  Sponsor Monitoring
  GPO Box 2399
  Adelaide SA 5001

• Tasmania
  Sponsor Monitoring
  GPO Box 794
  Hobart Tas. 7001

• Victoria
  Sponsor Monitoring
  GPO Box 241
  Melbourne Vic. 3001

• Western Australia
  Sponsor Monitoring
  Locked Bag 7
  Northbridge WA 6865

Ensure that the visa holder participates in the nominated occupation, program or activity

You must ensure that the person you have sponsored  participates only in the  occupation, program or activity for which you nominated them. If you want to engage a visa holder for  a different occupation, program or activity, you must lodge a new nomination application. This obligation starts on the day the person you have sponsored is granted a visa. If they already hold a visa when you nominate them, your obligation starts on the day the nomination is approved.

This obligation ends on the day (whichever is the earliest):

• the sponsored visa holder has a nomination approved for another approved sponsor
• the sponsored visa holder is granted another  substantive visa of a different type for which you sponsored them (unless that other visa is a bridging visa, criminal justice visa or enforcement visa
• the sponsored visa holder  has left Australia and  the relevant visa (and any subsequent bridging visa) is no longer in effect.

If you are a standard business sponsor, you must employ the person you have sponsored under a written contract of employment. They cannot work for another business, and you cannot supply them to another business.  If you were lawfully operating a business in Australia at the time you were approved as a standard business sponsor, the person might work for an associated entity.

You cannot engage in activities related to the recruitment or hire of the sponsored visa holder to another business unless it is an associated entity and you lawfully operated a business in Australia at the time you were approved as a standard business sponsor (or at the time the terms of your approval were last varied).

The only exception to this rule is if the sponsored visa holder’s occupation is an exempt occupation for the purposes of this obligation.

The obligation ends on the day the sponsored visa holder  is granted another substantive visa of a different subclass from the one they last held. The obligation continues if the sponsored visa holder is granted another subclass 457 visa to continue to work for you.

Not recover, transfer or charge certain costs to another person

You must not take any action or seek to take any action that would result in the transfer or charging of costs  (including migration agent costs) to another person, such as a sponsored visa holder or their sponsored family members this includes costs that relate to:

• the recruitment of  the person you sponsored
• becoming or being a sponsor or former approved sponsor.

This obligation:

• starts on the day the sponsorship is approved or the work agreement commences
• ends on the following two events:
  • you cease to be an  approved sponsor or party to a work agreement
  • you  no longer have a sponsored visa holder.

Sponsors are also required to pay certain costs associated with becoming a sponsor and not pass these costs, in any form, onto another person. These include:

• cost of sponsorship and nomination charges
• migration agent costs associated with the lodgement of sponsorship and nomination applications
• administrative costs and any sundry costs an employer incurs when they conduct recruitment exercises, including:
  • recruitment agent fees
  • migration agent fees
  • the cost of job advertising
  • screening of candidates, short listing, interviews and reference checks
  • salaries of recruitment or human resource staff
  • the cost of outsourcing background checks, police checks and psychological testing where they relate to an employer determining an applicant’s suitability for the position
  • training of new staff
  • responding to queries for prospective candidates, and advising unsuccessful applicants
  • travel costs for the sponsor to interview and/or meet the applicant either overseas or in Australia.

Pay travel costs to enable sponsored people to leave Australia

You must pay reasonable and necessary travel costs to enable the sponsored person  and their sponsored family members to leave Australia. They  must ask you in writing for you to pay the costs. We can also make a written request  on their behalf.

The costs will be considered reasonable and necessary if they include all of the following:

• travel from the sponsored persons usual place of residence in Australia to their place of departure from Australia
• travel from Australia to the country (for which the sponsored visa holder holds a passport) and intends to travel to
• economy class air travel or, where that is not available, a reasonable equivalent.

Travel costs must be paid within 30 days of receiving the request.

You will only be required to pay return travel costs once. If a sponsored person returns to Australia (whilst holding the visa for which you sponsored them) after you have paid their return travel costs, you will not be required to pay their return travel costs again.

This obligation starts on the day:

• the visa is granted (if the sponsored person did not already hold a visa when your nomination of them was approved , or
• your nomination is approved (if the person already held  a visa in this subclass when your nomination is approved).

This obligation ends on the day (whichever is the earliest):

• another sponsor has their nomination application for the sponsored person approved
• the person you sponsored is granted another visa other than a subclass 457 visa, a bridging visa, a criminal justice visa, or an enforcement visa the person you sponsored has left Australia and the relevant visa (and any subsequent bridging visa) is no longer in effect.

Pay costs to locate and remove an unlawful non-citizen

In the event a primary sponsored person (or any of their sponsored family members) becomes an unlawful non-citizen, you might be required to pay the costs incurred by the Commonwealth in locating and/or removing the primary or secondary sponsored persons from Australia.

You might be liable to pay the Commonwealth the difference between the actual costs incurred by the Commonwealth (up to a maximum of AUD 10,000) less any amount which might have already been paid under the obligation to pay travel costs to enable sponsored persons to leave Australia (see ‘Obligation to pay travel costs’ above).

This obligation starts on the day the person you sponsored becomes an unlawful non-citizen. It ends five years after they leave Australia.  This means that we might, up to five years after the person you have sponsored has left Australia, give you a letter requiring payment of the costs that the Commonwealth paid to locate and remove the person you sponsored prior to their departure from Australia.

Provide training to Australians and permanent residents

If you are a standard business sponsor and you lawfully operated a business in Australia at the time you were approved as a standard business sponsor (or at the time you had your terms of approval varied). You must contribute to the training of Australians by:

• spending an equivalent of at least two per cent of your payroll in payments to an industry training fund that operates in the same industry as you; or
• spending an equivalent to at least one per cent of your payroll in the provision of training to employees of your business who are Australian citizens or Australian permanent residents.

The obligation begins on the day you are approved as a sponsor. You must meet this obligation in each 12 month period within which you employ a sponsored visa holder (including if the sponsored visa holder is not employed by you for the full twelve months). Where your approval as a standard business sponsor is varied, you must meet the training requirement if you employ one or more primary sponsored persons.

The obligation ends either:

• three years after you are approved as a sponsor
• if you are an accredited sponsor, six years after you are approved as a sponsor.

Obligation not to engage in discriminatory recruitment practices

If you are a standard business sponsor who lawfully operates a business in Australia, you must not engage in, or have not engaged in, discriminatory recruitment practices that adversely affect Australian citizens,or any other person, based on their visa or citizenship status.

You should keep documents on hand that demonstrate that the recruitment process in relation to a subclass 457 holder did not discriminate based on citizenship or visa status.

Note: This new obligation was introduced on 19 April 2016. It is not engaged if discrimination in recruitment decisions is evident on other grounds such as sex, gender, race, social group or pregnancy. These issues are outside the remit of us and should be directed to other relevant agencies, such as the Fair Work Ombudsman or the Australian Human Rights Commission.

You must comply with your obligations as a sponsor. We monitor your compliance with the sponsorship obligations and whether your visa holders are upholding their visa conditions.

We monitor you while you are a sponsor and for up to five years after you cease being a sponsor. We do this routinely and in response to information provided to us, and in three main ways:

• writing to you to ask for information in accordance with the obligation to provide records and information
• site visits, usually to the sponsored business premises, with or without notice
• exchanging information with other Commonwealth, state and territory government agencies, including the Fair Work Ombudsman, the Department of Employment and the Australian Taxation Office.

Your compliance with the sponsorship obligations might be monitored by Immigrations inspectors, Fair Work Inspectors or Fair Work Building Industry Inspectors who have investigative powers under the Migration Act 1958. Failure to cooperate with inspectors is a breach of the sponsorship obligations.

If you do not meet your obligations, we could take one or more of the following actions:

Administrative

• you could be barred from sponsoring more people for a specified time
• you could be barred from applying for approval to be a sponsor, in relation to this visa or another one
• all of your existing approvals as a sponsor could be cancelled.

Enforceable undertaking

You could be invited to enter into an enforceable undertaking.  Enforceable undertakings require you to promise, in writing, to undertake to complete certain actions to demonstrate that the failures have been rectified and won’t happen again.

Civil

• we can issue an infringement notice of up to AUD 10,200 for a body corporate and AUD 2,040 for an individual for each failure.
• we can apply to a court for a civil penalty order of up to AUD 51,000 for a corporation and AUD 10,200 for an individual for each failure.

Other circumstances in which administrative action might be taken

In addition, you could also have sanctions imposed if:

• you provide false or misleading information to us or the Migration Review Tribunal
• you no longer satisfy the criteria for approval as a sponsor or for variation of a term of that approval
• you have been found by a court or competent authority to have contravened a Commonwealth, state or territory law
• the person you have sponsored breaks a law relating to the licensing, registration or membership needed to work in the nominated position.

The types of actions that could be taken depend on whether the sponsor is a standard business sponsor or has made  a work agreement.

If you have sponsored someone under a work  agreement, we could suspend or terminate it in accordance with the clauses of the particular work  agreement.

What is adverse information?

Adverse information is information that reveals that a business, or a person associated with the business:

• has become insolvent within the meaning of subsections 5(2) and (3) of the Bankruptcy Act 1966 and section 95A of the Corporations Act 2001
• in relation to a Commonwealth, state or territory law:
  • has been found guilty by a court of an offence
  • has been found to have acted in contravention of the law by a competent authority
  • has been the subject of administrative action (including being issued with a warning) by a competent authority
  • is under investigation, subject to disciplinary action or subject to legal proceedings.

The Commonwealth, state or territory law must be about:

• discrimination
• immigration
• industrial relations
• occupational health and safety
• people smuggling and related offences
• slavery, sexual servitude and deceptive recruiting
• taxation
• terrorism
• trafficking in persons and debt bondage.

When is adverse information relevant to an application?

Adverse information is relevant if it:

• raises doubts about a person’s suitability as an approved sponsor
• is about something that happened in the previous three years
• is known to us.

There are limits to what is relevant. For example, information that a business has received a fine for having an unregistered vehicle on a public road is not likely to be relevant. On the other hand, information that the managing director of a company was being investigated for people trafficking offences would clearly be relevant.

What do we do with adverse information?

When we become aware of adverse information, we can:

• disregard it if it is reasonable to do so
• refuse an application to sponsor or nominate someone, or refuse their visa application
• cancel a sponsorship or impose administrative sanctions if the business is already an approved sponsor.

You must provide documents to support your application to become a sponsor.

Use the Document checklist for sponsors to make sure your application is complete.

Nominate:

Nomination is the process of identifying a position to be filled by a skilled worker from outside Australia in an approved business. Nomination is required for both standard business sponsors and parties to a labour agreement.

The nomination process identifies:

• the occupation is relevant to the position to be filled
• the skills and experience required for the position
• the market salary rate for the position and the salary rate to be paid to the prospective overseas employee
• the name of the prospective overseas employee
• where the employee will be working.

How long is the nomination valid for?

Who can nominate

How to nominate

Labour market testing requirement

Lodge your application

Certification

Document checklist for nominations