Sponsor Obligations, Monitoring and Compliance
Information current as at October 2026. Rules, fees and lists change often, so check your circumstances with us before you act.
Once your business is an approved sponsor, you take on legal obligations to the workers you sponsor and to the Australian Government. Home Affairs and the Australian Border Force monitor sponsors, and since 1 July 2024 the penalties for exploiting migrant workers have been significantly stronger. Most breaches we see are not deliberate: they come from a pay review that missed a sponsored worker, a role that drifted away from the nominated occupation, or a notification that was never sent.
This guide explains each obligation, how monitoring works, what happens if a breach is found, and how to build a simple compliance routine. Need advice on your situation? You can book a consultation with our employer team.
Your obligations as a sponsor
The obligations below apply to standard business sponsors of 482 workers (including former TSS and 457 holders). Most also apply to 494 sponsors, and labour agreements add their own terms.
Cooperate with inspectors
Give inspectors access to your premises, records and staff when asked. This obligation lasts until five years after your sponsorship ends.
Ensure equivalent terms and conditions
Pay the sponsored worker at least the salary in the nomination, and provide terms and conditions no less favourable than an Australian doing the same work in the same location would receive. This does not apply where the worker earns $250,000 or more a year.
Keep records
Keep records of pay, duties, hours, notifications and any travel cost requests, in a form that can be reproduced and checked. Records must be kept for the period required by the regulations, which continues after the employment ends.
Provide records and information when asked
Give Home Affairs the records and information it requests within the time allowed.
Notify Home Affairs of certain events
Tell Home Affairs within 28 days if the sponsored worker resigns, is dismissed or stops working for you, or if certain changes happen to your business, such as a change of name, address, ownership or legal structure, or insolvency.
Ensure the worker works in the nominated occupation
The worker must perform the duties of the nominated occupation. A promotion or change of role into a different occupation needs a new nomination first.
Not recover, transfer or charge certain costs
Do not pass on sponsorship, nomination, SAF levy, recruitment or migration agent costs to the worker or anyone else, directly or indirectly.
Pay return travel costs
If the worker or Home Affairs asks in writing, pay reasonable and necessary travel costs for the worker and family to leave Australia.
Pay the costs of locating and removing unlawful non-citizens
If a sponsored worker becomes unlawful, you may be liable for the costs of locating and removing them.
Not engage in discriminatory recruitment
Do not take a person’s citizenship or visa status into account in recruitment or termination decisions in a discriminatory way, except as required by law.
How monitoring works
Home Affairs checks sponsors through information matching (for example with tax data), site visits, records requests and tip-offs from workers or the public. A monitoring letter will usually ask for payroll records, employment contracts, position descriptions and evidence of notifications for one or more sponsored workers, with a deadline to respond.
When you receive a monitoring request:
- Read the request carefully and note the deadline. Ask for an extension early if you need one.
- Collect the records for the period requested: payslips, timesheets, contracts, duty statements and any notifications.
- Check them against the nomination: salary, hours, occupation and work location.
- If you find a problem, get advice before you respond. A clear explanation and evidence that you have fixed the issue (for example back pay) can make a real difference to the outcome.
- Respond fully and on time.
What happens if you breach an obligation
The response depends on how serious the breach is, whether it was deliberate, and your compliance history.
- A formal warning.
- A bar on lodging new sponsorship or nomination applications for a set period.
- Cancellation of your sponsorship approval.
- Cancellation of a labour agreement.
Barred or cancelled sponsors may be named publicly. See sponsorship bar or cancellation.
A simple compliance routine
| When | What to check |
|---|---|
| Every pay run | Sponsored workers are paid at least the nominated salary, including after award or enterprise agreement increases. |
| When roles change | Duties still match the nominated occupation. Lodge a new nomination before any change of occupation. |
| When a worker leaves | Notify Home Affairs within 28 days and keep a record of the notification. |
| When the business changes | Notify changes of name, ownership, structure or address within 28 days. |
| Every 6 to 12 months | Compare sponsored workers’ pay with Australian staff doing the same work. Check that sponsorship approval has not expired. |
| Before nominating again | Labour market testing is current and the nomination matches the advertised role. |
Before hiring any worker on a temporary visa, check their work rights. Our work rights check service can help.
Frequently asked questions
Our worker resigned. What do we need to do?
Notify Home Affairs within 28 days, pay any entitlements, and keep a record. If the worker asks in writing, pay reasonable return travel costs. You do not need to cancel their visa.
We gave our Australian staff a pay rise. Does it apply to sponsored workers?
If the sponsored worker does the same work in the same location, their terms must be no less favourable. Leaving them behind can breach the equivalent terms obligation.
Can the worker work for another company while sponsored by us?
Generally no, unless it is permitted under their visa conditions. The worker can work for others if their employment with you ends, during the period allowed to find a new sponsor.
We received a monitoring letter. Should we be worried?
Monitoring is routine. Respond on time with complete records. If the review shows a problem, get advice before you respond.
Can a barred sponsor still employ its existing 482 workers?
Usually the existing workers keep their visas, but you cannot lodge new nominations during the bar, and if the sponsorship is cancelled the workers will need a new sponsor or another visa.
Can we appeal a bar or cancellation?
Many sponsorship decisions can be reviewed by the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART), which replaced the AAT on 14 October 2024. Strict time limits apply. See refusals and appeals.
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