How to Sponsor an Employee in Australia: A Guide for Employers

You've found the person you want to hire, but they need visa sponsorship. What’s the best way forward?

Sponsoring an employee in Australia comes with strict compliance obligations and several application stages. It also carries costs you can't pass on to the worker. That's why a lot of employers put it in the too-hard basket, but you don’t have to.

Australia is short of skilled workers, with Jobs and Skills Australia reporting that 44% of employers struggle to recruit because there aren't enough suitable local candidates. Hiring from overseas is often a sensible move in this situation and it's more manageable than it looks.

This guide covers why it pays to treat sponsorship as part of your workforce planning, how to distinguish between the two main visa pathways, what you're on the hook for, what it costs and how to settle and retain the people you bring in.

At Matilda Migration, we have a dedicated team of lawyers and migration agents for employer-sponsored matters.

The Business Case for Sponsoring Overseas Workers

Jobs and Skills Australia’s 2025 Occupation Shortage List found that 29% of assessed occupations were in national shortage, down from 33% in 2024.

Technicians and Trades Workers make up 51% of every occupation that’s been in persistent shortage every year since 2021, a larger share than any other occupation group.

The national vacancy fill rate climbed to 70.9% in June 2025, still leaving close to three in 10 advertised roles unfilled by the point an employer would consider the search exhausted.

If you're hiring in one of these areas, sponsoring someone from overseas is often the only way to get the role filled. And people who are well supported through the process tend to be motivated and keen to stay for the long haul.

Treat Sponsorship as a Workforce Strategy, Not a Last Resort

Most businesses stumble into sponsorship, usually when the candidate they want turns out to be overseas or on a temporary visa. This makes everything slower and harder than it needs to be.

You get better results when you’re already set up for sponsorship. If you learn how it works before you need it and get a feel for which roles are most likely to need an overseas hire, you can build the timeline into your recruitment planning rather than have it sprung on you.

The most useful thing you can do is become an Approved Business Sponsor before you have a candidate in mind. When a hire finally hangs on it, that head start can save you one to two months.

Employer-Sponsored Visa Options at a Glance

Most employers sponsor overseas workers through one of two visas.

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The usual route is to bring someone in on a 482 visa first, then move them onto a 186 visa (the Temporary Residence Transition stream) after two years. That way you can see how the relationship works before committing to permanent sponsorship.

482 Visa: Skills in Demand

The 482 visa lets you sponsor a skilled overseas worker when you can't find the right person locally.

Three Streams

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The three-stage process

Stage 1, sponsorship. Apply to become an Approved Business Sponsor, showing your business is lawfully operating and financially viable.‍

Stage 2, nomination. Nominate the specific position, with labour market testing evidence, salary benchmarks and genuine-position documentation.‍

Stage 3, visa application. The worker applies for the visa with skills evidence, references and health and character clearances.

You can lodge all three at once, but lodgement must occur in that order.

186 Visa: Employer Nomination Scheme

The 186 visa grants permanent residency from the start. It's the one to use for workers you want to keep for the long term.

Three streams

The two-stage process

Stage 1, nomination. You submit a nomination showing the genuine need for the position, your financial capacity, and that the salary meets market rates.

‍Stage 2, visa application. The worker lodges their application with supporting evidence.

Keep in mind that for the TRT stream, you must have been an Approved Business Sponsor for the whole period of the worker's claimed employment. Time worked before your approval doesn't count toward the two years.

What It Costs

There are several separate costs. As the employer, you're legally required to pay some of them, and you can't pass those on to the worker. The figures below are current as of August 2026. Check the latest on the Department of Home Affairs website.

482 visa: government costs (temporary)

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186 visa: government costs (permanent)

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Small business here means an annual turnover under $10 million.

Matilda Migration Fees

Plenty of migration agents charge $5,500–$10,000+ for employer-sponsored visa work. Our pricing is fixed, so there are no surprises.

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All fees include GST. See our full pricing.

Matilda Tip: You cannot include "clawback" clauses in employment contracts requiring workers to repay sponsorship, nomination or SAF levy costs if they resign. These costs must be borne by the employer.

Build Sponsorship Into Your Hiring Timeline

From start to finish, sponsoring an employee usually takes three to ten months. Where you land depends on whether you're already an Approved Sponsor, whether the candidate is onshore or offshore, which stream you use and how complete your paperwork is at the outset.

In practice, that means advertising sponsorship-eligible roles with realistic start dates, running your labour market testing while you recruit and getting your Standard Business Sponsorship approved ahead of time.

For a proper look at current processing times, see our guide to employer-sponsored visa timelines.

Your Obligations as a Sponsor

Sponsoring someone brings obligations that last for the life of the visa.

Pay the required salary

Pay the worker at least the salary in the nomination. It has to clear the relevant threshold ($79,423 for Core Skills, $146,576 for Specialist Skills) and match the market rate for the role.

Ensure equivalent employment conditions

Their conditions have to be at least as good as an equivalent Australian employee's in the same role and location.

Keep the department informed

Tell Home Affairs within 28 days if:

• The employee stops working for you, doesn't start or changes duties
• Your business changes its name, structure or address
• Your business becomes insolvent, enters administration or shuts down.

Maintain records

Keep records of earnings, hours worked and any non-monetary benefits, ready to hand over if the department asks.

Cover required costs

You pay for the sponsorship, the nomination, the SAF levy and any agent fees tied to those applications. If the job ends, you also cover reasonable travel costs for the worker and their family to leave Australia.

What happens if you don't comply

If you get it wrong, you can be barred from sponsoring for a period, with existing sponsorships cancelled. You could also be  put under an enforceable undertaking.

Penalties can be steep: infringement notices reach $79,200 for a business (or $15,840 for an individual), and court-ordered civil penalties reach $396,000 for a corporation. If a sponsored worker becomes unlawful, you may have to pay up to $10,000 towards removal costs.

Five Tips for Successful Sponsorship

1. Start labour market testing early

For 482 Core Skills nominations, you have to run two job ads for at least 28 days on reputable platforms such as Seek or Workforce Australia, within four months of nomination.

Kick this off the moment you have a candidate, because the 28-day clock ticks away while you get the rest of the paperwork together. Some applications are exempt if Australia has international trade obligations with their countries.

2. Get your salary evidence right

Home Affairs looks hard at salary evidence. You have to show the offer clears the threshold and matches the market rate for the role in your area. 

3. Document the genuine position

Show this is a real job the business needs, not a role invented to get someone a visa. Back it up with an organisational chart, a genuine position statement and evidence of the growth, contracts or workload behind the hire.

4. Align everything with the ANZSCO code

The nominated occupation needs an ANZSCO code, and the duties have to match the official description. Case officers hold your position description, contract and references up against the ANZSCO, and anything that doesn't line up causes delays or a refusal.

5. Track visa expiry dates

For 482 holders, keep an eye on the expiry and start the renewal or 186 transition well ahead of time. A 186 Temporary Residence Transition application needs two years of full-time work with you, so begin planning at least six months out.

Common Mistakes Employers Make

These are the mistakes that we see  tripping up employers the most often:

• Labour market testing that falls short. Ads have to run the full 28 days on at least two reputable platforms, so keep dated screenshots.
• The salary they’re offering the employee is under the threshold or below market rate. Only the base salary counts. Bonuses and commissions don't. Some allowances do count, such as a guaranteed car allowance or guaranteed earnings count (including guaranteed allowances). 
• Thin genuine position evidence. An organisational chart on its own won't cut it. Show the business need with contracts, growth plans or workload.
• Duties that don't match the ANZSCO code. If the real job differs from the nominated occupation, the application can be refused.
• Not holding sponsor approval for the full TRT period. For 186 TRT applications, only employment after your approval date counts.
• Missed notifications. Not telling Home Affairs about changes within 28 days can bring sanctions.

Onboarding Your Sponsored Employee

Sponsored employees often turn up having been through a lot, leaving their support network behind and working through a demanding visa process to get to Australia. The first few weeks with you set the tone for everything after.

Make sure you also integrate them into the team properly. People who feel like they belong from the start are more likely to stay, and they'll often tell other skilled employees that your business is a good place to work.

Supporting the Pathway to Permanent Residency

Permanent residency is what most sponsored employees are ultimately after, and backing them toward it is one of the best retention tools you have. Workers who feel settled about their future here tend to stay longer and are far less likely to jump to a competitor.

The usual route is the 186 Temporary Residence Transition stream, which requires the worker to have been with you in the same occupation for at least two of the past three years, whilst holding a 457/482 visa.

For more on holding onto the people you sponsor, see our guide to retaining sponsored employees.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to become a sponsor?

Standard Business Sponsorship approval usually takes one to two months for a straightforward application. Once you're approved, it lasts five years.

Can I sponsor multiple workers?

Yes. Once you're an approved Standard Business Sponsor, you can sponsor as many workers as you need over the five-year period.

What if the worker leaves before their visa expires?

They get 180 days to find a new sponsor. You have to tell Home Affairs within 28 days of them leaving. There's no penalty for the job ending, but you do have to meet that notification obligation.

Can I sponsor someone already in Australia?

Yes. Someone on a Working Holiday visa, student visa or another temporary visa can be sponsored, and they'll usually get a bridging visa while the 482 is processed, so they can often start sooner.

Do I need to pay for the worker's visa application?

The sponsorship, nomination and SAF levy costs are yours to pay. The visa application fee can go to either party, though plenty of employers cover it to win the candidate over.

When is it worth using a migration agent or lawyer rather than doing it in-house?

For one straightforward sponsorship, some teams handle it themselves. The paperwork is demanding, though. A job ad that doesn't comply, a mismatched occupation code or a missing salary benchmark can hold the whole thing up. Getting help usually pays for itself in time saved and mistakes avoided, particularly when you're making more than one hire.

How Matilda Migration Can Help

Sponsoring overseas talent means a lot of documentation, obligations that don't let up and constant back-and-forth between your business and the worker. It's easy to feel swamped, or to lose weeks to a gap in the evidence.

We run employer-sponsored visas end to end: the sponsorship and nomination applications, the genuine position statements and salary evidence and the labour market testing checks.

The pricing is a flat fee, so nothing creeps up on you, and a company dashboard gives you a single place to see every migration task across your workforce.

If you're the worker looking for a sponsor, rather than the employer, our guide to getting sponsorship in Australia is the one for you.

Otherwise, book a free employer consultation and we'll look at your situation, talk through your options, and give you a clear quote.

This guide is general information, not personal migration or legal advice.