Sponsor Obligations & Compliance
Becoming an approved sponsor is just the beginning. Your obligations are ongoing — and the penalties for non-compliance are severe.
What are the obligations of an approved sponsor in Australia?
Approved Australian sponsors must meet ongoing obligations including paying the Annual Market Salary Rate (AMSR), keeping accurate records, cooperating with monitoring, and notifying the Department of Home Affairs of changes. Sponsor obligations apply for five years (longer for 186 nominations) and breaching them can lead to fines, sanctions, or cancellation of sponsorship.
What Are Sponsor Obligations?
When the Department of Home Affairs approves your Standard Business Sponsorship, you take on a set of legally binding obligations that apply for the full duration of each worker's visa. These are not one-off requirements — they are continuous.
Failure to meet sponsor obligations can result in civil penalties of up to 240 penalty units per breach — A$87,360 at the current penalty unit value of A$364 — under s140Q of the Migration Act 1958, cancellation of your sponsorship approval, and public naming as a non-compliant sponsor. The Department actively monitors compliance through audits, data matching, and worker complaints.
Understanding and managing these obligations from day one is the difference between a successful sponsorship and a costly compliance failure.
Key Obligation Categories
Your Sponsor Obligations in Full
Every approved sponsor must comply with all of the following for the duration of each sponsored worker's visa.
Pay at Least the AMSR
You must always pay the sponsored worker at or above the Annual Market Salary Rate (AMSR) — the equivalent salary you would pay an Australian employee in the same role. This obligation applies even if the worker agrees to a lower rate.
No Cost Recovery from Workers
It is illegal to pass on the SAF levy, sponsorship application fee, or nomination fee to the sponsored worker — directly or indirectly. This includes salary deductions, repayment agreements, or any other mechanism.
Maintain Required Records
You must keep specific records for at least 2 years after the sponsorship obligation ceases. Records must be available for inspection at any time by the Department of Home Affairs.
Cooperate with Inspections
You must allow authorised Department inspectors access to your premises, records, and personnel. Obstructing or hindering an inspection is itself a serious breach of sponsor obligations.
Notify the Department of Changes
You must notify the Department within 28 days if a sponsored worker ceases employment, your business changes structure, or certain other events occur. Delayed or missed notifications are a common compliance issue.
Ensure Correct Work Duties
The sponsored worker must only perform duties consistent with the nominated occupation. Assigning work outside the nominated role — even temporarily — can constitute a breach of sponsorship obligations.
Pay Return Travel in Certain Cases
If a sponsored worker requests it and the relevant conditions are met, you may be required to pay the worker's return airfares to their home country when their visa or employment ceases.
Cooperate with Worker Workplace Rights
You must not take adverse action against a worker for exercising their workplace rights. Sponsored workers retain full Fair Work Act protections. Sponsor obligations and employment law obligations apply simultaneously.
Record-Keeping Requirements
Records must allow the Department to verify compliance at any time. They must be kept for at least 2 years after the sponsorship obligation ceases — not just for the visa duration.
Payslips & Salary Records
All payslips showing gross salary, superannuation, allowances, and deductions. Must demonstrate AMSR compliance across the full visa period.
Employment Contracts
Original employment contract and any subsequent variations. The contract must be consistent with the nominated occupation and salary rate submitted to the Department.
Duty & Task Records
Evidence of the duties actually performed — position descriptions, performance reviews, project records. Must align with the nominated ANZSCO occupation classification.
Visa & Nomination Documents
Copies of the SBS approval, nomination lodgement confirmation, visa grant notice, and all related Departmental correspondence for each sponsored worker.
Workplace Training Records
Evidence of any workplace training provided to sponsored and Australian workers. Required to demonstrate compliance with training benchmark obligations where applicable.
Retention Period — 2 Years Minimum
Records must be retained for at least 2 years after the relevant obligation ceases — even if the worker has left your employment, the visa has expired, or the SBS approval has lapsed.
Events You Must Report to the Department
These events must be reported to the Department of Home Affairs within 28 days of them occurring. Late or missed notifications are a common source of sponsor sanctions.
Worker Ceases Employment
If a sponsored worker stops working for you for any reason — resignation, termination, redundancy — you must notify the Department within 28 days.
Notify within 28 daysBusiness Structure Change
Changes to your business structure — mergers, acquisitions, change of directors, change of legal entity — must be reported. The new entity may need fresh SBS approval.
Notify within 28 daysBusiness Ceases to Operate
If your business permanently closes or ceases to trade in the nominated industry, you must notify the Department immediately and comply with residual obligations to sponsored workers.
Notify immediatelyWorker's Role Changes Significantly
If the worker's duties change significantly from the nominated occupation — different tasks, different location, or different employer entity — you may need to lodge a fresh nomination before the change occurs.
Prior approval requiredNon-Compliance — What's at Stake
The Department of Home Affairs actively enforces sponsor obligations. Penalties are significant and apply per breach, not per audit.
⚠️ Civil Penalties up to 240 Penalty Units per Breach — A$87,360
Each individual obligation breach carries its own civil penalty. A single compliance audit can result in multiple penalties applied simultaneously — the cumulative total can be substantial.
⚠️ Infringement Notices
For less serious breaches the Department may issue infringement notices as an alternative to full court proceedings. These are still financial penalties and create a compliance record.
⚠️ Sponsorship Cancellation or Suspension
The Department can cancel or suspend your SBS approval, immediately preventing you from lodging new nominations and potentially affecting your existing sponsored workers' visa status.
⚠️ Sponsorship Bar
Serious or repeated non-compliance can result in a sponsorship bar — a prohibition on applying for SBS approval for a specified period, preventing your business from sponsoring overseas workers entirely.
⚠️ Public Naming
The Department publishes the names of sponsors found to have breached their obligations. Public naming can significantly damage your business reputation and your ability to attract staff.
⚠️ Impact on Sponsored Workers
If your SBS is cancelled, your sponsored workers' visas may be subject to cancellation. The workers are not at fault — but they bear the consequences of your non-compliance.
Ongoing Compliance Support
Sponsor obligations don't end at visa grant. Visa Advisor provides practical, ongoing compliance guidance to keep your business audit-ready. See our guide on how to prepare for a sponsorship audit.
What's included in our compliance service
Compliance FAQs
Quick answers to the most common compliance and obligations questions from sponsors.
The Department uses multiple monitoring mechanisms simultaneously:
- Proactive audits — randomly selected sponsors are audited regardless of complaints
- Worker complaints — sponsored workers can report employer non-compliance anonymously
- Data matching — ATO payroll data, Fair Work records, and ASIC data are cross-referenced
- Tip-offs — third parties (unions, competitors, former employees) can report concerns
The Department distinguishes between inadvertent breaches and deliberate non-compliance, but both can attract penalties. If you discover a potential breach, you should:
- Seek MARA-registered advice immediately
- Do not attempt to conceal or retroactively alter records
- Consider voluntary disclosure to the Department — this can reduce penalties in some circumstances
- Rectify the breach as quickly as possible and document the remediation
Early, proactive disclosure typically results in better outcomes than a breach discovered during an audit.
No — not below the AMSR. Even if the worker agrees to a pay reduction, paying below the AMSR is a breach of sponsor obligations regardless of the worker's consent.
If market conditions change and you believe the AMSR for the role has decreased, you must obtain a new AMSR assessment before reducing the salary. Seek MARA advice before making any changes to a sponsored worker's remuneration.
Additional hours within the same nominated occupation are generally acceptable, provided the worker is paid appropriately (including overtime where applicable under the relevant award or enterprise agreement).
What is not permitted is assigning duties outside the nominated occupation — even temporarily. If you need the worker to perform a different role, a new nomination may be required before those duties commence.
Generally yes — sponsor obligations continue while the worker holds their visa and remains employed by you, even during periods of unpaid leave. The obligation to maintain the employment relationship and not take adverse action continues.
Extended unpaid leave arrangements should be reviewed with a MARA agent, particularly if they affect the worker's ability to demonstrate genuine employment for PR pathway purposes.
A business acquisition or merger can significantly affect sponsored workers. The outcome depends on the structure of the transaction:
- Share sale (same legal entity): SBS approval typically transfers. Obligations continue. Notify the Department of any directorship changes within 28 days.
- Asset sale / new legal entity: The acquiring entity will likely need its own SBS approval. Fresh nominations may be required for each worker. Plan this well in advance of the transaction completing.
Always seek MARA advice before a transaction completes — not after. The sponsored workers' visa status depends on it.
Need help managing your sponsor obligations?
Compliance is ongoing — not a one-off checkbox. Speak directly with a MARA-registered migration agent for practical, audit-ready sponsor compliance support.