What are the responsibilities of an employer who is sponsoring an employee?
Are you an employer who is looking to sponsor an employee under the Skills in Demand visa (SC 482) or the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 494) and wondering about the duties and responsibilities that you will have to bear? Then this blog is for you. We cover:
- The types of sponsorships
- Selecting the best sponsorship type
- Requirements to becoming a Standard business sponsor
- Obligations as a standard business sponsor
- Consequences if you do not meet the obligations
- When your obligations start and end
- FAQs
Depending on the type of sponsorship, your duties and responsibilities will differ. There are 3 main types of sponsorship; they are:
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Standard business sponsors
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Accredited sponsors
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Temporary activity sponsors
You have to make an application to become a sponsor. This application is different from the visa application and the nomination application of the employee. This is one of the very first steps of sponsoring your employee. If your sponsorship application is successful, you become someone who is authorised to sponsor migrants.
If you are sponsoring an employee for the Skills in Demand visa (SC 482) or the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 494), then the Standard business sponsor is the best option for you. This is the most popular type of sponsorship in Australia, as it allows sponsors to retain employees for up to 4 years, and it also has a PR pathway for the employee, making the Standard business sponsor the main focus of this blog.
To become an Accredited sponsor, you must be a Standard business sponsor. if you are able to fulfil the eligibility criteria, you can apply to become an Accredited sponsor along with your standard business sponsorship application.
The Temporary Activity Sponsor will be the best option for you if you are sponsoring employees under the following visa categories:
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Temporary Activity visa (SC 408)
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Temporary Work (International Relations) visa (SC 403) under the PALM scheme
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Training visa (SC 407)
Compliance responsibilities
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Ensure your employee works only in the nominated occupation
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if you want the employee to work in a new occupation then you will have to lodge a new nomination.
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Ensure equivalent terms and conditions of employment:
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Annual earning and employment conditions of the employee must be at least the same as those stated on the nomination application and equivalent to an Australian worker
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Not engage in discriminatory recruitment practices:
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Do not involve in discriminatory recruitment based on citizenship or visa status
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Keep records:
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Keep verifiable records of payments, tasks, earnings, benefits, employment contracts,
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Keep records of document compliance with training obligations and work agreements.
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Cover sponsorship and nomination costs,
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including migration and recruitment expenses (e.g., advertising, screening, interviewing, agent fees, and background checks).
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Pay reasonable travel costs for the sponsored employee and family to leave Australia (one-time, economy class or equivalent).
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If your sponsored employee or any of their sponsored family members becomes an unlawful non-citizen, you might have to repay the costs incurred by the Commonwealth in relocating and/or removing them from Australia.
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Cooperate with inspectors when they come to investigate
Responsibility to Inform the Department
Depending on the type of business that you operate, you must inform the department in writing within 28 calendar days if your business undergoes any of the specified changes below:
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Notify of insolvency, receivership, liquidation, or cessation of the business.
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Report if your employee's employment ends, duties change, or they don’t start work.
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Update on changes to legal name, structure, ownership, or contact details.
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If the company faces insolvency, restructuring, or deregistration.
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If a liquidator, administrator, or receiver is appointed for the company
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If you are facing bankruptcy, enter a debt agreement, or a personal insolvency arrangement.
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If you have a sequestration order or debtor’s petition is filed.
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A new partner joins the partnership
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Any of the events listed for an individual or a company occurs
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A new member is appointed to the managing committee of the association
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Any of the events listed for an individual or a company occurs
What happens if you do not meet the sponsorship responsibilities?
There are possible actions the Department could take if you were to not meet the obligations.
Actions
Sanctions
Enforceable undertaking
Enforceable undertakings require you to promise, in writing, to undertake to complete certain actions to show that the failures have been rectified and won’t happen again.
Civil action
Issue an infringement notice of up to AUD 15,840 for individuals and AUD 79,200 for bodies corporate per obligation breach.
apply to a court for a civil penalty order of up to AUD 396,000 for a corporation and AUD 76,200 for an individual for each failure.
Employer prohibition
Employers who seriously, deliberately or repeatedly break the law may be prevented from employing more migrant workers for a period of time.
In addition, you can also have sanctions imposed if
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you provide false or misleading information to us or the Administrative Review Tribunal.
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you no longer satisfy the criteria for approval as a sponsor or for variation of a term of that approval.
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you have been found by a court or competent authority to have contravened a Commonwealth, state or territory law.
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the person you have sponsored breaks a law relating to the licencing, registration, or membership needed to work in the nominated position.
When does your responsibility start and end?
Your responsibilities start on the day the employee is granted their visa. If the employee is already working for you, then your obligations start on the day the nomination is approved.
Your obligations end if your employee has a nomination approved for a different sponsor or if they are granted a further substantive visa that is not the SC 482 visa and is a different substantive visa. Your obligations will cease if the employee leaves Australia and their visa is no longer valid.
FAQs
A Standard business sponsorship is valid for 5 years
AUD 420
Pay travel costs once only. If, after paying travel costs your employee returns to Australia holding the visa for which you sponsored them, you don't have to pay their travel costs again.
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