How to Sponsor a Worker for an Australian Visa: The Employer's Guide

Migratio Editorial · Last updated 3 September 2026

TL;DR: To sponsor an overseas worker, an Australian business becomes a Standard Business Sponsor, nominates a genuine skilled position, and the worker applies for a Skills in Demand (Subclass 482) visa — or a Subclass 186 for permanent residence. You must pay the worker at or above the Core Skills Income Threshold of $79,423 (or $146,576 for the Specialist Skills stream), pay the Skilling Australians Fund levy, and meet genuine-position and labour-market rules. Most employers use a MARA-registered migration agent because a single nomination error can sink the whole application.

If you've found a skilled overseas candidate — or an existing visa-holder you want to keep — and can't fill the role locally, employer sponsorship is how you bring them on or keep them. This is the employer's side of the process, not the worker's. It runs in three moving parts (sponsorship, nomination, and the worker's visa) and the rules tightened again in 2025, so getting it right the first time matters. This guide walks through what your business has to do, what it costs you, the income thresholds you must meet, and where a migration agent earns their fee. The agent works for the employer here as much as the worker — the nomination is your application, lodged in your business's name.

The three parts of employer sponsorship

Sponsoring a worker is not one application — it's three that have to line up. (1) Sponsorship: your business applies to become a Standard Business Sponsor (SBS), which approves you to sponsor workers for up to (typically) five years across multiple hires. (2) Nomination: for each role, you lodge a nomination identifying the specific position, the occupation, the salary, and evidence the role is genuine. (3) Visa application: the worker applies for the visa (Skills in Demand Subclass 482, or Subclass 186 for permanent residence) attached to your nomination. If the nomination fails, the worker's visa cannot be granted even if they personally meet every requirement — which is why nomination quality is where most sponsorship cases are won or lost.

To be approved as a sponsor your business must be lawfully and actively operating in Australia, have no adverse information against it (or be reasonably exempt), and attest to a commitment to employing local labour and non-discriminatory recruitment. Once approved, the SBS status lets you nominate workers without re-applying for sponsorship each time. The position you nominate must be genuine — a real, ongoing, full-time role that your business actually needs — and on the relevant eligible occupation list for the stream you're using. The Department actively tests 'genuineness': sudden role creation that coincides with a particular worker's circumstances, or inflated needs in a small business, are common refusal triggers.

Which visa: Skills in Demand (482) vs 186 (permanent)

The Skills in Demand visa (Subclass 482, which replaced the TSS/482 in December 2024) is the main temporary work-sponsorship visa — granted for up to four years, with easier movement between employers and clearer permanent-residence pathways than before. It runs in streams: the Core Skills stream (the mainstream pathway) and the Specialist Skills stream (for higher-paid specialist roles). The Subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme is the permanent option, with Direct Entry and Temporary Residence Transition streams — the latter typically after a worker has been with you on a 482. Many employers start a worker on the 482 and transition them to the 186. Note a 2025 change: from 29 November 2025, for the Temporary Residence Transition pathway, only work performed while sponsored by the same employer who nominates the worker counts toward the qualifying period.

What you must pay the worker: the income thresholds

You must pay the sponsored worker a salary that is both the Annual Market Salary Rate (what an equivalent Australian doing the same job in the same location would earn) and at or above the relevant statutory floor. From 1 July 2026 those floors are: the Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT) of AUD 79,423 for the Core Skills stream of the 482; and the Specialist Skills Income Threshold (SSIT) of AUD 146,576 for the Specialist Skills stream. The Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold for the regional 494 and the old 187 is also AUD 79,423. These figures are indexed annually, so check the current numbers before you nominate. You cannot offset a below-market salary with other benefits — the base salary has to meet the mark.

What sponsorship actually costs the employer

Budget for several distinct employer costs: the sponsorship and nomination application charges; the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy, which is the big one — payable per nomination and scaled by your business's annual turnover and the visa length (small businesses, under ~$10M turnover, pay a lower per-year rate than larger businesses, and the permanent 186 attracts a one-off levy). On top of that sit migration agent fees for handling the sponsorship and nomination (commonly $3,000–$8,000+ depending on complexity), plus the worker's own visa application charge (sometimes paid by the worker, sometimes by the employer as part of the package). The SAF levy in particular cannot legally be passed on to the worker — it is the employer's cost. A migration agent will model the total for your specific turnover and the role before you commit.

Why employers use a migration agent (and what to look for)

Sponsorship is administratively heavy and unforgiving: a defective nomination — wrong occupation code, salary below market, thin genuine-position evidence — can refuse the whole matter and cost you the hire plus the SAF levy. A MARA-registered migration agent who does employer work will: confirm the role is eligible and pick the correct stream, prepare the genuine-position and market-salary evidence the way the Department expects to see it, manage the sponsorship/nomination/visa sequence so nothing lapses, and represent you if a nomination is queried or refused. Look for an agent who specifically lists employer-sponsored or corporate immigration work, not only individual skilled-visa applications. Through Migratio you can compare MARA-registered agents who handle employer sponsorship and get a fee quote before you engage anyone — the matching service is free for the business.

Frequently asked questions

Can I make the worker pay the sponsorship costs?

No — not the core sponsorship and nomination costs, and specifically not the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy, which by law is the employer's cost and cannot be recovered from the worker. The worker can pay their own visa application charge. Trying to pass on employer costs is a sponsorship-obligation breach that can cost you your sponsor status.

How long does it take to sponsor someone?

It varies by stream and processing queues, but plan in months rather than weeks for the full sponsorship-plus-nomination-plus-visa sequence. Some Skills in Demand cases move faster, especially in the Specialist Skills stream. A migration agent can give a realistic current estimate for your occupation and stream.

Do I have to advertise the job to Australians first?

Labour market testing requirements apply to many nominations — you generally have to show you genuinely tried to fill the role locally before sponsoring, with advertising evidence. The exact requirement depends on the visa, stream and any trade agreements. Your agent will confirm what testing your specific nomination needs.

What's the difference between sponsoring on a 482 versus a 186?

The Skills in Demand 482 is temporary (up to four years) and faster to start — good when you want the worker on board now. The 186 is permanent residence for the worker, which aids retention but has a higher bar. Many employers bring a worker in on the 482 and transition them to the 186 later.

We're a small business — can we still sponsor?

Yes. Small and newly established businesses can become Standard Business Sponsors, and the SAF levy is lower for businesses under roughly $10M turnover. The key is demonstrating the business is genuinely operating and the position is real and needed — small businesses face closer scrutiny on the genuine-position test, so good evidence matters.

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