Made Redundant on a 482 Visa? What Happens Now

Check your own grant letter first

Condition 8607 is attached to almost every Subclass 482 (Skills in Demand, formerly TSS) visa, but "almost every" is doing real work in that sentence — a small number of 482 grants carry different or additional conditions depending on the stream and the circumstances of the grant. Before you read another word of general commentary, including this article, open your own visa grant letter or your ImmiAccount and look at the conditions actually listed against your visa. If 8607 isn't one of them, everything below may not apply to you the way it's written, and you should treat that as a reason to get a specific read on your own file rather than assume the general rule fits.

What condition 8607 actually says

We downloaded and read the current authorised compilation of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Compilation No. 288, in force from 1 July 2026) directly, rather than relying on summaries of it. Condition 8607 requires you to work only in the occupation nominated in your most recent 482 nomination, and — depending on your stream — only for the sponsor who nominated you (or an associated entity of theirs). Subclause (5) is the part that matters here:

"The holder may cease to work in accordance with subclauses (1) and (2) for a period, but: (a) any such period must not exceed 180 consecutive days; and (b) the total number of days on which the holder does not work in accordance with subclauses (1) and (2) must not exceed 365 during the visa period for the holder's visa."

That's the regulation, word for word. Two numbers, two caps: no single break in work longer than 180 consecutive days, and no more than 365 days without work added up across the entire life of your visa — because subclause (5) covers more than one gap, you could in theory have several shorter breaks, as long as none exceeds 180 days on its own and the running total never passes 365.

This is a 2024 reform — and it reset the clock

The 180/365-day figures are widely reported across migration-law commentary as taking effect from 1 July 2024, replacing a considerably shorter cessation allowance that applied before then. We did not independently verify the exact pre-reform number this session (sources use different figures for it, and it no longer matters for anyone reading this in 2026), but every source consulted agrees the change happened on 1 July 2024, and — critically — that cessation days accrued before that date do not carry over into the new 365-day cap. If you had a gap in work before mid-2024, that gap is reported as not counting against you now. This applies to visas granted before 1 July 2024 as well as new grants — condition 8607 in its current form covers whoever holds a 482 today, not just people granted one after the reform.

What you can do during the 180 days

This is the part that changed materially in 2024, and it's worth understanding precisely. Before the reform, migration-law commentary describes the cessation allowance as narrowly limited to time spent looking for a new approved sponsor. The regulation as it now reads works differently: subclause (5) suspends your obligation under subclauses (1) and (2) — the "work only in the nominated occupation, for the nominated sponsor" rule — for the length of your cessation period. Professional migration-law sources are unanimous in reading that as meaning you can take other work, for a different employer, in a different occupation, during the window, without that itself breaching 8607.

What you should not do, according to the same sources, is start working in a new occupation you've been nominated for by a new sponsor before that new nomination is actually approved. Doing the job before the nomination clears is treated as a fresh breach in its own right — the cessation allowance covers the gap, not a head start on the next role.

What happens if you run out the clock

The visa is not automatically cancelled the moment you pass 180 consecutive days or 365 cumulative days. Cancellation is a decision the Department has to actually make, not something that happens by itself when a counter hits zero. We confirmed directly in the Migration Act 1958 that section 116(1)(b) gives the Minister power to cancel a visa where "its holder has not complied with a condition of the visa" — so exceeding the 8607 cessation allowance is a ground for cancellation, but a ground is not the same as an automatic outcome. In practice, the Department typically becomes aware of a lapsed sponsorship relationship through sponsor reporting obligations rather than watching a clock in real time. That is not a reason to test the limit — it's a reason to treat 180 days as the deadline it is, not as a grace period the Department is unlikely to notice.

180 days sounds like a lot. It usually isn't.

Do the arithmetic on what a genuine new sponsorship actually takes before you relax about the number. A new employer that isn't already an approved sponsor needs to become one. Labour market testing for a 482 nomination requires the role to be advertised for a minimum period measured in weeks, not days, before the nomination can be lodged. Then the nomination itself needs to be processed and approved, and only then can a new visa application be decided. None of those stages are instant, and several of them are entirely outside your control once you've found an employer willing to sponsor you. Treat 180 days as a genuinely tight runway for a full new-sponsor process, not as breathing room.

Your options while the clock runs

Broadly, the paths available to you are: find a new employer willing to become (or who already is) an approved sponsor, with a fresh nomination approved before your 180-day or cumulative 365-day limit runs out; apply for a different visa entirely — a visitor visa as a bridge, a partner visa if you're eligible, a student visa — before time runs out; or depart Australia. There is also a fourth path worth knowing about if it applies to you: if you believe your termination was retaliation for reporting workplace exploitation, a separate pathway may be available instead of the standard cessation clock. We've written about that specifically because it needs its own careful treatment — see the exploitation-and-reporting article linked below.

If you're one of the last 457 or 494 holders

The same 2024 reform package changed the equivalent conditions for other visa holders in the same position. We confirmed directly in the Regulations that condition 8107 (the legacy Subclass 457 equivalent) carries the identical 180-consecutive/365-cumulative day structure, and that condition 8608 (the Subclass 494 Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional visa condition) does too — it is its own numbered condition, not a reuse of 8607. If you're one of the smaller number of people still holding a 457 visa in 2026, or you're on a 494 provisional visa where losing your sponsor also threatens your pathway to the 191 permanent visa, the day-count mechanics described here apply to you in the same way; check which condition is actually on your grant letter.

When a registered agent genuinely helps — and when they can't

This is one of the situations where an agent's fee is most likely to be worth it. Finding and qualifying a genuine new sponsor quickly, making sure a new nomination is lodged and approved inside a hard window, navigating labour market testing correctly the first time, and avoiding an inadvertent breach by working the wrong job for the wrong employer in the interim are all things a specialist has done many times and you are doing for the first time, under pressure, with a real deadline. What an agent cannot do is guarantee an outcome, find you an employer willing to sponsor you, or make the Department decide any faster than it decides. A migration agent gives you a professional read on your situation and manages the process — they do not manufacture a job offer or a favourable decision.

What Migratio can and can't do here

Migratio is a marketplace that matches you with MARA-registered migration agents — we are not a migration agent ourselves and we don't give immigration advice. We also have no employer relationships and never promise anyone a job or a sponsor; nothing here or anywhere on the platform should be read as an offer of employment. What we can do is connect you with a registered agent who works in employer-sponsored visas so you get a professional read on your specific 180-day position, fast, from someone who is legally allowed to advise you.

How many days do I actually have after losing my job on a 482 visa?

The current Migration Regulations cap any single break in work at 180 consecutive days, and the total across the life of your visa at 365 days, under condition 8607. We confirmed this wording directly against the authorised regulation text. Check your own grant letter to confirm 8607 is actually the condition attached to your visa.

Is my visa cancelled automatically once I pass 180 days?

No. Breaching condition 8607 is a ground for cancellation under section 116(1)(b) of the Migration Act 1958, but cancellation is a decision the Department has to actively make — it does not happen by itself the moment a counter runs out. That is not a reason to plan around exceeding the limit.

Can I work for a different employer while I'm looking for a new sponsor?

The regulation text suspends your obligation to work only for your nominated sponsor in your nominated occupation for the length of your cessation period, and migration-law commentary consistently reads that as permitting other work — a different employer, a different occupation — during the window. Starting work in a role a new sponsor has nominated you for, before that nomination is approved, is treated as its own separate breach.

If I had time off work before July 2024, does that count against my 365-day limit?

Widely reported as no. The 180/365-day figures took effect from 1 July 2024 and cessation days from before that date are described consistently as not carrying over into the new caps. We did not independently verify this specific transitional detail against the primary text this session — check with a registered agent if this applies to you and the exact history matters for your case.

What if I resign instead of being made redundant?

Condition 8607 doesn't distinguish between resignation and redundancy in the text we read — either way, you cease to comply with the requirement to work for your nominated sponsor in your nominated occupation, and the same cessation clock applies. The practical difference is usually how much warning and preparation time you had, not the legal mechanics.

Does a migration agent actually help with this, or can I do it myself?

This is one of the strongest cases for using a registered agent in the whole employer-sponsorship space — a new sponsorship, nomination and labour market testing cycle done for the first time under a hard deadline is easy to get wrong in a way that costs you weeks you don't have. An agent can't find you a job or guarantee approval, but they can materially reduce the chance you lose days to an avoidable process mistake.