Paid for a Job or Sponsorship? The 3-Year Bar on 482 Visas

Some job offers come with a hidden price: a fee to be nominated, a cut of your salary, or unpaid work to “earn” the sponsorship. Australian law treats this as paying for visa sponsorship, and for the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) it can stop the visa being granted.

What counts as paying for visa sponsorship

Sections 245AR to 245AU of the Migration Act deal with benefits given or received in return for a sponsorship-related event, such as a sponsorship approval, a nomination or employment in a sponsored position. In general terms, the law targets:

• asking for or receiving a benefit in return for a sponsorship-related event;
• offering or giving a benefit in return for a sponsorship-related event.

A benefit is not limited to cash. Arrangements that can raise concerns include paying a fee to an employer, recruiter or third party to be nominated, handing back part of your wages after they are paid, having sponsorship costs deducted from your pay, or working unpaid in exchange for a nomination.

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The 3-year rule for 482 applicants

The look-back period is 3 years. Clause 482.213 says the applicant must not have engaged in this conduct in the previous 3 years, unless the Department considers it reasonable to disregard it. Clause 482.313 applies the same test to partners and children applying as family members. Because the criterion is tested at the time of decision, conduct in the 3 years before the decision is relevant.

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How the Department checks

The visa application asks you to declare whether you have engaged in this conduct. Under the Department’s instructions:

• if you declare that you have not, officers can generally accept the declaration, unless other information suggests otherwise;
• if you declare that you have, or other information suggests it, the case is referred to the Department’s program area before a decision is made.

Answer this question truthfully. Giving false or misleading information can lead to refusal under public interest criterion 4020, which is one of the criteria every 482 applicant must meet.

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Can the conduct be disregarded?

The regulations allow the Department to disregard the conduct where it is reasonable to do so. The Department’s 482 instructions do not list the circumstances, so each case depends on its own facts. If this applies to you, get advice before you lodge, because the way the situation is explained matters.

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What sponsors must pay, and what workers can pay

Cost	Who pays
Standard business sponsorship application	The sponsor
Nomination fee	The sponsor
Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy	The sponsor. It cannot be passed on to the worker
Sponsor’s recruitment and migration agent costs for the sponsorship and nomination	The sponsor
Visa application charge	Can be paid by the visa applicant
Health checks, police certificates and health insurance	Usually the visa applicant

Recovering sponsorship costs from the worker is also a breach of the sponsorship obligations, separate from the paying for sponsorship rules. Read more about the SAF levy and how it is calculated.

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Risks for employers

Sponsors who ask for or accept a benefit can face significant penalties, and the Department can bar or cancel their sponsorship. See sponsorship bars and cancellation. Any worker nominated in these circumstances may also be refused.

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What you should do now

• Asked to pay for a job or nomination: do not pay. Keep any messages or documents and get advice.
• Already paid: get advice before you lodge or answer any Department request. Do not give a false declaration.
• Employers: check your recruiters and managers are not charging candidates, and that no sponsorship costs are deducted from wages.
• Before you lodge: confirm the costs you are paying are your own visa costs only.