Sponsored work · The 186 across employers
Changing employers before the 186: the two years can now be with different sponsors, what counts, and the current sponsor who must nominate
For years the rule that kept sponsored workers with employers they wanted to leave was the 186’s requirement of two years with the nominating employer: a change of sponsor restarted the clock, and a worker eighteen months in stayed for six more at any cost. Since 7 December 2024 the requirement is two years of sponsored full-time work in the nominated occupation within the three years before the nomination, with whichever sponsors the worker had, and the employer that nominates is the one the worker is with when the time is reached. The change moved the power in the sponsorship, and it came with rules of its own: the occupation must be the same across the sponsors, the gaps between them do not count, the current sponsor must be approved and willing, and the evidence of the earlier time comes from an employer the worker has left. This guide sets out what counts and what does not, the occupation rule, the nominating sponsor, the evidence, the criteria that did not change, and the worker who leaves after the grant.
By Keshab Chapagain, registered migration agent (MARN 1576536) since 2015 · WIDEN, Sydney · Reviewed October 2026
Keshab Chapagain · MARN 1576536 · Registered since 2015 - Since 7 December 2024
- Two years of sponsored work in the occupation, with any sponsors, in the three years before nomination
- Counts
- Full-time work in the nominated occupation on a 482 for an approved sponsor; paid leave
- Does not count
- The gaps between sponsors; work in another occupation; long unpaid absences
- Nominator
- The current sponsor, in the same occupation, at the market rate
- Evidence
- Payslips, contracts, tax and super from each employer
- After the grant
- No condition ties the worker to the employer
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The rule before and after
The Temporary Residence Transition stream of the 186 required, until December 2024, that the applicant had worked for the nominating employer, in the nominated occupation, on a 482 or 457, for at least two of the three years before the nomination; a worker who changed sponsor at eighteen months started again with the new one. The amendments that commenced on 7 December 2024 removed the words that tied the two years to the nominating employer: the requirement is now two years of full-time work in the nominated occupation while holding the 482, the 457 or a related bridging visa, within the three years immediately before the nomination, and the period may be made up of employment with one sponsor or several, provided each was an approved sponsor that had nominated the worker. The same amendments reduced the period from three years to two and extended the allowance between sponsors to 180 days, and together they were intended to make it possible for a sponsored worker to leave a bad employer without losing the permanent visa. The 186 pathway guide sets out the stream.
What counts toward the two years
- Full-time employment in the nominated occupation for an approved sponsor that had nominated the worker, while the worker held the 482 or a bridging visa granted on a 482 application.
- The same, with a previous sponsor, where the occupation was the same.
- Periods of paid leave within that employment: annual, personal, long service, paid parental.
- Short periods of unpaid leave within continuing employment, which the Department's practice accepts as part of the period.
- Employment that was full-time as nominated; part-time periods are examined and may be excluded unless they fall within an exception such as a return from parental leave.
The gaps between sponsors
The period between leaving one sponsor and starting with the next, during which the worker may work for anyone under the 180-day allowance, is not employment in the nominated occupation for a sponsor that nominated the worker, and it does not count toward the two years. It does not break the count: the sponsored periods on either side of it are added, and the three-year window within which the two years must fall runs regardless. Work done in the gap for an unrelated employer, even in the same occupation, does not count, because no approved sponsor had nominated the worker for it; a worker who spent four months in the gap has a 186 four months later than one who moved directly. The three-year window is counted back from the date of the 186 nomination, and a worker with long gaps can find that the earliest sponsored period has fallen outside it. The 180-day guide covers the gap.
The same occupation
The two years must be in the occupation nominated for the 186, and a worker whose nominations with different sponsors were for different occupations counts only the time in the occupation now nominated. A chef nominated by one restaurant and a cook by the next, a software engineer and then a developer programmer, a registered nurse and then a nurse manager, each has a question about whether the earlier time is in the same occupation, and the Department's policy on closely related occupations, and on the ANZSCO codes, decides it; the consultation reads the two nominations before the application is planned, because a reset at this point is two more years. A promotion within the same occupation, with a new nomination at a higher salary, does not reset the count. The new nomination guide covers the change of position.
The current sponsor who must nominate
The 186 nomination is made by the employer the worker is with at the time, and that employer must be an approved standard business sponsor, must have nominated the worker for the 482 they currently hold or must employ them under it, must nominate the same occupation, must offer a position of at least two years at the market rate and the threshold, and must meet the 186 nomination criteria on the genuineness of the position and its own standing. The previous sponsor plays no part in the nomination and need not consent to anything. A worker who has reached the two years but whose current employer will not nominate has the two years and no nomination, and looks for an employer who will, with the time counting as long as it stays inside the three-year window. The transfer guide covers the new sponsor's nomination.
The evidence from previous employers
The Department requires evidence that the two years were worked as claimed, and for the period with a previous sponsor the evidence comes from an employment the worker has left: the employment contract, the payslips for the whole period, the superannuation statements, the annual income statements from the tax system, and a letter from the previous employer confirming the dates, the position, the occupation and the full-time hours. A previous sponsor who has closed, been sold or will not write is covered by the payroll and tax documents, which exist independently, by the Department's own record of the earlier nomination and its approval, and by a statutory declaration from the worker and, where possible, a former manager. A worker who kept the folder from the first day has the evidence; a worker who did not reconstructs it from the bank and the Tax Office, which is why the arrival guide says to start the folder.
The criteria that did not change
The worker must still be under 45 at the time of the 186 application, with the exemptions, including the high-income exemption for the transition stream; must still have competent English; must still meet health and character; and must still have complied with the conditions of the 482, which means no second job, no unpaid work for other businesses, and no breach of 8607, with the conduct across every sponsor examined. The occupation must still be on the list applicable to the stream at the time of nomination, and the employer must still pass its own criteria. A worker who moved sponsors and breached the condition in the gap, by working beyond the allowance or outside it, has a compliance problem that the 186 raises. The second job guide sets out the breach most often found.
Salary across the employers
The 186 nomination requires the nominated salary to be at or above the market rate and the threshold for the position now nominated, and the Department reads the pay history of the qualifying period for whether the worker was paid as nominated at each sponsor; a period of underpayment at a previous employer can be excluded from the count or raise a genuineness question about that employer's nomination, which affects the worker's count rather than the former employer's standing. A worker who was underpaid by a previous sponsor and did nothing has a count that may be short; a worker who was paid as nominated has a clean period. The underpayment guide covers what to do while the employment runs, and the extended leave guide what long absences do to the count.
Leaving after the grant
The 186 is a permanent visa with no condition requiring the holder to remain with the employer, and a holder who resigns the month after the grant has breached no condition and holds the visa. The nomination required the employer to intend to employ the worker for at least two years, and the Department can revisit a grant where it finds the nomination was not genuine, which a prearranged departure, a job accepted elsewhere before the grant, or a pattern of workers leaving the same employer immediately after their 186s can suggest; cancellation on that basis is rare and requires the Department to find that the position was never genuine or that false information was given. An ordinary resignation for an ordinary reason, after a reasonable period, is what happens in every workplace. The employer's letter to the Department after a departure is a notification it may make, and the Department reads it for what it is.
Planning the change
- Count the sponsored months in the nominated occupation so far, and the three-year window back from the expected nomination date.
- Keep the occupation the same across the move; a different occupation is a reset.
- Collect the evidence from the current employer before leaving: the letter, the payslips, the contract.
- Keep the gap short; it does not count and it uses the window.
- Confirm the new employer is an approved sponsor, will nominate at the market rate, and understands that the 186 nomination will be theirs when the count is reached.
- Keep the conditions through the gap and after, because the 186 asks.
Book a consultation — $330 inc. GST, credited
General information only, current at October 2026; not advice on your own case. The Temporary Residence Transition stream criteria of subclass 186 in Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994 as amended with effect from 7 December 2024, the nomination criteria in regulation 5.19, and condition 8607, as in force at the date above; the treatment of closely related occupations and of unpaid leave within the qualifying period is a matter of the Department’s policy and the current position governs. Outcomes depend on the Department’s assessment of each application; no registered migration agent can guarantee a result (Code of Conduct, Migration Agents Regulations). Keshab Chapagain, MARN 1576536.
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I spent eighteen months with one sponsor and have been with a new one for six. Can I apply for the 186?
Yes, if the new sponsor will nominate you and the work with both was in the same nominated occupation on a 482. Since 7 December 2024 the transition stream requires two years of full-time work in the nominated occupation while holding the 482, within the three years before the nomination, and the two years no longer have to be with the nominating employer; time with a previous sponsor counts. The nominating employer must be your current sponsor, an approved sponsor, nominating you in the same occupation at the market rate.
Does the gap between sponsors count?
No. The period after one sponsored employment ended and before the next began, the 180 days the condition allows, is not work in the nominated occupation for a sponsor and does not count toward the two years, though it does not break the count either; the periods of sponsored work on each side are added. Work for other employers in the gap, which the condition permits, does not count unless it was in the nominated occupation for an approved sponsor who had nominated you.
I changed occupation when I changed sponsor. Does the earlier time count?
Generally not. The two years must be in the occupation the 186 nomination is for, and work in a different occupation under an earlier nomination is work in a different occupation; a worker nominated as a chef by one sponsor and as a restaurant manager by the next counts only the restaurant manager time. A closely related occupation is examined on the facts and the Department's policy, and the consultation reads the two nominations against each other before the application is planned.
What evidence do I need from my previous sponsor?
The employment records that prove the period and the occupation: the contract, the payslips, the superannuation and tax statements, and ideally a letter from the previous employer confirming the dates, the position and the full-time hours. A previous sponsor who has closed or will not cooperate is covered by the payroll documents, the Department's own record of the nomination, and a statutory declaration; the Department can see that the earlier nomination was approved and for what.
Can I leave the employer after the 186 is granted?
Yes. The 186 is a permanent visa with no condition tying you to the employer, and a worker who leaves after the grant breaches nothing. The Department examines the nomination for whether the employer genuinely intended to employ you for at least two years, which is a criterion the employer meets, and a worker who had arranged a new job before the grant and left the week after invites the Department to revisit whether the position was genuine; it rarely does, and the visa is not cancelled for an ordinary resignation. The two-year commitment is the employer's, and the worker's is a matter of good faith.
What does the consultation cost?
A$330 inc. GST for 30 minutes by video with Keshab Chapagain (MARN 1576536), credited in full if you engage WIDEN. For a worker who has changed sponsors the session counts the qualifying months across the employers, checks the occupation is the same, and tells the current employer what the nomination needs.
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