Employer sponsorship · Work location
The work location in a 482 nomination: branches, multi-site roles, group companies, relocations, remote positions, and the regional visas where location is a condition
A nomination is for a position, and a position is somewhere. The location the sponsor states does more work than most employers realise: it sets the market salary rate the nomination must meet, it is the location the labour market testing must advertise, it is the operation the genuine position evidence must describe, and for the regional visas it becomes a condition the worker must keep. A business with a head office in one city and the job in another nominates the job where it is; a group whose branch is a separate company nominates through the employing entity or under the parent’s sponsorship as an associated entity; a role that moves between sites is described as one; and a worker who moves between the sponsor’s sites later is notified rather than re-nominated, unless the move changes the position. This guide sets out what the nomination asks about location, how each structure is handled, what moves need what, the remote position, and the regional visas where the address is not a detail but a condition.
By Keshab Chapagain, registered migration agent (MARN 1576536) since 2015 · WIDEN, Sydney · Reviewed October 2026
Keshab Chapagain · MARN 1576536 · Registered since 2015 - Location sets
- The market salary rate, the testing, the genuine position context
- Condition 8607
- Ties the worker to the sponsor, not to an address
- Branch, same entity
- Nominate the position at the branch
- Branch, separate company
- The employing entity sponsors, or employs as an associated entity under the sponsor
- Move between sites
- Notify; new nomination only if the position changes
- 494, DAMA, concessions
- Location is a condition; a move out is a breach
The migration agent that other migration agents learn from. WIDEN is an OMARA-approved CPD provider — our training is rated ★4.8 by 40+ registered migration agents.
About the CPD →MARN 1576536
What the nomination asks about location
The nomination form asks for the address at which the nominee will work, the sponsor's business address, and, where they differ, the relationship between them; it asks whether the position is in a designated regional area, which matters for the regional visas and the concessions; and it asks for the position description, the employment contract and the salary evidence, each of which carries a location. The Department reads the location for whether the nominated salary meets the annual market salary rate for the occupation in that place, whether the labour market testing advertised the position there, whether the sponsor has an operation there that needs the position, and, for the regional visas, whether the address is within the designated area. The nomination checklist lists the documents.
What the location decides
- The market salary rate. The rate is for the occupation in the location of the position, and a Perth, Darwin, Cairns or Launceston rate differs from a Sydney rate; the nomination meets the rate where the position is. The market rate guide covers the evidence.
- The labour market testing. The advertisements must state the location, and a position advertised in one city and nominated in another has not been tested. The testing guide sets out the requirements.
- The genuine position. The Department asks whether the business has an operation at the location that needs the position, and a position nominated at a site with no staff, no premises and no activity is examined for whether it exists.
- The regional criteria. For the 494, a DAMA, and the regional concessions on salary, English or age, the location must be within the designated area, and the Regional Certifying Body certifies it.
- Condition 8607. The worker's condition ties them to the sponsor and the occupation, not to the address; a location is where the position is performed, not a term of the visa, except for the regional visas.
A branch of the same entity
A business that operates from several locations under one legal entity nominates a position at whichever location it is at: the sponsor is the entity, the position's location is the branch, and the nomination states the branch address with the market rate, the testing and the genuine position evidence for that branch. The evidence for the branch is the lease or the title, the staff at the site, the revenue or activity there, and the organisational chart showing the position within the branch's structure. A sponsorship approval is for the entity and covers every location it operates from; no separate sponsorship is needed for a branch. The head office signs the nomination, the branch is where the work is, and the Department sees a large employer nominating a position where it needs one.
A branch that is a separate company
Where the branch is a separate legal entity, a subsidiary, a sister company, a franchisee's company, the question is who employs the worker and who nominates. Two structures work. The employing company becomes a standard business sponsor itself and nominates, which is the clean route where the group's companies each sponsor. Or the sponsor nominates, and the worker is employed by the branch company as an associated entity of the sponsor, which the nomination criteria permit, with the association shown under the Corporations Act definition, holding company and subsidiary, companies under common control, and the employment contract with the associated entity attached. A franchisee's company is usually not an associated entity of the franchisor, and the franchisee sponsors itself. A sponsor that nominates a position at a company it is not associated with, and the worker is employed by that company, has nominated a position the worker will not hold with the sponsor, and the nomination is refused.
Multi-site and travelling roles
An area manager who covers six stores, a field service engineer who attends customer sites, a project manager who moves from site to site, a regional sales representative, a locum: each is a genuine position with no single workplace, and the nomination describes it as such. The base location is stated, the usual home office or the depot, with the sites or the territory listed, and the position description sets out the travel as part of the duties; the market rate is assessed for the role at the base, with the travel allowances separate. The labour market testing advertises the role with its territory. The Department accepts travelling roles readily where the description is honest; it refuses the position nominated at a regional base to obtain a concession and performed in a capital city, and it finds those through the worker's address, the timesheets and the tax data.
Moving a worker between sites
A sponsor that moves a 482 worker from one of its sites to another, in the same position, the same occupation and the same salary band, has changed the location and nothing else, and the regulations do not require a new nomination for a change of location within the same sponsor and position. The sponsor notifies the Department of the change through its sponsorship notification obligations, confirms that the salary meets the market rate for the new location, which may be higher, and keeps the employment records showing the move. A move that changes the position, a promotion, a different occupation, a different salary band, different duties, is a changed position and needs a new nomination; and a move of a worker employed by an associated entity to employment by a different entity is a change of employer within the condition's allowances only if the new entity is also associated. The new nomination guide sets out when a change of position needs one.
Remote and hybrid positions
A position performed wholly or partly from the worker's home, for the sponsor's Australian business, with Australian supervision, Australian systems and Australian clients, is nominated with the home as the work location or with the office as the base and the home arrangement described, and the market rate is the rate for the occupation where the worker lives. The Department treats home-based work as ordinary where the position is plainly in the sponsor's business. A position performed from Australia for the sponsor's overseas parent, with no Australian supervision and no Australian output, raises the question whether it is a position in the sponsor's Australian business at all, and a remote role that could be performed from anywhere is examined for why it needs a worker in Australia. The remote work guide covers the line.
The regional visas: location as a condition
For the 494, the position must be in a designated regional area, the Regional Certifying Body certifies the location, and condition 8608 requires the holder to work only in the nominated position for the sponsor, in that regional area; a move to a city site of the same sponsor is a breach, and a move to another regional site is a change requiring the sponsor's notification and, where the position changes, a new nomination and a new certification. Under a Designated Area Migration Agreement, the position must be in the agreement's area and the worker must remain in it. Under the regional concessions for the 482 that some agreements and some occupations carry, the concession attaches to the location and a move out of it removes the basis of the nomination. For these visas the address is a term the worker lives under, and a sponsor that moves a regional worker to the city has created a breach for the worker and a sanction for itself. The RCB guide covers the certification.
The mistakes
- Nominating a position at the head office address when the work is at a branch, so that the market rate, the testing and the genuine position evidence are for the wrong place.
- Nominating through the parent for a position in a company that is not an associated entity.
- Advertising in one city and nominating in another.
- Nominating a regional location to obtain a concession for a position performed in a capital.
- Moving a 494 or DAMA worker out of the designated area.
- Moving a worker between sites and telling no one, so that the Department's records, the payslips and the worker's address disagree at the next audit.
Book a consultation — $330 inc. GST, credited
General information only, current at October 2026; not advice on your own case. Regulations 2.72 and 2.72C (nomination criteria, including the annual market salary rate and employment by the sponsor or an associated entity), regulation 5.19 (subclass 494 nominations), Division 2.19 (sponsorship obligations, including notification of changes), and conditions 8607 and 8608 in Schedule 8 to the Migration Regulations 1994, with the definition of associated entity in the Corporations Act 2001, as in force at the date above; whether a particular change requires a new nomination is a matter of the Department’s policy and the current position governs. Outcomes depend on the Department’s assessment of each nomination; no registered migration agent can guarantee a result (Code of Conduct, Migration Agents Regulations). Keshab Chapagain, MARN 1576536.
Not sure which visa fits you?
Answer three questions. An automated guide points you to the route that usually applies. General information only.
Get a fixed quote to sponsor a worker
Tell Keshab the business, the role and where it is based. He replies within one business day with what is needed, the fixed fee and the timing. Sponsorship and nomination costs are paid by the employer.
Ready now? Skip the form. Pick a time and talk to Keshab directly — your documents on the table, a straight answer, and a written summary afterwards. $330 inc. GST, credited toward your fee if you engage.
Pick a time — no enquiry needed →Questions we get asked first
We are in Sydney but the job is at our Perth branch. Can we nominate it?
Yes, if the Perth branch is part of the same legal entity as the sponsor, or an associated entity. The nomination states the position's location as Perth, the market salary rate is the Perth rate for the occupation, the labour market testing advertises a Perth position, and the genuine position evidence is about the Perth operation: the site, its staff, its need. Condition 8607 ties the worker to the sponsor, not to a city, so the Sydney sponsor's nomination of a Perth position is ordinary.
Our branch is a separate company in the group. Who nominates?
Either the company that will employ the worker, which must itself be a standard business sponsor, or the sponsor, with the worker employed by the branch company as an associated entity of the sponsor, which the regulations permit. The nomination identifies the employing entity and the association. A group with one sponsorship held by the parent commonly nominates through the parent for positions in its subsidiaries; a group whose subsidiaries are not associated entities in the Corporations Act sense sponsors through each.
The role covers several sites. How do we describe it?
As a multi-site or travelling role, with the base location stated and the other sites listed, in the position description and the nomination. An area manager, a field engineer, a regional sales role or a project role that moves between sites is nominated at its base with the travel described, and the market rate is assessed for the base and the role. What the Department will not accept is a position nominated at one location to obtain a lower market rate or a regional concession, and performed at another.
Our 482 worker is moving from our Brisbane office to our Melbourne office. New nomination?
Usually not, where the position, the occupation, the duties and the salary are unchanged and the move is within the same sponsor. The sponsor notifies the Department of the change through its sponsorship obligations, keeps the salary at or above the market rate for Melbourne, and keeps the records. A move that changes the position, a promotion, a different occupation, a different salary band, needs a new nomination; a move for a 494 holder out of the designated regional area, or for a DAMA worker out of the agreement's area, is a breach of condition rather than a matter of notification.
Can we nominate a remote position with no fixed site?
A position performed from the worker's home for the sponsor's Australian business can be nominated, with the home as the work location and the supervision, the reporting and the business's Australian operation described; the market rate is the rate for the occupation where the worker lives. A position with no connection to the sponsor's Australian business, performed for an overseas parent, raises the question whether the position is in the sponsor's business at all.
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 branch, a multi-site role or a relocation the session settles the nominating entity, the location to state, the market rate for it, and whether the change needs a notification or a nomination.
Keep reading