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482 Sponsorship Step-by-Step Guide

Sponsoring a worker on the Subclass 482 (Skills in Demand) visa involves three Department of Home Affairs applications. This guide walks each step at the framework level — what the Department typically wants, what trips first-time sponsors up, and what the realistic timeline looks like.

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Step 1 — Standard Business Sponsorship (SBS) approval

Lodged once, valid 5 years, covers all your future nominations during that period.

Department typically wants evidence of:

• Lawfully operating Australian business — ASIC company extract, ABN registration, business name registration
• Active and ongoing operations — financial statements (often 12+ months), bank statements, business activity statements (BAS)
• No adverse information — non-compliance history, prior breaches
• Compliance with workplace laws and Department migration laws
• Commitment to train Australians — historically met via the SAF levy at nomination stage

Common SBS issues: sole-trader or trust structures without clear evidence of trading activity; new businesses (less than 12 months) without sufficient operational history; previous compliance issues not transparently disclosed.

Step 2 — Nomination (the position)

Lodged for each position you want to fill via the 482 visa. This is where most refusals happen.

Key requirements (general framework):

• Occupation on the relevant list — the nominated occupation must be on the Department's current list for the relevant stream
• Annual Market Salary Rate (AMSR) — pay rate at or above the market rate for the position in that location, evidenced with comparator data the Department accepts
• TSMIT (where applicable) — salary at or above the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold
• SAF levy — paid in full at lodgement (scales by business turnover and visa stream/duration; typically several thousand AUD per nomination per year)
• Genuine position — evidence the role is real, necessary in the business, and aligned with the business's actual operations
• ANZSCO match — actual duties match the ANZSCO description of the nominated occupation
• Equivalent terms and conditions — no less favourable than for equivalent Australian workers

Step 3 — Visa application (the worker)

Lodged by the worker once SBS and nomination are approved (or in parallel where strategy allows).

Worker must meet:

• Skills assessment (where required for the occupation)
• Work experience requirement (typically 2 years relevant for Medium Stream, varying by stream)
• English language at the stream-specific level
• Health and character requirements
• Identity and documentation

Sponsor obligations after grant

• Provide the position as described — same role, duties, terms, location
• Maintain records — employment, training, complaints handling, return-of-employee reporting
• Notify Department of certain events — change of business structure, change in worker's role, worker ceasing employment
• Cooperate with Department monitoring (site visits, document requests)
• Pay no less than equivalent terms and conditions for the duration of the visa

Migration Regulation 2.87 — cost recovery prohibited

Migration Regulation 2.87 prohibits sponsors from recovering sponsorship costs from the worker. The SAF levy, nomination fee, and other sponsor-side costs are the sponsor's, not the worker's. Recovering these costs from the worker — including by salary deduction, "loan" arrangements, or post-grant repayment — is a serious compliance breach with significant penalties. Visa application charges paid by the worker can lawfully be the worker's responsibility, but sponsorship costs cannot.

Realistic timeline (first-time sponsor)

• SBS preparation + lodgement + decision: several weeks to a few months
• Nomination preparation + lodgement + decision: typically several weeks (faster with priority where available)
• Visa application: depends on stream, occupation, applicant location
• From first conversation to visa grant: many sponsorships take 4–9 months end-to-end

Established sponsors with their first SBS already in place can typically run a nomination + visa application in materially less time.

Next steps

• Sponsor a Worker (482 / 186) — full service overview
• Sponsorship cost calculator
• 482 nomination refusal — if already refused
• Book a paid 30-min consultation