482 visa and your job has ended: the 180-day rule and what to do first

MARN 1576536

The rule

Since 1 July 2024, a Skills in Demand (482) holder whose employment with the sponsor ends has up to 180 consecutive days to be nominated by a new approved sponsor, lodge a different visa application, or depart, subject to a cap of 365 days in total across the visa period for anyone who changes sponsor more than once. During that time the work condition is relaxed: you may work for other employers, in your nominated occupation or any other, to support yourself. The same applies to remaining Temporary Skill Shortage (457 and old 482) holders. Before July 2024 the period was 60 days and other work was not allowed, and plenty of advice online still describes that rule.

Two things the rule does not do. It does not extend your visa: if your visa ends on day 90, day 90 is the deadline. And it does not count work for non-sponsor employers towards the two years with a sponsor that the 186 Transition stream requires.

The three dates

• The day employment ceased. The last day of employment, not the day you were told, not the date on the separation certificate if it differs, and not the day the sponsor notifies the Department. Where a notice period was paid out rather than worked, the cessation date is a question of fact and worth settling in writing with the employer.
• Day 180. Counted from the day after cessation. If you have changed sponsor before, add the earlier gap and check the 365-day total.
• Your visa end date. On the grant notice. Whichever of day 180 and this date comes first is your deadline.

The sponsor must notify the Department within 28 days of the cessation. Many do; some do not. The Department works from the cessation date either way, so a late or missing notification does not move your deadline, and it is not something to count on in either direction.

A new sponsor

The usual route, and the fastest when the new employer is already an approved standard business sponsor. The new employer lodges a nomination for you. If it is in the same occupation as your current visa, approval of the nomination is enough: your 482 continues and you start work in the nominated role once it is approved. If the occupation is different, the nomination must be paired with a new 482 application, which means meeting the stream's requirements again, including the salary threshold and, for Core Skills, the occupation being on the Core Skills Occupation List.

Timing is the whole game. Nominations have been decided in weeks and the visa in months; a nomination lodged on day 170 can be undecided on day 180. Lodging the application before the deadline is what keeps you lawful, so a new 482 application lodged in time carries a bridging visa while it is decided; a nomination alone does not. An employer who has never sponsored before has to become an approved sponsor first, which adds a step and is one reason to start the conversation in week one. For the employer's side, see sponsoring a worker and whether a small business can sponsor.

Under the processing priorities in force since 19 September 2026, an onshore applicant sits ahead of offshore applicants, and a priority-sector occupation (healthcare, construction, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing, resources, law enforcement, defence) ahead of that. It changes queue position, not eligibility.

The other visas

• 186 Direct Entry. If an employer will nominate you for permanent residence directly and you have a positive skills assessment and at least three years of relevant experience, the two-year Transition rule is not needed. Age under 45 at application, with limited exemptions.
• 190 or 491 state nomination. Points-tested, age under 45, skills assessment and state nomination. Being onshore with Australian work experience helps the points and some states' criteria. Regional (491) places were cut in the 2026–27 program, so the 190 is the more realistic door in most states this year.
• Partner visa. If you are married, in a registered relationship, or have lived with an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen as de facto partners for 12 months, an onshore partner application carries a bridging visa with work rights. It is slow to decide and expensive, and the relationship evidence has to be real; see the 820/801 guide.
• Further study. Since 2 October 2026 most 482 holders can still lodge a Student visa onshore, unlike visitor and Working Holiday holders, but a course chosen to hold a visa is the pattern the Genuine Student requirement is designed to refuse. Only worth it where the course is the point.
• Leaving in time. Departing before the deadline and applying again from outside Australia keeps the record clean. Overstaying, or staying unlawfully while a late application is sorted out, does not: see unlawful in Australia, what now.

What breaks it

• Counting from the wrong day: the termination meeting, the final pay, the sponsor's notification, rather than the last day of employment.
• Starting work for the new employer in the nominated role before the nomination or the new visa is granted.
• A new employer who is not yet an approved sponsor, discovered in month five.
• A different occupation treated as a same-occupation nomination, so no visa application is lodged and the visa lapses at the deadline.
• A visa end date earlier than day 180, missed because everyone was counting the 180.

What to do this week

1. Fix the cessation date in writing and count your day 180 and, if you have changed sponsor before, your 365-day total.
2. Read your grant notice for the visa end date and the conditions.
3. Tell any employer who is interested that they will need to nominate you, and ask whether they are an approved sponsor.
4. Check whether you are already eligible for a 186 Direct Entry, a 190 or 491, or a partner visa, so that the sponsor route is not the only one on the table.
5. Book the consultation before the job search gets ahead of the visa plan, not after.

Book a consultation — $330 inc. GST, credited