Standard business sponsorship document checklist

1. Proof the business is legally established

• ABN registration certificate (Australian-based employer), or ARBN registration certificate (overseas business registered to operate in Australia), or evidence of registration in your country (if not operating in Australia)
• ASIC Business Names Details extract, if you trade under a registered business name
• Company: ASIC company extract (registration details for the ACN), or ASX listing registration if listed
• Trust, franchise or joint venture: the signature page and the pages listing the parties
• Trust: apply in the trustee's name as on the trust deed, and give the trust name and the trust's ABN

2. Proof the business is currently operating

Larger or established business (operating for a number of years):

• Profit and loss statements
• Annual report for the most recently concluded financial year

Small or recently established business:

• Tax return for the most recently concluded financial year
• Recent business activity statements (BAS)
• Recent bank statements

3. New businesses

At minimum, a business plan that includes:

• Contracts to provide services to the business
• Business bank statements covering the period of operation

Also useful, where you have them:

• Contract of sale for the purchase of the business, where settlement has occurred
• Lease for the business premises
• Evidence of employment of staff
• BAS for each complete quarter since operations began

More on start-ups and recently bought businesses: new business sponsoring a 482.

4. Business not yet operating in Australia

Show your intention, or a contractual obligation, to set up in Australia:

• A company or business expansion plan, or
• An agreement to enter into a joint venture, or
• A contract between you and a party in Australia

See overseas business with no Australian entity.

5. The attestation and suitability

In the application form, a business in Australia attests in writing that it has a strong record of, or a demonstrated commitment to, employing local labour, and declares that it will not engage in discriminatory recruitment practices. Home Affairs must also not be aware of adverse information about the business or anyone associated with it, or it must be reasonable to disregard it. If something adverse exists (a past breach, a prosecution, an insolvency), deal with it in the application rather than leaving the Department to find it.

Common gaps that delay or sink an application

• The applicant's name does not match the ABN or the trust deed (for a trust, the trustee must apply).
• Financials that are old, unsigned or for a different entity from the one applying.
• A new business with a plan but no contracts or bank statements to show it is actually trading.
• Adverse information not disclosed or explained.

Home Affairs says complete applications may be processed faster, and incomplete ones may be delayed or refused. If yours was refused: sponsorship refused.

Have your documents checked before you lodge

In a sponsor consultation Keshab Chapagain (MARN 1576536, registered since 2015) reviews your business structure and documents against what Home Affairs asks for, flags gaps and any adverse information to address, and checks the nomination and worker side at the same time so the whole case holds together. A$330 inc. GST for 30 minutes or A$550 for 60 minutes, credited in full if you engage the practice. No outcome can be promised.

Book a sponsor consultation →

In other currencies: A$330 is about US$225, €205 or £170; A$550 is about US$380, €340 or £285 (approximate, November 2026).

General information, not migration advice. Source: Home Affairs, Standard business sponsor, Eligibility and Step by step, checked 11 November 2026.