How employer visa sponsorship works in Australia

Employer visa sponsorship in Australia is not a single form. The Department of Home Affairs requires the employer to become an approved sponsor, nominate you for a specific role, and only then can you lodge your visa application. Since December 2024, most temporary skilled sponsorship runs through the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482), which replaced the Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa.

Permanent residency via employer sponsorship typically follows the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186). Understanding the sequence helps you ask the right questions in interviews and avoid offers that cannot be sponsored.

Before an employer can nominate anyone, they must be approved as a standard business sponsor (or operate under a labour agreement). The business provides evidence of lawful operation, meets sponsorship obligations, and pays the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy at nomination stage ($1,200 per visa year for businesses with turnover under $10 million).

Smaller employers face closer scrutiny on the genuine need test - Home Affairs expects evidence the role exists for real business reasons, not primarily to secure a visa. Ask hiring managers whether the company already holds sponsorship approval before you rely on a verbal offer.

The employer nominates you for an occupation on the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL) for the Core Skills stream, or meets the Specialist Skills stream threshold ($141,210 from 1 July 2025). Pay must be at least the higher of the relevant income threshold and the Annual Market Salary Rate (AMSR) for equivalent Australian workers.

Confirm your ANZSCO code on the skilled occupation list and check the legislative instrument for your visa subclass. For subclass 482 Core Skills, see LIN 24/089; for subclass 186, see LIN 24/093. These instruments list eligible occupations and their assessing authorities.

Most skilled visa pathways require a skills assessment from the assessing authority designated for your occupation - for example VETASSESS for many general professional roles, or a specialist body for IT, engineering, or accounting. The authority decides whether your qualifications and experience meet Australian standards.

Graduates who studied in Australia may have streamlined pathways with some authorities, but do not assume your degree alone satisfies the assessment. Start early: assessments can take months and expire.

Once sponsorship and nomination are approved, you lodge your Skills in Demand visa application. The Core Skills stream requires at least 1 year of relevant work experience (reduced from 2 years under the 2024 reforms). Recent graduates often meet this through post-study work on a subclass 485.

A significant 2024-25 change: sponsored workers now have up to 180 days (with a lifetime cap) to find a new sponsor if they leave their employer, up from 60 days under the old TSS rules. That improves mobility but does not remove the need for a new nomination.

For permanent residency, the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) remains the main employer-sponsored PR pathway. Eligibility, streams, and occupation lists are on the Home Affairs ENS page.