482 Stage 3: Employer Nomination and Genuine Position
A2MS 482 Knowledge Centre · Stage 3 of 4
Employer Nomination
Show that the role, worker, contract and salary fit the rules.
Nomination is not a formality after SBS. It identifies a particular skilled position and nominee, tests genuine duties and the employment arrangement, and requires evidence for occupation, salary, LMT and SAF requirements. A business can be an approved sponsor yet fail nomination.
What matters before this stage
- A genuine position must exist and match the occupation in reality.
- The 2026–27 Core Skills threshold is AUD 79,423; Specialist Skills is AUD 146,576.
- An employer should examine both the Annual Market Salary Rate (AMSR) and the relevant income threshold.
1. Choose the correct stream and occupation
Core Skills: the proposed occupation must be on the applicable Core Skills Occupation List, including relevant caveats. Specialist Skills: the nominated occupation and earnings must satisfy that stream's ANZSCO major-group and salary provisions. Labour Agreement: the signed agreement must authorise the relevant occupation and any agreed concessions.
Match the 6-digit occupation code to the real job, main duties, workplace and skill level. ANZSCO duties can allow specialisation, but an impressive position title cannot substitute for the actual work being performed. The employment location used in the nomination should reflect where work will actually take place.
Can an Adelaide restaurant sponsor a chef?
For the Core Skills stream, look up Chef (ANZSCO 2022 code 351311), compare the kitchen duties with the occupation and then read caveats 3 and 4. These exclude positions involving mass production in a factory setting and positions in a limited-service restaurant. Look up an occupation and read the caveats in LIN 24/089.
A full-service restaurant that also sells takeaway could document how customers order, who serves tables, what the kitchen prepares and which duties the chef performs on each shift. A takeaway outlet with a few stools still needs to check the limited-service definition. A menu, floor plan and rosters help explain how each business actually operates.
Chef falls in ANZSCO major group 3, which is outside the Specialist Skills stream even if the salary reaches its threshold. For nominations lodged from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, the Core Skills threshold is $79,423 and the Specialist Skills threshold is $146,576. Check the market rate for the actual position as well. Check the salary rules for your lodgement date.
Once you have checked the job, check whether the chef needs a skills assessment before applying. For other occupations, use the Home Affairs index of legislative instruments.
2. Prove the position is genuine
The nomination policy explains that genuineness concerns whether the position exists and genuinely aligns with the nominated occupation. It does not require the decision-maker to substitute their own commercial judgment about whether employing someone is profitable or sensible.
Evidence may include a realistic position description, organisation chart, client contracts, previous vacancies, work allocations, growth in service demand and how the duties support the employer's actual activities. A related-party nominee, recently created position or small organisation can prompt closer examination; none of those facts alone necessarily decides the outcome.
3. Check market salary and the income threshold separately
For nominations lodged 1 July 2026–30 June 2027, Home Affairs lists a Core Skills Income Threshold of AUD 79,423 and a Specialist Skills Income Threshold of AUD 146,576. The figures are indexed and depend on the date of nomination.
For ordinary salary assessments below AUD 250,000, the employer must determine the Annual Market Salary Rate (AMSR) correctly, establish that the worker is not paid less than the market salary, and check that the applicable income-threshold conditions are met. For the ordinary test, both the market salary and the worker’s pay, excluding non-monetary benefits, must reach the applicable threshold. For example, if the genuine market rate is AUD75,000, offering the worker AUD80,000 does not fix a market rate below the 2026–27 Core Skills threshold of AUD79,423.
4. Capacity, contract, working hours and associated entities
Consider whether the business can employ the person for the nominated period and pay the required rate. Relevant evidence may include current accounts, BAS, tax returns, contracts and an explanation of losses or unusual cash flows. Financial difficulties require fact-specific assessment and are not simply a turnover-based pass/fail formula.
The employer generally needs an appropriate signed employment contract, with special rules and limited exceptions for certain categories. Check who is legally the employer: an Australian SBS and an associated entity can differ from an overseas SBS. The nominated position is ordinarily full-time; limited exceptions should be assessed under the applicable regulation rather than described as freely available.
5. Nomination lodgement, SAF and irreversible details
Budget for the currently published AUD 330 nomination fee and the applicable Skilling Australians Fund levy (calculated with reference to annual turnover and the nomination period). An incorrect turnover or period can affect levy payment and require a fresh nomination rather than a simple correction. Different refund circumstances are prescribed; do not assume a refund after changing your mind.
Check nominee identity, nominated occupation, work postcode, proposed period and turnover carefully before lodgement. The 2024 policy identifies several details that cannot be altered by a routine uploaded correction after nomination. A refused nomination, a subsequent visa refusal, a withdrawn application and an approved employer-transfer nomination each have different legal consequences.
Evidence and pre-lodgement checklist
Documents depend on the employer, occupation and stream. Use the following to prepare questions and gaps, not as an automatic eligibility decision.
- SBS or Labour Agreement approval and stream selection
- Occupation code, caveats, realistic role duties and organisation chart
- Business contracts, activities and explanations supporting genuine position
- Actual workplace location and signed employment arrangement
- AMSR calculation with equivalent Australian worker records or permitted alternate market evidence
- Current salary offer, threshold cross-check and award/enterprise-agreement review
- Financial capacity to pay and employ for the nominated period
- Completed LMT or properly evidenced exemption, where required
- SAF calculation, correct nominee details and nomination fee
Typical situations worth assessing
Nominee is a company director
A legally separate company may nominate an associated individual, but show a real job, employer–employee arrangement and factual duties; do not call this a blanket self-sponsorship exemption.
AMSR exceeds the advertised salary
An above-CSIT wage does not resolve underpayment against the AMSR. Reassess using the proper salary methodology.
Business has losses but new contracts
Historic losses do not automatically determine future capacity. Present reliable financials, contracts and a reasoned capacity explanation.
Wrong nominee details or duration
Correcting mandatory nomination identifiers after lodgement can require withdrawal and re-lodgement with associated fee/visa linkage consequences.
Worker transfers to a new SBS
A new approved nomination is generally necessary; the existing visa and occupation must be checked before assuming a fresh visa is always required.
These are hypothetical education scenarios, not statements about A2MS client matters or predictions of decisions.
If Home Affairs refuses the nomination
First, identify the decision. A nomination refusal concerns the employer and the proposed position. A visa refusal concerns the worker’s visa application. Check the decision letter and the status of any linked application. One refusal letter does not establish that both applications have been decided.
If review is available: read the notice immediately. Check who can apply, how to lodge and the deadline. The employer may be the eligible applicant for review of its nomination. A worker who later receives a visa refusal must check that separate notice. An employer’s review application does not lodge a visa review for the worker or preserve a deadline for review of the visa refusal.
Two letters: an Adelaide employer and an offshore worker
The employer receives a nomination refusal on Monday. It records when it was notified, the review instructions and whether it has lodged a valid review. Later, the worker receives a visa refusal. Keep that notice and its notification date separately. For a primary offshore application, check whether the nominator was an Australian business and whether an approved nomination remained in effect, or a qualifying sponsorship or nomination review was already pending when the visa refusal was made. Where this offshore review pathway applies, the eligible Australian sponsor or nominator applies for review of the visa refusal. The worker cannot assume they can lodge it personally.
For a primary application made in Australia, the visa applicant may be the person entitled to apply, subject to the review criteria and location requirements. Check the notices immediately, including where the person must be when lodging. Work out each deadline from the actual decision; do not wait for one review to finish before checking the other.
Review or a fresh application? The Administrative Review Tribunal reviews an eligible decision. A fresh nomination asks Home Affairs for a new decision and may require new advertising, fees and evidence. Lodging afresh does not extend a review deadline. For a pending primary 482 application, the nomination identified in the visa application must be approved and its approval must still be in effect. A replacement nomination does not substitute for it. Check the applicant’s withdrawal election, correspondence and visa status urgently. What the worker should check.
Administrative Review Tribunal: immigration and citizenship reviews
Before lodging: match the business, job and worker
Read the draft nomination alongside the signed contract and visa application. Match the employing entity, nominee, occupation and actual duties, stream, work location, period and turnover. Keep the nomination reference. If the sponsor approval is pending, distinguish the ability to lodge from the requirement for approval at decision. If a levy shortfall emerges, obtain the Department’s payment instructions before withdrawing or lodging again.
Example: A supervisor is called a “manager” on payroll but spends most shifts doing frontline work. Compare the day-to-day tasks, reporting lines, occupation definition and any applicable caveat. A new title alone does not establish a different occupation. In a company group, record who signs the contract, directs the work and pays the salary. For an existing 457 or 482 holder moving sponsors, identify any secondary visa holders in the transfer nomination and check whether a prior English exemption depended on the former employment.
Which salary evidence fits this job?
- An equivalent Australian worker is employed at the same workplace and location. Compare duties, responsibility, experience and pay grade. Use the applicable industrial instrument or relevant employment and pay records. A junior employee with the same title may be a poor comparator.
- This is the first role of its kind in the business. Check the applicable award or enterprise agreement. Where there is no equivalent worker or relevant industrial instrument, use at least two relevant sources such as comparable local vacancies and published remuneration data. Explain how their duties, location and pay support the figure. Compare hours, leave and other conditions as well as salary.
Home Affairs salary evidence requirements
Labour agreement example: The agreement lists the occupation, but the employer has used this year’s allocation. Check the agreement year, nominations already approved, ceiling and any approved variation before counting another place.
How long can we rely on the nomination?
Record the approval date, sponsor or agreement end date, visa lodgement date and any withdrawal. The usual 12-month point is only one cessation rule: a linked visa application still undecided at that point can affect the end date, and written withdrawal can end approval earlier. Check regulation 2.75 against the actual dates.
Nomination fee and SAF levy: when to check for a refund
| What happened? | What to check |
|---|---|
| Visa granted; worker never started | Check the approved nomination and visa, agreed start date and evidence of non-commencement. Notify Home Affairs within the applicable reporting period. The SAF levy may be refundable; assess the nomination fee separately. |
| Worker started and resigned after six months | For a proposed period longer than one year, an eligible early departure may allow a partial levy refund. Example: a small business paid $2,400 for two years. If the prescribed conditions are met, the possible refund is $1,200 after retaining the first year’s levy. Keep payroll dates, resignation and notification records. |
| Wrong levy paid or application withdrawn | Keep receipts, turnover evidence and decision dates. The reason for withdrawal and whether it occurred before a decision matter. Check separate grounds for a departmental mistake, an unsuccessful sponsorship or a labour agreement that was not concluded. |
| Worker’s visa refused | Read the actual refusal ground. Specified health or character grounds may qualify under the applicable rules. A refusal on another ground does not create the same entitlement. |
Frequently asked questions — Stage 3
Answers are general and depend on the stream, application date and individual evidence.
We are taking over sponsorship of an existing 482 holder. How many years of SAF levy do we pay?
Use the proposed period of employment in the new nomination. For example, an employer proposing two years should budget for two years of levy. A remaining visa period does not automatically make this a one-year charge. If the employment plan changes, check whether a further nomination and levy are needed. For the early-departure refund, the visa period must exceed 12 months and the worker must leave the sponsor within the first 12 months of employment. Only unused full years can be refunded under this ground. Other refund grounds have different conditions. Check Home Affairs refund rules.
Does SBS approval mean a nomination will be approved?
No. The nomination independently examines the position, occupation, salary, sponsor arrangements and required evidence.
What is the difference between CSIT and AMSR?
CSIT is the relevant income threshold for Core Skills; AMSR is the annual market salary for equivalent Australian work in the same location. Both have a role in the salary test; the higher effective requirement may drive the result.
Can a business nominate a family member or director?
Potentially, where the legal structure permits genuine employment, but related-party arrangements can attract scrutiny. The position must not exist merely to obtain a migration outcome.
Is a small company's nomination automatically refused?
No. The policy calls for a qualitative genuine-position assessment and evidence of financial capacity, not a universal company-size rule.
Must every position be exactly 38 hours per week?
The role is ordinarily full-time. The applicable policy recognises some award-based full-time arrangements and limited discretionary part-time situations, which require specific assessment.
Can a new nomination fix a wrong occupation?
A materially different nominated occupation is not usually corrected by simply uploading a different duty list. Evaluate whether a new nomination and, for a current visa holder, a new visa are needed.
Who pays the SAF levy?
The sponsoring employer pays the relevant levy at nomination. The employer must not transfer prohibited sponsorship or nomination costs to the worker.
Will a refused nomination automatically refund the SAF levy?
No. Refund entitlement is limited to specified legislative circumstances. Refusal or a voluntary change of mind is not generally a refund ground.
Can the nominated worker start for a new employer before approval?
The ordinary rule requires an approved new nomination before commencing sponsored employment for the new employer. Distinct cessation-period work arrangements and exempt occupations must be assessed separately under the visa conditions.
Need advice about your actual circumstances?
These articles explain the legal framework and procedural issues; they do not determine eligibility or predict the Department’s decision. Migration and visa advice is provided by Sunil Choudhary, Registered Migration Agent (MARN 2418425).
Sources, policy vintage and legal reference
Research basis: Department of Home Affairs Procedural Instruction VM-7172 · LEGEND 7 December 2024, provided to A2MS. Departmental policy is guidance, not legislation. The older policy version is checked against the operative Act, Regulations and Home Affairs public guidance; current instruments and application-date rules prevail. Last editorial review: 7 November 2026.
