494 Business Sponsorship: Can Your Business Sponsor a Regional Worker?

Identify the employer

Put the proposed contract, payslip template, ABN record and any existing sponsorship approval side by side. Check the legal name on each. For a trust, identify the trustee and its capacity. For a franchise, check who owns and operates the particular outlet. Record the actual worksite postcode as well as the registered office.

Choose the sponsorship route

For the Employer Sponsored stream, check whether the business holds current standard business sponsorship approval or needs to apply. Record the expiry date and any change of entity. For the Labour Agreement stream, check which entity is party to the agreement, which occupations it covers and whether it allows 494 nominations. A head office’s approval is a reason to investigate the structure, not permission to use its approval number.

Prepare the evidence

For a first application, gather registration records and evidence of actual trade such as invoices matched to bank deposits, payroll and accounts. Explain any recent restructure or adverse compliance history. Identify who will keep recruitment and payroll records, report relevant changes and deal with requests from Home Affairs. Budget for employer-side charges separately from the worker’s costs.

When the employer or work arrangement changes

Two related companies share staff

A regional clinic company signs the contract, another group company runs payroll and a third business directs the worker day to day. Draw the ownership and control structure, identify the direct employer and record who supervises the duties. Where the proposed arrangement relies on an associated entity, keep company records supporting that relationship. For a placement with an unrelated client, explain who controls the work and check any occupation-specific exception before offering the role.

The nominee owns part of the business

For a company director or shareholder, document how the business decided to create the position, how salary was set and who supervises the work. A sole trader proposing to employ themselves faces a different problem: the same individual would be both parties to the ordinary employment contract. Check the structure before paying nomination charges.

An employer takes on an existing 494 holder

Ask whether family members already hold secondary 494 visas linked to the worker. Record them in the new nomination where required. Keep the old and new approval letters and dates. A change of sponsor, a change of occupation and temporary work during a break in sponsored employment each raise different visa questions. See regulation 2.72C(8)–(9) and the worker’s grant conditions.

Home Affairs sponsor obligations · Migration Regulations 1994