When a business becomes a Standard Business Sponsor in Australia, it enters into a formal agreement with the Department of Home Affairs. That agreement isn’t just a pathway to hiring international workers. It creates legal responsibilities that carry real risk if ignored.

Too many businesses treat sponsorship like a set-and-forget process. In reality, it's an ongoing compliance obligation. Failing to meet your duties as a sponsor can lead to fines, reputational damage, and losing your right to sponsor in the future.

Here are five legal obligations that every sponsoring business must actively manage.

1. Provide Equivalent Pay and Conditions

You must give your sponsored worker the same pay and conditions that an Australian employee would receive for the same role in the same location.

This includes base salary, overtime, allowances, and any benefits or entitlements. These terms must match what was promised in the nomination. If the employee’s duties change or they are moved into a different role, you may need to lodge a new nomination.

If a visa holder is underpaid or placed in a different role than was approved, the sponsor can be penalised. The Department also expects that these arrangements are clearly documented and that records are kept.

2. Notify the Department of Key Events

Sponsors must notify the Department of Home Affairs  within 28 calendar days when certain events occur. Common examples include:

• Your sponsored employee resigns or is terminated
• Their role, salary, or work location changes
• Your business is sold, restructures, or changes ABN
• You become aware the visa holder has stopped working for you

These notifications are not optional. Failing to report them is one of the most common breaches. Even if it feels minor, a missed notification can count as a separate compliance failure.

3. Pay Return Travel Costs When Requested

If a sponsored worker asks in writing, you must pay for their travel home if they leave your employment. This also applies to any family members sponsored on their visa.

Travel costs must include a one-way economy ticket to the worker’s home country and any required domestic travel to get to the departure airport. This applies even if the worker resigns or is dismissed.

It’s not a common request, but when it happens, it must be handled properly. Ignoring it or refusing payment puts the business in breach.

4. Keep Accurate Records

You must keep records that show you’re meeting your sponsorship obligations. These records must be kept for at least five years and made available if requested by an inspector.

These include:

• Copies of contracts, pay slips, and hours worked
• Evidence of visa status and right to work checks
• Details of notifiable events and when they were reported
• Position descriptions matching the sponsored occupation

Without records, you can’t prove compliance. And if your records are incomplete or inconsistent, that can count as a breach on its own.

5. Cooperate With Inspectors

The Department of Home Affairs and the Fair Work Ombudsman both have power to inspect your business. If they ask for information, you must provide it.

Inspectors can arrive without warning. They can request documents, ask staff questions, and inspect records. You must not delay, mislead, or obstruct them.

Poor cooperation or incomplete responses can quickly escalate. Some sponsors lose their ability to nominate workers not because of what they did, but because they failed to respond properly during an investigation.

It’s Not Just Paperwork. It’s Risk Management.

These five obligations are just the start. There are over a dozen enforceable sponsorship duties, but these five carry the most common and costly risks.

Many breaches happen because no one realised something needed to be reported or documented. It’s not always about bad intentions. It’s about poor systems.

Recent changes to the law mean the stakes are higher. Sponsors can now be banned from hiring temporary visa holders for up to five years. Executive officers can also be held personally responsible for serious breaches.

How Complize Helps

Complize is an immigration compliance platform that tracks your obligations and flags issues before they become violations.

It automates:

• Visa status checks and expiry alerts
• Notifiable event workflows
• Document storage and audit readiness
• Staff training on visa-related responsibilities

If your business sponsors visa holders, Complize helps you stay compliant, reduce admin time, and avoid costly surprises.

Ready to improve how you manage sponsorship risk? Contact us to learn more.