In short: An overseas hire's contract has three IP gaps: pre-visa work, a former employer's material, and information carried home. We close each in writing. Salary stays at or above the $79,423 Core Skills threshold, and sponsorship costs stay with the employer.
Where the standard clause runs out
Most employment contracts carry an intellectual property clause and a confidentiality clause. For a local hire, they usually do the job.
An overseas hire breaks that pattern in three places. Work often starts before the visa is granted, from another country. The worker arrives with years of material from a former employer abroad. And when the job ends, the worker may leave Australia with a laptop full of knowledge.
Who owns what, and when
Australian law gives the employer a head start, but only for employees. Under the Copyright Act 1968, the employer owns copyright in work an employee makes in the course of employment. That rule does not reach contractors. A contractor keeps copyright unless it is assigned in writing and signed.
Inventions follow a different path. There is no statutory rule for employee inventions. Ownership turns on what the employee was employed to do. A clear duties clause and an express assignment remove the argument.
Where did the work come from?
The three periods of an overseas hire
A 482 holder cannot start work for the sponsor until the visa is granted. Many employers still want early help: a design review, an onboarding task, a short paid project from home. That work is done offshore, and usually as a contractor. The Copyright Act rule for employees does not apply to it.
We use a short pre-start agreement. It assigns the intellectual property in anything delivered, and it binds the person to confidentiality. It must not blur into employment in Australia before the visa allows it. Our note on employment contracts for sponsored staff covers the main contract that follows.
The employment contract should define confidential information by category. Pricing, client lists, source code and methods are typical. A clause calling everything confidential is harder to enforce.
The IP clause should assign inventions and improvements made in the course of the role. It should also take a written consent covering moral rights. Moral rights cannot be assigned, so consent is the only tool. Keep the duties inside the nominated occupation, because the clause and the nomination describe the same job.
Confidentiality survives the end of employment for genuine secrets. Once the worker leaves Australia, a Victorian injunction is harder to use. We rely on prevention: device return, account shutdown and a signed exit certificate.
A governing law and jurisdiction clause helps too. It names Victoria and its courts, so there is no debate about forum. Our note on the clauses we read first explains why that clause matters.
Background IP from a former employer
We see this most with engineers and developers. They arrive with templates, code and contacts from their last role. Some of it belongs to that former employer.
The contract should include a warranty. The worker confirms they will not bring or use a third party's confidential information. The onboarding process should back it up. Ask the worker to declare any prior material they plan to use. Then decide, in writing, whether it is licensed, excluded or kept out entirely.
Genuine general skill and experience stay with the worker. No clause can take those away, and courts will not let one try.
What a confidentiality clause cannot do
A sponsored worker must be free to speak to regulators. A clause that seems to bar contact with the Department, Fair Work or police is a serious risk. Coercing a visa holder over their work arrangements can also be a criminal offence under the Migration Act 1958.
Pay is the second limit. The Fair Work Act 2009 now protects an employee's right to disclose their pay. Pay secrecy terms in new contracts can attract penalties. For a sponsored worker, pay is also nomination evidence. The salary must meet the $79,423 threshold and the market rate, so there is nothing to hide.
The third limit is cost. A sponsor cannot recover sponsorship costs from the worker. An IP breach clause that claws back the $330 nomination charge breaches that obligation, whatever it is called.
| Clause | Standard version | Overseas hire version |
|---|---|---|
| IP assignment | Work made during employment | Also pre-start work under a separate signed assignment |
| Moral rights | Often missing | Written consent covering work made for the employer |
| Confidentiality | Everything is confidential | Named categories, surviving termination, regulators carved out |
| Prior material | Rarely addressed | Warranty against third-party information, plus a declaration |
| Remedies | Recovery of losses and costs | No recovery of any sponsorship cost |
| Forum | Sometimes absent | Victorian law and courts, named expressly |
The exit sequence we use
- Notice day Confirm the last day in writing. Remind the worker, briefly and neutrally, of the confidentiality clause.
- Final week Recover devices and security keys. Preserve the mailbox before access ends.
- Last day Shut accounts, collect the signed exit certificate and pay final entitlements.
- Within 28 days Notify the Department that the sponsored employment has ended.
- On request Meet the return travel obligation if the worker asks in writing.
A departing 482 holder has up to 180 days at a time to find a new sponsor. Nothing in the exit letter should suggest otherwise. If a competitor is involved, see our note on restraints and sponsored employees.
Before you send the offer
Does the worker's home country law matter?
Sometimes. Pre-start work is performed abroad, so local law may govern authorship there. Some countries also treat employee inventions differently. Where the pre-start work is substantial, we check the local position before relying on an Australian-law assignment.
If you are hiring from overseas, our commercial practice drafts these clauses alongside the migration file. Contact us before the offer goes out.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns work an overseas hire does before the visa is granted?
Usually the worker, because offshore pre-start work is normally done as a contractor. A signed written assignment moves ownership to the business.
Can our confidentiality clause stop a sponsored worker complaining to the Department?
No. A worker must stay free to contact regulators. Pressuring a visa holder over work arrangements can be an offence.
Can we recover sponsorship costs if the worker breaches confidentiality?
No. A sponsor cannot recover the nomination charge, the Skilling Australians Fund levy or other sponsorship costs from the worker.
Can a sponsored employee tell colleagues what they are paid?
Yes. The Fair Work Act 2009 protects that right, and pay secrecy terms in new contracts can attract penalties.
What can we do if a former sponsored worker leaves Australia with our information?
Enforcement abroad is slow and costly. Prevention works better: device return, account shutdown, an exit certificate and a Victorian forum clause.
Figures verified against Home Affairs visa pricing as at 1 July 2026. Ownership rules come from the Copyright Act 1968 and pay disclosure from the Fair Work Act 2009.
General information as at 29 September 2026. Not legal advice. IP and confidentiality turn on your own contracts and facts. Obtain advice before an overseas hire starts any work.