In short: The franchisee company that employs the worker is the sponsor, and every obligation sits with it. The brand, the operations manual and head office approval do not move them. Each franchisee pays its own $420 sponsorship, $330 nomination and $1,200 or $1,800 levy per year.
The brand is not the employer
We see the same question from both ends of a franchise network. A franchisee asks whether head office can sponsor the chef for its store. A franchisor asks whether one approval can cover forty outlets. The answer to both is no, unless the entities are associated.
Standard business sponsorship attaches to the entity that applies. The sponsor must then ensure the worker works only in the nominated occupation, for the sponsor. Home Affairs allows work for another business only where that business is an associated entity of the sponsor. A franchise agreement does not create that relationship. The franchisor licenses a brand and a system.
So a franchisor that sponsors a worker and places them in a franchisee's store breaches its obligations from day one. That is an on-hire arrangement, and on-hire needs a labour agreement. A franchisee cannot borrow head office's approval either. It applies for its own, as we set out in our note on becoming a standard business sponsor.
Who signs the sponsored worker's employment contract?
What the franchise agreement controls, and what the nomination needs
The migration team reads the franchise agreement before the nomination form. Three sets of clauses can contradict what the Department expects.
Most manuals set rosters, uniforms, training and sometimes a wage model. None of that makes the franchisor the employer. The problem is a clause requiring head office approval of senior hires, or capping rostered hours. A 482 nomination needs a full time position that the franchisee genuinely controls. The salary must clear $79,423 and match what an Australian in the role would earn. If head office sets a lower store budget, the nomination and the manual are in conflict. We fix the contract before we lodge.
Many franchisees occupy under a sub-lease from the franchisor's head lease. The Department asks for the lease when it tests whether the business is real and operating at the nominated location. A sub-lease that ends with the franchise agreement is fine, provided the dates are disclosed.
The franchise term and the visa term rarely match. A worker on the Temporary Residence Transition route needs 2 years with the same sponsor before a 186 nomination. If the term ends inside that period, renewal decides the visa. The franchisor must say at least 6 months before the end whether it will renew. We diarise that date against the worker's visa expiry. A refusal to renew ends the business, and with it the position the Department approved.
The charges stay with the franchisee
Sponsors must pay the sponsorship, nomination, levy and all recruitment costs themselves. They cannot transfer or charge those costs to the worker.
First, some franchisors run a central recruitment programme and charge franchisees a fee per placed worker. The franchisee may pay that fee. It must not pass any part of it to the worker, in salary, deductions or a repayment clause. Second, the levy band follows the sponsor's own turnover, not the network's. A franchisee with turnover under $10 million pays $1,200 per year of each 482 nomination.
| Charge | Amount | Who pays |
|---|---|---|
| Standard business sponsorship | $420, once per entity | The franchisee |
| 482 nomination | $330 per worker | The franchisee |
| Skilling Australians Fund levy, 482 | $1,200 or $1,800 per year, by turnover | The franchisee |
| 482 visa application charge | $4,015 for the main applicant | Usually the worker |
| 186 nomination and levy, later | $540 plus $3,000 or $5,000 | The franchisee |
The Fair Work exposure that reaches head office
The migration obligations stop at the franchisee. Workplace liability does not. Sections 558A and 558B of the Fair Work Act can make a franchisor responsible for a franchisee's underpayments. The test applies where the franchisor has a significant degree of influence or control over the franchisee's affairs. The franchisor must have known, or reasonably have known, of the breach and failed to take reasonable steps.
Sponsored workers sit squarely inside this. A sponsor must pay at least the nominated salary and no less than an equivalent Australian worker. An underpayment is therefore a sponsorship breach and a Fair Work breach on the same payslip. We cover the sponsor's side in our note on underpayment claims against a sponsor.
Our commercial practice now drafts for the franchisor side too. A court looks for reasonable steps. A compliance module in the manual, payroll audit rights and a network register of sponsored staff are those steps.
Transfer, termination and the 28 day diary
A franchise changes hands more often than a standalone business. Each change is a new employer for visa purposes, and the Franchising Code adds its own clock.
- Day 0 The outgoing franchisee asks the franchisor in writing for consent to transfer.
- 14 days before signing The buyer receives the disclosure document, the Code and the agreement. We lodge its sponsorship application in that window.
- Day 42 If the franchisor has not refused in writing, consent is taken to be given.
- Settlement The buyer's company becomes the employer. It needs its own nomination for each worker and pays the levy again. Nothing transfers from the seller's approval.
- Within 28 calendar days The outgoing franchisee notifies the Department that each worker's employment has ended. The worker has up to 180 days to be nominated by the buyer or find another sponsor.
- Early termination A franchisor terminating on particular grounds gives 7 days' written notice. If the business then ceases, the 28 day notification still applies.
The gap between settlement and the buyer's nomination approval is the risk. We time the sale so the buyer's sponsorship is approved before settlement. The nominations go in on the day. Our note on selling a business with sponsored employees explains the share sale alternative, which keeps the sponsor intact.
Before you sign the franchise agreement or the nomination
Our commercial practice reviews the franchise agreement, the sub-lease and the transfer documents. The migration team runs the sponsorship, the nominations and the notifications. If you are buying into a network, or run one and want sponsored staff, speak to us before anyone signs.
Figures verified against Home Affairs visa pricing as at 1 July 2026. Associated entity rule and 28 day notifications from the Home Affairs standard business sponsor obligations page, read 1 October 2026. Franchising Code periods from the ACCC and franchisor liability from the Fair Work Ombudsman, read the same day.
Frequently asked questions
Can the franchisor sponsor a worker for our store?
Not unless your store is owned by the franchisor or by an entity associated with it. The sponsor must be the employer. Placing a worker in an independent franchisee's business is on-hire, which needs a labour agreement.
Does the franchisor's turnover put us in the higher levy band?
No. The levy follows the sponsoring entity's own turnover. A franchisee under $10 million pays $1,200 per year of each 482 nomination, whatever the size of the network.
We are buying an existing franchise with two sponsored staff. Do they come with it?
The workers can stay, but the approval does not transfer. Your company needs its own sponsorship, a nomination for each worker and the levy again. The seller notifies the Department within 28 days of each employment ending.
Can head office charge us a fee for recruiting sponsored staff?
It can charge the franchisee. The franchisee must not recover any part of that fee, or the nomination and levy, from the worker.
Is the franchisor liable if a franchisee underpays a sponsored worker?
It can be. The Fair Work Act reaches a franchisor with significant influence or control over the franchisee. It must have known, or reasonably have known, of the breach and failed to take reasonable steps.
General information as at 1 October 2026. Not legal advice. Franchise agreements and sponsorship obligations turn on the documents and the entities involved. Obtain advice before you sign or lodge.