Guides you can act on, from both practices.
Visa rules, sponsorship, contracts and structures, explained with current government charges, checklists you can tick off and calculators you can run. Written by the lawyers who lodge and draft them.
- Employer sponsorship
Sponsoring through a labour hire firm: the licence, the on-hire agreement and the host contract
A labour hire firm sponsors 482 workers only under the on-hire labour agreement in 2026: direct employer, a $95,307.60 floor, and the host contract lodged.
- Employer sponsorship
The student visa is no longer a fallback for your sponsored workers
Since 2 October 2026 a 482 holder cannot lodge a student visa in Australia. What it means for employers when sponsorship ends, with the $79,423 floor in view.
- Employer sponsorship
Your new hire was cancelled at the airport: what the Zhang decision means for sponsors
A visa was cancelled at Sydney Airport over undeclared goods, then quashed on procedure. What a sponsor can do when a worker never clears customs.
- Commercial law
Voluntary administration with sponsored staff on the roster: what pauses and what does not
A sponsor in voluntary administration in 2026: 28 days to notify, wages after appointment paid by the administrator, and a $79,423 floor that never pauses.
- Commercial law
Employee share schemes for staff on temporary visas: vesting, leaver terms and the salary that still has to be paid
Employee share schemes for sponsored staff in 2026: equity sits outside the $79,423 nominated salary, vesting on the visa calendar, a visa leaver clause.
- Employer sponsorship
Unfair dismissal and the sponsored worker: the 21 day claim, the 28 day notice and reinstatement
A dismissed 482 holder has 21 days to claim and the sponsor 28 days to notify. Compensation is capped at $95,050 in 2026-27, and reinstatement is possible.
- Partner visas
Two Marriages, One File: What We Tell a Sponsor Who Is Still Married, and What It Does to the Business
Sponsoring a second partner while still married in 2026: the de facto test, Cabsari [2021] AATA 1432, the will and company questions, and the $11,710 charge.
- Employer sponsorship
Casual conversion and sponsored staff: when the employee choice notice starts the nomination
A casual on a temporary visa can give notice to go permanent after 6 months. Answer within 21 days, then draft the full-time pay against $79,423 in 2026.
- Commercial law
Trust structures and the business behind a visa nomination: who the sponsor actually is
When a trust trades, the trustee sponsors for $420 in 2026, in the name on the deed with the trust ABN. A change of trustee can change the sponsor.
- Commercial law
Partnership agreements for professional firms hiring from overseas: the three clauses the visa depends on
A partnership can sponsor for $420 in 2026, but without a continuity clause a partner change can end the sponsorship, and equity must wait for PR.
- Commercial law
Winding up a company that still sponsors workers: the liquidator, the Department and the staff in between
Liquidating a sponsor in 2026: notify within 28 days, 482 staff keep their visas for 180 days, and a new entity pays $420 plus $330 a head again.
- Commercial law
Franchise agreements and sponsored staff: who carries the sponsorship obligations
In a franchise the franchisee company is the sponsor in 2026: its own $420 approval, $330 nominations and $1,200 levy a year, whatever head office says.
- Commercial law
Confidentiality and IP for overseas hires: the three gaps a standard contract leaves
Overseas hires in 2026: who owns pre-visa work, what a former employer still owns, and why no IP clause may claw back the $330 nomination charge.
- Commercial law
Share transfers and the ownership questions inside a nomination
Share transfers in 2026 with staff on sponsored visas: the entity survives, ownership changes are notified in 28 days, and equity never carries $79,423.
- Employer sponsorship
The workplace policies to have in place before a sponsor monitoring visit
Eight policies a visa sponsor should hold in 2026, the $79,423 pay line, the cost recovery rule, and the contract clause that turns policies into promises.
- Commercial law
Restraint of trade clauses and sponsored employees
Restraints and sponsored staff in 2026: why a non-compete can block the 180 day window, what a Victorian court asks, and the 2027 non-compete ban.
- Refusals and review
Direction 123: your evidence as an employer stops counting on 31 October
From 31 October 2026, Direction 123 removes business impact from character decisions. What sponsors can still do for a worker facing cancellation.
- Commercial law
Contractor or employee: getting the distinction wrong as a sponsor
Contractor or employee in 2026: a nomination needs real employment, earnings clearing $79,423, and no sham contracting exposure under Fair Work.
- Employer sponsorship
An underpayment claim against a sponsor: the migration consequences
An underpayment claim in 2026 opens three files: the Fair Work claim, the nominated salary and the $79,423 threshold, and the worker's visa.
- Employer sponsorship
The payroll file a sponsor keeps: three regimes, three retention periods
Sponsor records in 2026: 7 years under Fair Work, 2 years after sponsorship ends, 5 years for tax, and proof every salary cleared $79,423.
- Employer sponsorship
A sponsored worker's visa is with VACCU: what the business does while the Department decides
Sponsored worker referred to VACCU in 2026: what the character unit checks, what an employer may do while it waits, and how to protect the $330 nomination.
- Employer sponsorship
Your roster after Burke's speech: student, graduate and backpacker staff in 2026-27
The 17 September 2026 migration overhaul reaches employers through staff's next visa. Why the $4,015 sponsored 482 route is now the retention tool.
- Employer sponsorship
Director duties when your company is a visa sponsor
Director duties for a visa sponsor in 2026: the company signs, the board answers. Salaries above $79,423, cost recovery, notifications and board controls.
- Partner visas
A Record on Either Side of a Partner Visa: Applicant, Sponsor and the Business Between Them
Partner visa with a conviction in 2026: the applicant's disclosure, the sponsor's police check, the Form 1023 fix and the $11,710 charge, from the firm's notes.
- Employer sponsorship
Company restructures and an existing labour agreement: what survives the new entity
Restructuring in 2026 with a labour agreement in place: a share sale keeps it, a new employing entity does not, and nominations start again at $330 each.
- Employer sponsorship
Making a sponsored worker redundant: Fair Work and sponsorship obligations at once
Making a 482 holder redundant in 2026: a genuine redundancy under the Fair Work Act, redeployment against the nomination, and 28 days to notify.
- Employer sponsorship
The lease in the sponsorship file: what your premises prove about the business
A $420 sponsorship application turns on proof the business lawfully operates. In 2026 the lease is the strongest document in the file. What it must show.
- Employer sponsorship
Visa rules for 2026-27: the six changes in force and the documents they touch
Australian visa changes in force for 2026-27: Skills in Demand, the ART, the two year 186 rule, and 1 July 2026 charges including the $4,015 482.
- Skilled migration
Victoria's Registration of Interest: The Questions It Asks a Founder
Victoria's registration of interest in 2026: what it asks, how it is read against SkillSelect, the $6,140 charge, and what a founder's company answers.
- Employer sponsorship
From TSS to Skills in Demand: What Employers Had to Change, Not Just Rename
What employers changed from TSS to Skills in Demand by 2026-27: the $79,423 floor, one year of experience, national advertising, mobility and contracts.
- Skilled migration
The genuine student requirement: five questions, one $2,500 charge, no refund
Student visa 500 in 2026: the $2,500 charge, the five genuine student questions, what a decided file contains, and the $3,727 review if refused.
- Skilled migration
State Nomination: How to Read an Occupation List Without Misreading It
How to read a state occupation list in 2026: subclass, availability and extra criteria, what the list hides, and the $6,140 charge for the 190 or 491.
- Employer sponsorship
The Sponsor Register: Get Your House in Order Before a Buyer Reads It
The proposed sponsor register and the 2026 review we recommend: contracts, the $79,423 salary line, notifications, restraints and sale warranties.
- Employer sponsorship
Sponsor first: the hiring order that keeps a sponsored offer alive
Employer sponsorship in 2026: the $420 sponsorship, $330 nomination and $1,200 or $1,800 levy, and why the offer letter comes last.
- Employer sponsorship
Skills in Demand Visa: The Three Streams Compared From the Employer's Side
Core Skills, Specialist Skills and Labour Agreement streams compared for employers in 2026-27: the $79,423 and $146,576 floors, contracts and charges.
- Commercial law
A shareholders agreement before the first dispute
Shareholders agreements in 2026: the 5 clauses founders regret leaving out, from decision thresholds and deadlock to drag, tag, vesting and exit.
- Commercial law
Selling a business with sponsored employees: share sale, asset sale and the 186 clock
Selling a business with 482 staff in 2026: a share sale keeps the sponsorship, an asset sale needs new nominations, and the 2-year 186 clock sets the date.
- Refusals and review
PIC 4020 in a Partner File: Answering the Letter Line by Line
Answering a PIC 4020 natural justice letter in 2026: the three parts of the letter, documents from your own company, the waiver, and the $3,727 review fee.
- Partner visas
Partner Visa Timing: Four Dates You Choose and One You Do Not
Partner visa timing in 2026: lodgement order, health and police dates, request deadlines and the business calendar, so the $11,710 file moves cleanly.
- Partner visas
The Officer's Chair: How We Check a Partner Visa Before It Leaves the Office
Three questions we ask before lodging a partner visa in 2026: criteria, documents on order, and consistency. The $11,710 charge is not refunded on refusal.
- Partner visas
Partner Visa Cost 2026-27: Three Couples, Three Charges
Partner visa cost 2026-27: $11,710 main applicant, $5,860 per adult, $2,935 per child, $1,955 after a subclass 300, plus the BVB and review fees.
- Refusals and review
Ministerial intervention: the free step we advise against most often
Ministerial intervention in 2026: no fee, no duty to consider, a $3,727 Tribunal decision first, and the 2025 instruction thresholds a request must meet.
- Employer sponsorship
Labour Market Testing That Holds: Two Ads, 28 Days, Four Months
482 labour market testing in 2026-27: two national ads, 28 days each, within 4 months of lodging, or the $330 nomination charge and the levy are at risk.
- Employer sponsorship
A labour agreement is a contract with the Commonwealth. Read it beside your supply contracts.
Labour agreements in 2026: company specific, industry and DAMA routes, the $79,423 threshold concession, and why the $1,200 to $5,000 levy still applies.
- Partner visas
Four Pillars, One Ledger: Relationship Evidence When One of You Owns a Business
Partner visa evidence in 2026 across the four aspects, with company records, loan security and shareholdings used properly in an $11,710 application.
- Partner visas
Form 888: Choose Witnesses for What They Saw
Form 888 for a partner visa in 2026: map witnesses to the relationship timeline, what each must contain, and business-owner cautions. $11,710 file.
- Employer sponsorship
The Cairns Chamber Comes First: The FNQ DAMA for Employers, Lease and Contract Included
The FNQ DAMA in 2026: Cairns Chamber endorsement, the labour agreement, the visas it supports and the $330 nomination plus $1,200 or $1,800 levy per year.
- Commercial law
Employment contracts for sponsored staff: what the 482 and 186 require
Sponsored staff contracts in 2026: salary at or above the $79,423 threshold, duties matching the nomination, no cost recovery and the 180-day exit rule.
- Partner visas
De Facto for Less Than a Year: Register, Wait or Marry
How de facto couples meet the 12-month rule in 2026: Victorian registration, marriage or waiting, with the $11,710 charge unchanged on every route.
- Employer sponsorship
DAMA Explained for Employers: Five Questions Before You Seek Endorsement
What a DAMA changes for a regional employer in 2026 and what it does not: the $4,015 482 charge stays, while the age, English and salary tests move.
- Employer sponsorship
Over 45 and Sponsored in the Regions: How a DAMA Moves the Age Line
How DAMA age, English and salary concessions work in 2026, from the $4,015 482 stage to the $6,140 permanent 186, and what the employer signs first.
- Employer sponsorship
The CSOL Check We Run Before Any 482 Nomination Is Lodged
How we check the 456-occupation CSOL by duties, not titles, before a 2026 482 nomination, and why the $79,423 threshold still applies once the code fits.
- Commercial law
Contract review: the eight clauses we read first
Contract review in 2026: the 8 clauses we read first in any commercial agreement, from parties and scope to liability, IP, termination and governing law.
- Commercial law
Commercial lease checklist for tenants: the clauses to settle before you sign
Commercial lease checklist for Victorian tenants in 2026: term and options, rent review, outgoings, make good, assignment and the 5-year retail minimum.
- Skilled migration
Choosing a Skilled Visa in 2026: Decide the Order, Not the Subclass
How to choose between the 189 at $6,135, the 190 and 491 at $6,140 and employer sponsorship in 2026, and where a founder's company fits in.
- Commercial law
Choosing a business structure as a founder on a temporary visa
Business structures for founder visa holders in 2026: company, trust or partnership, the 1 resident director rule, and visa conditions on self-employment.
- Skilled migration
British Professionals and the Skilled Visa: Three Documents Decide the Fit
Which skilled visa fits a British professional in 2026: 189 at $6,135, 190 and 491 at $6,140, and how the UK contract's restraint clause decides it.
- Partner visas
Work, Travel, Study: The Bridging Visa Questions Every 820 Applicant Asks
Bridging visas during an 820 application in 2026: when the BVA starts, work rights for business owners, the $575 Bridging visa B, and the 35-day clock.
- Employer sponsorship
Becoming a Standard Business Sponsor: What the Approval Covers and What It Binds
Standard Business Sponsor approval in 2026-27: which entity applies, the $420, $330 and levy charges, the obligations and what a sale of business changes.
- Refusals and review
The Tribunal deadline is a business deadline: ART review for sponsors and workers
ART review in 2026: the $3,727 fee, the 21 day onshore deadline, who applies when a nomination is refused, and how a business owner runs the review.
- Partner visas
820/801 or 309/100: Choosing the Partner Visa Pathway When the Applicant Runs a Business
Onshore 820/801 or offshore 309/100 in 2026: lodgement-day location, work rights and business structure decide the pathway. One $11,710 charge either way.
- Employer sponsorship
The 482 to 186 plan starts on the first day of the 482
482 to 186 in 2026: two years of sponsored work, under 45 at lodgement, the $6,140 charge, and the restructure risk a two year plan catches early.
- Employer sponsorship
482 Salary Tests Explained: Drafting the Pay Clause So the Nomination Passes
The three 482 salary tests for 2026-27: the $79,423 and $146,576 thresholds, the market rate and how we draft the pay clause so the nomination passes.
- Employer sponsorship
482 English Evidence in 2026: Tests, Scores, Re-sits and the Date in the Offer Letter
482 English evidence in 2026: the seven approved tests, IELTS 5.0 per component, single re-sits, the three-year clock and the $4,890 charge at 186.
- Employer sponsorship
482 Eligibility in Order: Who Owns Each of the Seven Requirements
482 visa eligibility for 2026-27 in the order it is decided: sponsor, nomination, occupation, one year of experience, English and the $4,015 charge.
- Skilled migration
190 or 491: The Contract Clause That Decides Whether Regional Is a Detour or a Home
190 vs 491 in 2026: both charge $6,140, the 191 costs $630, and the employment contract of a 491 holder in a regional branch can make or break the route.
- Skilled migration
A 189 Invitation Has Arrived: What Changes, and What Must Not
After a 189 invitation in 2026: points lock at that date, 60 days to lodge at $6,135, the bridging visa, and why the job and the profile must stay fixed.
- Skilled migration
189, 190 and 491 Compared: Who Holds the Lever at Each Stage
189, 190 and 491 compared for 2026: $6,135 against $6,140, 5 or 15 nomination points, who invites you and what you promise after grant.
- Employer sponsorship
A 186 nomination starts with the employment contract, not the form
186 nomination in 2026: the $6,140 visa charge, $540 nomination and $3,000 or $5,000 levy, and the contract review that makes the file decision-ready.
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