In short: A labour hire firm cannot place a sponsored worker with a client under a standard business sponsorship. It needs the on-hire industry labour agreement. The firm stays the direct employer. The salary floor becomes $95,307.60, 20 per cent above $79,423. The state licence and the host contract sit beside it, so all three must agree.
Three documents, one placement
Priya runs a labour hire firm in Dandenong. She supplies diesel mechanics to transport yards on rolling contracts. Her Victorian labour hire licence is current. A client wants a mechanic she can only find overseas. She asks whether her standard business sponsorship will do. It will not. A standard sponsor must employ the worker in its own business. Placing that worker on a client's floor, under the client's supervision, is on-hire. The Department treats on-hire as a separate programme with its own agreement.
So three documents now govern one mechanic. The state licence lets Priya supply labour at all. The on-hire agreement lets her sponsor the mechanic. The host contract sets who directs, who pays and who ends the placement. Our commercial practice drafts the third. The migration team lodges the second. Neither works if it contradicts the first.
Why the standard sponsorship fails here
Standard sponsorship assumes the sponsor employs the worker in its own business. Work for another business is allowed only where that business is an associated entity. A client is not one. The template defines a client organisation as a client other than a related business. A firm that nominates under a standard approval, then on-hires the worker, breaches from the first shift. We explained the same trap in our note on franchise agreements and sponsored staff.
Where will the sponsored worker actually do the work?
What the on-hire agreement fixes
The agreement is a template. Its terms are set and non-negotiable. The firm signs for 5 years and becomes an approved work sponsor through the agreement itself. Either party can end it on 28 days' notice. Termination strands every nomination made under it.
| Term | On-hire agreement | Standard 482 |
|---|---|---|
| Visa | 482 only, up to 4 years for most occupations | 482, then the 186 after 2 years |
| Occupation | The 456 Core Skills occupations, with a yearly ceiling | The same list, no ceiling |
| Salary floor | $95,307.60 for a 38 hour week, or the site rate if higher | $79,423 or the market rate |
| Experience | 2 years on top of the occupation's own requirement | The occupation's own requirement |
| English | No concession | Core Skills standard |
| Labour market testing | Every nomination, 28 days within the 4 months before lodgement | The same |
| Contracts lodged | The employment contract and the host contract | The employment contract |
Two further terms surprise most firms. Benching is not permitted: no unpaid stand down between assignments and no compelled annual leave. Leave without pay needs the Department first and is capped at 60 days. The nomination period must also match the host contract. A six month host contract supports a six month nomination, not a four year one. Priya's rolling contracts need fixed terms before she nominates. Our note on labour agreements and supply contracts explains why that fit matters.
The host contract the Department reads
The template requires a written contract with each client for each sponsored worker. It must not contradict the agreement. It must oblige the client to comply with workplace law on site and to admit Commonwealth monitors. Beyond that the Department says nothing. So the commercial drafting decides the rest, around three questions.
The firm employs, rosters, pays and disciplines. The host supervises the work on site. The contract says so in terms. A clause letting the host hire the worker directly needs a long notice period. A new sponsor must nominate inside it, or the worker's 180 day clock starts on a phone call.
The host pays a fee to the firm. The firm pays the worker directly, including tax and superannuation. The template forbids payment by a third party. It forbids unauthorised deductions and any fee to the worker for the placement. The host fee must cover the $95,307.60 floor, on-costs and margin without touching the worker's pay.
A host can end an assignment. The firm cannot bench the worker. So the contract needs a notice period and an early termination fee that funds the gap. If no new assignment follows, the firm terminates lawfully and notifies the Department within 28 days. The worker then has 180 days to find a new sponsor. Our note on making a sponsored worker redundant sets out that sequence.
Same job, same pay orders
The Fair Work Commission can now make a regulated labour hire arrangement order. Where an order covers a host, the labour hire employer must pay at least the host's enterprise agreement rate. The template already ties the nominated salary to the site rate. The nominated figure on the 482 form is a commitment. If the host's rate rises above it, the firm pays the higher rate from that day. We write a rate review clause into the host contract for that event.
Two exemptions matter. A small business host sits outside the scheme. So does a contract for a service rather than the supply of labour. Redrafting a labour supply contract as a services contract to reach that exemption can describe an arrangement the on-hire agreement no longer covers. Our note on contractor or employee shows how a label that suits one regulator fails another.
The licence beside the agreement
Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT license labour hire providers. A host that uses an unlicensed provider offends too. The licence tests fitness and compliance with workplace, tax, superannuation and migration law. So a sponsorship breach is also a licensing problem, and a cancelled licence ends the business. We keep one compliance calendar for both regulators.
What a nomination costs under the agreement
The agreement replaces the $420 standard approval. Each nomination costs $330. The levy is $1,200 a year for turnover under $10 million and $1,800 above it. The visa charge is $4,015. None of these can be recovered from the worker.
Before the first nomination
Our commercial practice drafts the host contracts and the licensing compliance program. The migration team applies for the agreement and lodges each nomination against them. If you supply labour and want to sponsor, speak to us before the first host signs.
Figures verified against Home Affairs visa pricing as at 1 July 2026. On-hire terms from the Home Affairs industry labour agreements page and the on-hire template, read 4 November 2026. Orders from Part 2-7A of the Fair Work Act 2009.
Frequently asked questions
Can a labour hire firm sponsor a 482 worker under a standard business sponsorship?
No. A standard sponsor must employ the worker in its own business or an associated entity. Placing the worker with a client is on-hire, and on-hire needs the on-hire industry labour agreement.
What salary must an on-hire sponsored worker be paid?
At least $95,307.60 for a 38 hour week, which is 20 per cent above the $79,423 threshold. If an Australian doing equivalent work at the same location earns more, that higher rate applies.
Can we stand a sponsored worker down between host assignments?
No. The template forbids benching and compelled annual leave. Leave without pay needs the Department first and is capped at 60 days. The firm either keeps paying or terminates lawfully.
Does the Department see our contract with the host?
Yes. A signed copy of the host contract and the employment contract must accompany every nomination. The host contract must require workplace law compliance on site and allow Commonwealth monitors in.
How does a same job, same pay order affect the nominated salary?
The firm must pay no less than the protected rate under the host's enterprise agreement. If that rate exceeds the nominated figure, the higher rate applies from the day the order takes effect.
General information as at 4 November 2026. Not legal advice. Whether an arrangement is on-hire or a service turns on its own terms and the facts on site. Obtain advice before the host contract is signed.