In short: A redundancy must be genuine under the Fair Work Act 2009, and the sponsor must tell the Department within 28 days of the worker ceasing. The visa itself survives the redundancy, and the worker then has up to 180 days at a time to find a new sponsor.
Two sets of rules arrive on the same day
Restructures reach sponsored staff like anyone else. When they do, two bodies of law apply at once. The Fair Work Act governs whether the dismissal is lawful. The Migration Regulations govern what the sponsor must do afterwards.
Our commercial practice runs the employment side. The migration team runs the sponsorship side. We see the same failure when they run separately. The employer gets the consultation right, then misses the notification, or deducts a sponsorship cost from the final pay. Either mistake sits on the sponsor file for years.
What makes the redundancy genuine
Section 389 sets three tests. First, the job is no longer required to be performed by anyone because of changes in operational requirements. Second, the employer has complied with any consultation term in the award or enterprise agreement. Third, redeployment within the business or an associated entity was not reasonable.
The first test is about the role, not the person. Replacing a sponsored worker with a local hire in the same job is not a redundancy. It is a dismissal, and the reason for it will be examined. Where the reason touches nationality or visa status, a general protections claim follows the unfair dismissal one.
The second test defeats more employers than the first. Most modern awards require the employer to notify staff of a definite decision, discuss the effect, and consider measures to reduce it. Consultation after the decision is announced as final is not consultation.
Redeployment is harder when the worker is sponsored
Redeployment is where the two regimes actually collide. A 482 holder may only work in the occupation named in their approved nomination. Offering a different role can therefore require a fresh nomination, with its own fee and levy.
That does not remove the redeployment obligation. It changes the timing. If a suitable role exists, the employer should still offer it, then lodge the new nomination. Holding the worker in the old role until the nomination is decided is usually the safer sequence.
You have another vacancy the worker could fill. What happens next?
Notice, redundancy pay and the sponsorship obligations
The National Employment Standards apply to sponsored staff in full. Notice runs from 1 week under a year of service to 4 weeks over five years. Add a week where the worker is over 45 and has at least 2 years of service. Redundancy pay starts at 4 weeks after a year and peaks at 16 weeks. Employers with fewer than 15 employees are generally exempt from redundancy pay.
The sponsorship obligations then sit on top. They do not end when the employment does.
| Obligation | What it requires | When |
|---|---|---|
| Notify cessation | Tell the Department the sponsored worker has stopped working for you | Within 28 days |
| Return travel | Pay reasonable and necessary travel costs to the worker's departure point, if they ask in writing | On written request |
| No cost recovery | Do not deduct or recover the nomination fee, the levy or recruitment costs from any payment | Always |
| Keep records | Retain the nomination, payslips, the consultation record and the final pay calculation | For the record keeping period |
The cost recovery rule catches good employers at the worst moment. A final pay run is the last place to claw back a nomination fee or a Skilling Australians Fund levy. That deduction breaches the sponsor obligations and the Fair Work Act at once. Our note on employment contracts for sponsored staff sets out the clauses that keep this clean from the start.
The step we are usually asked about last
The Temporary Residence Transition stream of the 186 needs 2 years of full-time work with the nominating employer. A redundancy at 22 months ends that pathway. Where a restructure is planned and a worker is close, the timing of the announcement matters commercially as well as personally.
We are not suggesting an employer keep a role it does not need. We are suggesting the board know the position before it fixes a date. Our note on the two year TRT plan explains how the clock is counted.
How the process runs
- Before anything is said Map the affected roles. Identify who holds a 482, a 494 or a pending 186. Check the award or agreement for its consultation term.
- Consultation Notify in writing, meet, and record what was discussed. Ask about redeployment preferences. Keep the decision genuinely open.
- Redeployment review Test every vacancy in the business and in associated entities. For sponsored staff, check the occupation against the nomination before offering.
- Decision and notice Confirm in writing. State the reason, the notice period and the final day. Do not reference the visa as a reason.
- Final pay Notice, accrued leave, redundancy pay where payable. No sponsorship deductions of any kind.
- Within 28 days Lodge the cessation notification through ImmiAccount. Diarise it on the day notice is given, not on the last day worked.
Before you run the final pay
What the worker can do after the last day
The visa is not cancelled by the redundancy. The holder has up to 180 days at a time, and 365 days in total across the visa period, to find a new sponsor, apply for another visa or depart. They may work for other employers during that window. Telling a departing worker this is not legal advice to them, and it prevents a needless dispute.
Where we sit on these files
We run the employment process and the sponsorship position together, from one file. That usually means a consultation plan, a redeployment matrix that includes the nomination position, and a diarised notification. Our commercial practice handles the restructure documents. Our migration practice handles the Department. If a restructure is on the table, speak to us before the announcement, not after it.
Frequently asked questions
Can we make a sponsored worker redundant at all?
Yes. The visa does not protect the job. The redundancy must still be genuine, and the award consultation process must be followed.
Does the worker have to leave Australia straight away?
No. The visa stays valid. They have up to 180 days at a time, and 365 in total, to find a new sponsor or another visa.
Do we have to pay for their flight home?
If the worker asks in writing, the sponsor must pay reasonable and necessary travel costs to their departure point.
Can we recover the nomination fee or the levy from the final pay?
No. Cost recovery is prohibited. A deduction of that kind breaches the sponsor obligations and the Fair Work Act.
Can we cut hours instead of making the role redundant?
Only with care. Reduced hours can take earnings below the nominated salary and the $79,423 threshold, which breaches the nomination.
Figures verified against Home Affairs visa pricing as at 1 July 2026. Employment obligations are drawn from the Fair Work Act 2009 and the sponsor obligations from the Migration Regulations 1994.
General information as at 12 September 2026. Not legal advice. Redundancy and sponsorship outcomes turn on your own facts, so obtain advice before you announce a restructure.