In short: An administrator's appointment does not end employment or cancel visas. The company stays the sponsor and notifies the Department within 28 days. It keeps paying the nominated salary, never below $79,423. The creditors' vote about five weeks later decides the future: a deed, a liquidator, or a return to the directors.
The call we get on day one
A director rings after signing the appointment. The administrator now controls the company. Four sponsored workers are on the roster. The director's questions are simple. Who pays them, who tells the Department, and do the visas survive? Voluntary administration under Part 5.3A of the Corporations Act keeps a business trading while creditors decide its future. That design suits sponsored staff well, provided three obligations are managed from the first morning.
Three obligations that do not pause
| Obligation | Who carries it now | Where it goes wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Notify the Department within 28 calendar days | The administrator, acting for the company | The directors assume the administrator knows. Nobody lodges the form. |
| Pay at least the nominated annual earnings | The administrator, as an expense of the administration | Hours are cut across the roster. Sponsored pay falls under the nomination. |
| Keep the worker in the nominated occupation | Whoever writes the roster | A sponsored chef covers the office while the kitchen is reviewed. |
Home Affairs lists the appointment of an administrator under Part 5.3A as a notifiable event. The 28 calendar days run from the appointment. Becoming insolvent within section 95A of the Corporations Act is a second event on the same list. The former directors can no longer act for the company. Only the administrator can lodge the notification. The ImmiAccount access and the sponsorship approval therefore belong in the day one bundle.
Wages after the appointment
ASIC's guidance to employees is plain. The appointment does not automatically terminate employment. If the administrator trades on, wages for work after the appointment are an expense of the administration. Entitlements that arose before the appointment usually wait for the creditors' decision.
For a sponsored worker that split matters twice. The sponsorship obligation requires annual earnings at least equal to those on the approved nomination. The nominated salary cannot sit below the $79,423 core skills threshold and must match the market rate. An administrator who trims hours across the roster breaches that obligation on the first short pay. We brief administrators on this in the first week. The answer is usually simple. Ring fence the sponsored roster, or terminate properly. Half pay is not an option.
Employment continues on the nominated terms. Wages after the appointment are an administration expense. The sponsorship approval and every nomination are untouched. Diary the 28 days for the appointment itself. Nothing else changes for the Department.
Not available for sponsored staff without a new nomination at $330. That nomination needs fresh labour market testing: 28 days of advertising within the 4 months before lodgement. Earnings below the approved nomination breach the equivalent terms obligation. A reduction the worker agrees to in writing is still a breach.
Lawful, with notice and redundancy entitlements claimed in the administration. The cessation is a second notifiable event with its own 28 days. The visa continues. The worker has 180 days from the end of employment to find a new sponsor or depart. Our note on making a sponsored worker redundant sets out the steps.
The vote that decides the sponsorship
The administrator reports to creditors and recommends one of three outcomes. Employees vote with the other creditors. Each outcome lands differently on the sponsorship.
What did the creditors resolve at the second meeting?
A deed must keep employee entitlements in the same order as a liquidation. Eligible employees can vote to vary that order, by a majority in number and in value. Sponsored workers are employees and vote with the rest. The Fair Entitlements Guarantee does not open during an administration or a deed. It requires a liquidation, and temporary visa holders sit outside it in any event. We explain that gap in winding up a company with sponsored workers.
The commercial file behind the migration file
Our commercial practice usually arrives with the administrator. Three documents decide whether the sponsored staff have a business to return to.
The lease comes first. The administrator decides early whether to keep the premises. A sponsor that leaves the address on its nominations needs the work location reviewed before anyone is rostered elsewhere. The sale comes second. A buyer who takes the business from the administrator is a new employer. It needs its own sponsorship at $420 and a nomination for each worker at $330. The levy starts again too, at $1,200 a year for turnover under $10 million. Nothing transfers from the company in administration. Our note on selling a business with sponsored employees covers the share and asset sale difference. The deed proposal comes third. A director who proposes a deed must budget the nominated salaries for the deed period. Otherwise the deed fails the sponsored staff on its first pay run.
The sequence we run
- Day of appointment The appointment is dated and the 28 calendar days are diarised. The sponsored staff register, with occupation, salary and visa expiry, goes to the administrator with the ImmiAccount access.
- Week 1 The first creditors' meeting is held. The administrator is briefed on the nominated salaries and occupations. Each sponsored worker is told in writing that employment continues.
- Weeks 2 to 4 The administrator investigates and reports. Any deed proposal budgets the sponsored wages. Buyers are screened for their own sponsorship position.
- About week 5 The second meeting resolves the company's future. Any termination or winding up is notified within its own 28 days.
- After the vote The deed administrator or the directors keep the sponsorship records. Insolvency is disclosed on the next sponsorship or nomination application.
Before the administrator is appointed
Our commercial practice advises directors before the appointment and works with the administrator after it. The migration team keeps the sponsorship compliant through the vote. If an administration is in view, speak to us before the appointment is signed.
Figures verified against Home Affairs visa pricing as at 1 July 2026. Notification events from the Home Affairs sponsorship obligations page, the employee position from ASIC Information Sheet 75, and adverse information from regulation 1.13A of the Migration Regulations 1994, read 15 October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Does voluntary administration end our sponsored workers' employment?
No. The appointment does not automatically terminate employment. If the administrator trades on, work after the appointment is an expense of the administration. The visas continue on their own terms.
Who tells the Department that an administrator has been appointed?
The company remains the sponsor, and the administrator now acts for it. The appointment under Part 5.3A must be notified within 28 calendar days. Hand over the ImmiAccount access on the first day.
Can the administrator cut sponsored workers' hours to save cash?
Not without breaching the sponsorship obligation. Earnings must stay at least at the amount on the approved nomination, never below $79,423. A lower salary needs a new nomination at $330 and fresh labour market testing.
Does a deed of company arrangement keep our sponsorship alive?
Yes. The company is the same legal entity, so its sponsorship approval, nominations and obligations continue. Insolvency is adverse information under the Migration Regulations. Disclose and explain it on the next sponsorship or nomination application.
Can sponsored staff claim the Fair Entitlements Guarantee during the administration?
No. The scheme opens only if the company goes into liquidation, and it excludes temporary visa holders in any event. During the administration they claim pre-appointment entitlements as employees, ahead of other unsecured creditors.
General information as at 15 October 2026. Not legal advice. The outcome of an administration turns on the company's own position and the creditors' vote. Obtain advice before the appointment is signed.