In short: A liquidator's appointment ends the jobs, not the visas. The company stays the sponsor, so the resolution or court order must be notified within 28 days. Sponsored staff have up to 180 days to find a new sponsor. They cannot claim the Fair Entitlements Guarantee.
Three ways a company is wound up
We usually hear about a winding up from the director, not the liquidator. The tax debt is unpayable and three sponsored staff are still on the roster. What happens to them, and what does the company still owe the Department? The answer depends on which of the three windings up it is. Each triggers the same notification, on a different day.
The company is solvent and the owners choose to close it. The directors declare solvency and the members pass a special resolution. Employees are paid in full, including notice and redundancy. The Department must still be told of the resolution within 28 days. The 180 day period starts when the liquidator terminates the sponsored staff.
The company is insolvent and the members resolve to wind it up under section 491 of the Corporations Act. A liquidator takes control and the directors' powers end. The liquidator usually terminates staff unless a quick sale justifies trading on. The special resolution is the notifiable event. The 28 days run from that date, not from the last pay.
A creditor, often the Australian Taxation Office, obtains a winding up order. Employment contracts generally end on the day the order is made. The order is notifiable within 28 days, and so is a provisional liquidator appointed before it.
The notifications nobody has diarised
Home Affairs lists the corporate events a sponsor must report within 28 calendar days. Most sponsors know about a worker ceasing employment. Few know the list reaches into Chapter 5 of the Corporations Act.
| Event | Corporations Act | Who is usually in control |
|---|---|---|
| Special resolution to wind up voluntarily | Section 491 | Members, then the liquidator |
| Court orders the company wound up | Part 5.4 or 5.4A | The liquidator |
| Provisional liquidator appointed | Part 5.4B | The provisional liquidator |
| Receiver or controller takes the property | Part 5.2 | The receiver, with directors in office |
| Administrator or restructuring practitioner appointed | Part 5.3A or 5.3B | The practitioner, a separate topic |
The obligation binds the company, which remains the sponsor until deregistration. Once a liquidator is appointed, the directors can no longer act for it. Only the liquidator can lodge the form. We therefore put the ImmiAccount login, the sponsorship approval and the sponsored staff register in the handover bundle.
The obligations outlast the company. Notification and record keeping run for 2 years after the sponsorship ends and no sponsored worker remains. The Department can monitor a former sponsor for up to 5 years. A director who later runs a new company will answer for this one.
The entitlements, and the safety net with a gap
Under section 556, employees rank ahead of unsecured creditors for wages, superannuation, leave and retrenchment pay. A sponsored worker is an employee, so the priority is the same.
The Fair Entitlements Guarantee pays up to 13 weeks of unpaid wages, plus annual and long service leave. Notice is capped at 5 weeks and redundancy pay at 4 weeks a year. Claims close 12 months after the later of the termination or the liquidation. The scheme excludes anyone without citizenship, a permanent visa or a special category visa on the last day. A 482 holder is left with a proof of debt and whatever the assets realise.
What was the worker's status on their last day?
This gap is a commercial point as much as a migration one. A board that sees liquidation coming can pay sponsored staff out before the resolution. The payment must not be an unfair preference. It can also time a 186 nomination so the grant lands before the doors close.
The workers' 180 days and the successor employer
The visa survives the liquidation. Home Affairs states that a laid off 482 holder has up to 180 days to find a new employer or leave. Time already served still counts towards the 2 year Temporary Residence Transition requirement. Time with a new sponsor counts from the date its nomination is lodged. We explain the counting in our note on making a sponsored worker redundant.
Often the business survives in a new entity. A buyer takes the assets from the liquidator, or a related company picks up the contracts. That entity is a new employer. It needs its own sponsorship approval, a nomination for each worker and the levy again. Nothing transfers from the company in liquidation. Our note on selling a business with sponsored employees covers the share and asset sale difference.
The new application asks about adverse information. A related entity that takes the staff while the old company leaves wages unpaid invites the phoenix question. Directors common to both companies carry that history into the new file. See our note on director duties when your company sponsors.
The sequence we run
- Before the resolution Advice on insolvent trading and on whether sponsored salaries still clear $79,423. A register of sponsored staff, visa expiries and pending nominations goes to the board.
- The appointment The resolution or order is dated. Diary 28 calendar days from that date, and from each termination.
- Week 1 Written notice to each sponsored worker: the termination date, the 180 day period, the proof of debt process and their Fair Entitlements Guarantee position.
- Within 30 days of any written request Return travel costs paid for the worker and sponsored family, economy class to the passport country. The Department may require payment up to 5 years after departure.
- Within 12 months Eligible staff lodge Fair Entitlements Guarantee claims. Visa holders prove in the liquidation instead.
- For 2 years after Sponsorship records kept and available to an inspector.
Before the liquidator arrives
Our commercial practice advises directors on the winding up and works with the liquidator. The migration team handles the Department and the workers' next steps. If a liquidation is in view, speak to us before the resolution.
Figures verified against Home Affairs visa pricing as at 1 July 2026. Notification events and the 180 day period from the Home Affairs sponsorship obligations and 482 pages, read 1 October 2026. Fair Entitlements Guarantee conditions from the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.
Frequently asked questions
Does liquidation cancel our sponsored workers' visas?
No. The visa continues on its own terms. The worker has up to 180 days from termination to find a new sponsor, apply for another visa or leave.
Who tells the Department once a liquidator is appointed?
The company remains the sponsor, and after the appointment only the liquidator can act for it. Give the liquidator the ImmiAccount access and the sponsorship file so the notification is lodged.
Can our sponsored staff claim the Fair Entitlements Guarantee?
Not while they hold a temporary visa. The scheme requires citizenship, a permanent visa or a special category visa on the day employment ended. They prove in the liquidation as priority creditors instead.
Can a new company we set up keep the same workers?
Only with its own sponsorship approval, a nomination for each worker and the levy paid again. Nothing transfers from the company in liquidation, and the new application will ask about adverse information.
Does the obligation to pay return travel survive the liquidation?
Yes. It is met within 30 days of a written request. The Department may require payment up to 5 years after the worker leaves. The liquidator deals with the claim.
General information as at 1 October 2026. Not legal advice. Insolvency and sponsorship outcomes turn on the company's own position. Obtain advice before a resolution is passed.