Work Visa Employer Obligations in Australia: What You Must Know Before Hiring Overseas Workers

Employing overseas workers can solve genuine workforce shortages — but it comes with compliance obligations that many Australian small business owners underestimate. Whether you are sponsoring workers on a Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS/482) visa or simply employing someone who holds a working visa, you have legal obligations under both immigration law and employment law.

Who Can Work in Australia?

People who are not Australian citizens or permanent residents require a visa that permits them to work. The most common working visa types for small business employees include:

• Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa (subclass 482): Employer-sponsored visa for skilled workers in occupations on the skilled occupation lists
• Working Holiday visa (subclass 417 or 462): Allows people aged 18–30 (or 35 for some countries) to work while travelling in Australia
• Graduate visa (subclass 485): For recent international graduates
• Partner visa: Many partner visas include full work rights
• Student visa (subclass 500): Students can work limited hours (typically 48 hours per fortnight during study)
• Bridging visas: Held while a substantive visa is being processed; work rights vary

The visa conditions attached to each visa determine what work the holder can legally perform. Your obligation as an employer is to ensure the person you employ has work rights for the work they are doing.

Verifying Work Rights: VEVO

The Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) system allows employers to check a person's visa status and work entitlements. You can access VEVO at immi.homeaffairs.gov.au.

Before engaging any person who is not an Australian citizen or permanent resident, you should:

1. Ask the person for their visa type and conditions
2. Check VEVO to verify the visa status and work entitlements
3. Record the VEVO check (including the date and outcome) in your employment records

Failure to check work rights is not a defence against the penalties for employing unlawful workers.

The Consequences of Employing Unlawful Workers

Under the Migration Act 1958, it is a civil penalty offence to:

• Allow an unlawful non-citizen to work in your business
• Allow a person who holds a visa to work in breach of their visa conditions

Penalties:

• For an individual (employer): up to $93,900 per contravention
• For a body corporate: up to $469,500 per contravention

Each worker in breach is a separate contravention.

The Department of Home Affairs actively investigates suspected unlawful worker employment, particularly in high-risk sectors including agriculture, hospitality, and construction.

TSS Visa Sponsorship Obligations

If you sponsor workers on a TSS (subclass 482) visa, you take on significantly more obligations as an approved sponsor. Standard business sponsor obligations include:

Same Pay and Conditions as Equivalent Australians

Sponsored workers must be provided with at least equivalent terms and conditions of employment to what an Australian worker in the same role would receive. You cannot pay a sponsored worker less than the salary you specified in the nomination application, or less than the market salary rate for the occupation.

This obligation prevents businesses from using visa workers as a source of cheap labour below Australian market rates.

Not Recovering Costs from the Sponsored Worker

You must not take any action or require the sponsored worker to pay migration agent costs, visa application fees, or employer nomination costs. Recovering these costs from sponsored workers is a serious compliance breach that can result in sponsorship cancellation and pecuniary penalties.

Notifying Immigration of Changes

You must notify the Department of Home Affairs within 28 days if:

• The worker stops being employed by you
• There is a significant change to the worker's role
• The worker works for a different business in your group (in some circumstances)

Keeping Records

You must keep records of your compliance with sponsorship obligations for the period of the worker's visa plus at least 2 years after the visa ceases. These records must be produced if requested by the Department.

Not Using Sponsored Workers Outside Their Approved Occupation

A TSS visa worker must only work in the occupation for which they were nominated. Having them perform substantially different work is a breach.

Cooperating with Inspections

Department inspectors can visit your workplace to verify compliance with sponsorship obligations. You must cooperate with these inspections and produce requested documents.

Employment Law Obligations: No Exceptions for Visa Workers

Regardless of visa type, all workers in Australia are entitled to the protections of the Fair Work Act 2009 and the National Employment Standards. This means:

• Visa workers must be paid at least the minimum award rate for their classification
• They are entitled to NES entitlements (annual leave, sick leave, parental leave, etc.)
• They are protected from unfair dismissal (after completing the minimum employment period)
• They are entitled to superannuation (same as Australian workers)
• They are protected from adverse action and workplace discrimination

Underpaying visa workers — even if they are in a vulnerable position and afraid to complain — is both a Fair Work Act breach and, from January 2025, potentially a criminal offence (wage theft).

Student Visa Work Hour Restrictions

Students on subclass 500 visas are typically limited to 48 hours of work per fortnight while their course is in session. Some courses have different restrictions.

As an employer, you should verify the student's work restriction and monitor hours to ensure they are not working beyond their visa conditions. Allowing a student to work excessive hours is a breach of the Migration Act — both for the student and for you as the employer.

Working Holiday Makers

Working holiday makers (subclass 417 and 462) can work for the same employer for a maximum of 6 months without restriction. After 6 months, special rules apply to continuing employment:

• Some visa holders can continue with the same employer if the work is in specified regional areas and approved industries
• Extended working holiday visas (second and third year) have specific regional work requirements

If your business retains working holiday makers for longer than 6 months without checking whether this is permitted under their visa conditions, you may be in breach.

Fair Work Act Protections for Visa Workers

The Fair Work Act contains specific protections for visa workers who are in a vulnerable position. These include:

• The right to seek help from the Fair Work Ombudsman even if their visa situation is uncertain
• Protections against coercion (including using visa status as leverage in employment disputes)
• Specific investigation pathways for visa worker exploitation

The FWO has a dedicated visa holder compliance program and actively pursues employers who exploit workers' visa status to underpay or mistreat them.

How Reguladar Helps

Employing visa holders creates obligations across immigration law and employment law — two different regulatory frameworks with different regulators and different penalties. Reguladar surfaces your employment law obligations for all workers in your business, including the NES entitlements, award minimums, and superannuation obligations that apply regardless of visa status.

Know your obligations for every worker you employ. Start your free compliance check at Reguladar and see your complete employment law compliance profile today.