Your sponsorship obligations
There are different types of obligations for:
When you need to contact us
If you are a sponsoring employer you must notify the Department of Home Affairs if:
- your business circumstances change
- there is a change relating to the person you are sponsoring.
Find out about when you need to contact the Department if there is a
change in situation.
You can notify us by emailing
sponsor.notifications@abf.gov.au or completing the sponsor changes form in
ImmiAccount.
Failure to meet obligations as an employer or a sponsor
If you do not meet your responsibilities as a sponsor or an employer, your approval as a sponsor may be cancelled. You may also face significant financial penalties.
Failure to meet sponsorship obligations
A sponsor who fails to meet sponsorship obligations may face possible sanctions including:
- cancellation of their approval as a sponsor
- being banned from sponsoring other workers
- being banned from making future applications for approval as a sponsor
- being issued with an infringement notice imposing a specified financial penalty, with penalty amounts based on whether the sponsor is an individual or a body corporate and whether it is their first or subsequent infringement notice
- civil penalties imposed by the courts (for example, up to $82,500 for a corporation and $16,500 for an individual for each failure)
- an Enforceable Undertaking, which is a legally binding written agreement between the sponsor and the Department of Home Affairs / Australian Border Force.
More than one sanction can be imposed. Read more about your
sponsorship obligations.
Paying an employer or sponsor infringement notice
To pay an infringement notice you can use BPAY. For further information, see
Paying an employer or sponsor infringement notice.
