A sponsored employee resigned: what the employer must do

The obligations, with their deadlines

• Notify the Department within 28 days of the day the worker stopped working for you, through your ImmiAccount sponsor portal, stating the date employment ended. This applies whether they resigned, were dismissed, or the business was sold. Missing it is the most common sponsor breach found in monitoring and can cost you accredited status or the right to sponsor.
• Return travel costs: if the worker (or a family member on the visa) asks in writing, pay the reasonable and necessary cost of economy travel to leave Australia within 30 days of the request. The obligation is to pay the fare, not to arrange the move, and it ends if they move to a new sponsor.
• Do not recover sponsorship costs. The sponsorship, nomination, Skilling Australians Fund levy, agent fees for your side and the cost of recruitment cannot be charged to the worker or deducted from final pay, no matter what the contract says. Clawback clauses are unenforceable and reporting them is how many monitoring visits begin: deducting visa costs from pay.
• Final pay as for any employee: wages to the last day, accrued leave, and super.
• Records: keep the employment records and the visa file; the record-keeping and cooperation obligations continue for a period after the worker leaves and the Department can still ask for them.

What happens to the worker

The visa does not end when the job does. Since 1 July 2024 a 482 or 494 holder has 180 days from the last day of work (up to 365 days in total across the visa) to find a new sponsor, apply for another visa or leave, and may work for other employers in the meantime in any occupation. A new employer lodges a nomination and the worker can start with them when it is approved; you cannot block or delay it, and a reference request is the only part you are involved in. A 186 holder is a permanent resident and simply leaves. If the worker had been counting the two years toward a 186 Temporary Residence Transition with you, that clock now depends on the new sponsor: time with a previous sponsor.

Replacing them: three options, cheapest first

1. Nominate a 482 holder who is already in Australia. Someone else’s sponsored worker who is between jobs or wants to move keeps their visa; you lodge a nomination (A$330 plus the Skilling Australians Fund levy) and they start when it is approved, typically within the Department’s nomination median rather than the full visa timeline. Labour market testing still applies unless an exemption does. SponsorTalent’s search filters current 482 holders by occupation and location, and the profile shows the visa expiry, so you know how much runway the transfer buys.
2. Hire from the onshore pool without sponsorship: 485 graduates, partner and bridging visa holders, permanent residents. No charges, no deadlines. Who can work for you now.
3. Sponsor from overseas again: the full sequence and charges, with current processing times, on how long sponsorship takes, and the question of whether to at all on is it worth it.

If you are considering stopping sponsorship altogether, or the resignation followed a dispute, the employer-side guide on WIDEN covers the obligations in that situation: when a sponsor stops sponsoring.

Reducing the next resignation

Sponsored workers leave for the same reasons as anyone else, plus one: another employer offered the permanent visa sooner. If the role justifies it, lodge the 186 Temporary Residence Transition at the two-year mark rather than waiting; the cost is higher but the retention effect is immediate, and a worker with a permanent visa in train rarely moves. Offer the nomination in writing before a competitor does. The sponsorship obligations that keep you compliant in the meantime: sponsor obligations.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to tell the Department when a sponsored employee resigns? Yes, within 28 days of the day they stopped working for you, through your ImmiAccount sponsor portal, giving the date employment ended. It applies to resignations, dismissals and business sales.

Do I have to pay for a sponsored worker’s flight home? If they or a family member on the visa ask in writing, you must pay the reasonable cost of economy travel to leave Australia within 30 days of the request. The obligation ends if they move to a new sponsor.

Can I recover the sponsorship costs from a worker who resigns? No. Sponsorship, nomination, the Skilling Australians Fund levy, your agent fees and recruitment costs cannot be charged to the worker or deducted from pay. Clawback clauses are unenforceable and reporting them triggers monitoring.

How long does a 482 worker have to find a new employer? 180 days from the last day of work, up to 365 days in total across the visa, since 1 July 2024. They can work for other employers in the meantime and start with a new sponsor once its nomination is approved.

What is the fastest way to replace a sponsored worker? Nominate a 482 holder already in Australia who wants to move: they keep their visa and start when your nomination is approved. Otherwise hire from the onshore pool without sponsorship. SponsorTalent filters both by occupation and location.