Workforce Solutions
Business Sponsorship
Becoming an approved sponsor — we guide you through the application process and help you understand your obligations.
The foundation of employer-sponsored migration
Before an Australian business can sponsor an overseas worker on a TSS or ENS visa, it must be an approved Standard Business Sponsor (SBS). Sponsorship approval is not automatic — it requires a formal application to the Department of Home Affairs, demonstrating that the business is lawfully operating and has a genuine need for overseas workers.
Once approved, a Standard Business Sponsorship is valid for 5 years and comes with a range of ongoing obligations — including record-keeping, reporting, and cooperation with Department inspections. Understanding these obligations is important, and we ensure every client we work with has a clear picture of what is required of them as a sponsor.
Blackwood Blue manages the sponsorship application and renewal process, and we are always available to advise on your obligations as they arise. For clients who require more structured ongoing compliance support, we are happy to discuss tailored arrangements on request.
Sponsorship obligations you need to know
Cooperate with inspectors
Sponsors must allow Department inspectors access to premises and records, and cooperate with any compliance audits.
Ensure equivalent terms and conditions
Sponsored workers must be employed on terms and conditions no less favourable than those of equivalent Australian workers.
Pay travel costs on request
Sponsors may be required to pay reasonable travel costs for sponsored workers and their families to leave Australia.
Keep records
Sponsors must keep records of sponsored workers' employment and make them available to the Department on request.
Notify the Department of changes
Sponsors must notify the Department of certain changes, including changes to the business structure, ownership, or the worker's employment.
Not recover costs from workers
Sponsors must not transfer the costs of sponsorship to sponsored workers, directly or indirectly.
Ready to become an approved sponsor?
Book a Discovery Session to discuss your sponsorship needs and start the approval process.