482 Visa Transfer: What a New Employer Must Do to Hire a 482 Holder
By Matin Amirshahi, Registered Migration Agent (MARN 1685110)
Published 8 Oct 2026
A 482 visa cannot be moved from one employer to another. What people call a 482 visa transfer is a new nomination: your business, as an approved sponsor, nominates the worker for your job.
If the job is in the same occupation, the worker keeps their current visa and makes no new visa application; you lodge a nomination only. Once the worker has finished with their current sponsor, they can start working for you while your nomination is processed, for up to 180 days.
Lodge your nomination well inside the worker’s 180 days without a sponsor. The worker cannot start with you while still employed by their current sponsor. If the 180 days run out before your nomination is lodged, they must stop working for you.
Can a 482 visa be transferred to a new employer?
Not as a transfer. The visa belongs to the worker, and the link to an employer is the nomination (the employer’s application to fill a specific job with that person). Changing employer means a new nomination from the new employer.
The worker’s visa end date does not change. A new nomination does not add time to the visa, so check how long the worker has left before you plan around them.
When can the worker start working for you?
A 482 holder who stops working for their sponsor can work without a sponsor for up to 180 days in a row, and no more than 365 days in total across the visa. Home Affairs policy allows that work to be in your business before your nomination is approved.
The 180 days start once the worker has given written notice and their last day with the old sponsor has passed. They cannot start with you while still employed by their current sponsor, except under narrow rules for second jobs.
If the 180 days end before your nomination is lodged, or the nomination is refused after day 180, the worker must stop working for you straight away. If your nomination is lodged but still undecided as day 180 gets close, talk to us before that day.
Do some occupations not need a new nomination?
Yes. For 36 occupations, mostly medical, the rule that ties the worker to their sponsor’s business does not apply. They include general practitioners, resident medical officers, specialists such as psychiatrists and anaesthetists, and chief executives and corporate general managers.
A worker in one of these occupations can work for a new employer without a new nomination, as long as the work stays in their nominated occupation. The full list is on Home Affairs’ exempt occupations page and in LIN 19/212.
What does your business need before you nominate?
- Approved sponsor status — your business must be an approved standard business sponsor, or party to a labour agreement. If it is not yet a sponsor, you can lodge the sponsorship application and the nomination together.
- The same occupation — for a nomination-only change, the job must be in the occupation the worker’s visa was granted for. A different occupation needs a new visa application as well (see below).
- An occupation on the list — for the Core Skills stream, the occupation must be on the Core Skills Occupation List (LIN 24/089).
- Salary at or above the threshold — at least AUD 79,423 a year (the Core Skills Income Threshold for nominations lodged from 1 July 2026), and no less than an Australian worker would earn in the same job (the annual market salary rate).
- Labour market testing — you must advertise the job in Australia before you nominate, unless an exemption applies. Our labour market testing guide sets out the ad rules.
How much does a 482 transfer cost the employer?
The two government charges on a nomination are the nomination charge and the Skilling Australians Fund levy (a training levy charged for each year of the nomination period).
| Government charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Nomination charge | AUD 330 |
| Skilling Australians Fund levy, annual turnover under AUD 10 million | AUD 1,200 for each year or part year |
| Skilling Australians Fund levy, annual turnover AUD 10 million or more | AUD 1,800 for each year or part year |
| Sponsorship application, if your business is not yet a sponsor | AUD 420 |
| Visa application charge, same occupation | None: no new visa application |
You choose a nomination period of 1 to 4 years in the online form, and the levy follows from that and your turnover. It is paid in full at lodgement, including for a worker changing employer. A two-year nomination from a business with turnover under AUD 10 million pays AUD 2,400.
The employer must pay the sponsorship and nomination costs, including the levy, and cannot pass them on to the worker (regulation 2.87 of the Migration Regulations).
What is our fee?
Our fixed professional fee depends on whether the job is in the same occupation and whether your business is already a sponsor.
| What you need | Our fixed professional fee |
|---|---|
| Nomination only (already a sponsor, same occupation) | from AUD 3,000 plus GST, job ad costs included |
| Sponsorship and nomination (not yet a sponsor, same occupation) | AUD 3,500 plus GST, package price |
| Nomination and new visa (already a sponsor, different occupation) | AUD 5,500 plus GST, package price |
| Sponsorship, nomination and new visa (not yet a sponsor, different occupation) | AUD 6,500 plus GST, package price |
Each package costs less than the same stages bought individually: AUD 1,000 less for sponsorship and nomination, AUD 500 less for nomination and visa, and AUD 1,000 less for all three stages. GST applies where the client is in Australia. Full list on our fees page.
What are the steps to change a 482 worker’s employer?
- Check the worker’s visa. With the worker’s consent, check their expiry date, occupation and conditions on VEVO (Home Affairs’ online visa check).
- Confirm your sponsor status. If your business is not a sponsor, prepare the sponsorship application to lodge with the nomination.
- Advertise the job, unless a labour market testing exemption applies. Keep copies of the ads and the dates they ran.
- Lodge the nomination in ImmiAccount with the employment contract, salary evidence and advertising evidence, and pay the nomination charge and the levy.
- Set the start date. The worker can start once their last day with the old sponsor has passed, inside their 180 days. Lodging early leaves time in hand if Home Affairs asks for more documents.
What if the new job is a different occupation?
Then the worker needs a new 482 visa application as well as your nomination. They must meet the visa requirements again, including the skills, English and work experience rules (at least one year of relevant work experience in the occupation or a related field).
The worker should not resign or start with you until the timing is planned. Whether they can stay in Australia while the new application is processed depends on their current visa, so check before anyone gives notice.
How long does a 482 transfer take?
Half of 482 nominations are decided within 64 days, and 90% within 9 months (Home Affairs, checked 8 October 2026). Nine months is longer than the worker’s 180 days, so lodge a complete nomination, with the advertising evidence attached, as early as you can. Current visa processing times are on our 482 processing time page.
Does time with the old employer count toward a 186?
Yes, for the Temporary Residence Transition stream of the 186 visa (the permanent residence step for 482 workers). The worker needs 2 years of full-time sponsored work in the 3 years before they apply, and time with more than one sponsor counts.
If the worker starts with you before your nomination is approved, their time with you counts only from the day the nomination was lodged. Weeks worked for you before you lodge do not count, which is one more reason to lodge early.
What if a 482 worker is leaving your business?
You must tell Home Affairs within 28 days after the worker stops working for you, through ImmiAccount. Home Affairs explains how on its 482 change in situation page.
If the worker asks in writing, you must also pay reasonable costs for them to leave Australia.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a fee to transfer a 482 visa?
There is no new visa application charge if the job is in the same occupation. The new employer pays the nomination charge of AUD 330 and the Skilling Australians Fund levy of AUD 1,200 or AUD 1,800 for each year of the nomination period.
Does a 482 transfer extend the visa?
No. The worker’s visa end date stays the same. A new nomination does not add time to the visa.
Can the worker start before the nomination is approved?
Yes, within limits. Once the worker has finished with their current sponsor, Home Affairs policy allows them to work for you while your nomination is processed, for up to 180 days in a row (365 in total across the visa). If the 180 days end before your nomination is lodged, they must stop.
Does the new employer have to advertise the job?
Yes, unless a labour market testing exemption applies. The advertising must happen before the nomination is lodged.
Who pays the costs of a 482 transfer?
The employer pays the sponsorship and nomination costs, including the levy. The law stops a sponsor passing those costs on to the worker.
Hiring someone already on a 482?
Send us the worker’s visa details. We check the occupation, salary and timing, and tell you what the nomination needs before you commit to a fee.
Matin Amirshahi, Registered Migration Agent (MARN 1685110) · Preston, Melbourne
