Monitoring and Compliance Service

When a business agrees to sponsor a worker, it commits to a number of obligations, known as ‘undertakings’, with the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP).

The current sponsorship undertakings for the Subclass 457 program, for example, include

• Paying sponsored workers either the TSMIT (Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold) or relevant award or collective agreement that applies to the person in relation to the position they were nominated for – whichever is higher.
• Ensuring obligations for PAYG tax and superannuation are the same as for Australian employees.
• Notifying DIAC of changes to the nature of a sponsorship such as change of address, changes to a company’s structure and details of any mergers.
• Ensuring sponsored workers hold any licence, registration or membership that is mandatory for their role.
• Advising DIAC of any substantial changes to the role and responsibilities of a sponsored worker – this may require a new visa application.

The penalties for non-compliance can be high and can be detrimental to the sponsoring business for years to come. Penalties available to DIAC under the Subclass 457 program include

• cancellation of a sponsorship
• a bar that prevents a sponsoring business from sponsoring any more overseas workers under the program for up to five years
• the issuing of a formal warning, which will be considered when the business applies for more overseas workers in the future

Monitoring of a business’s compliance can be undertaken as a desktop audit or visits by DIAC investigators. It is a requirement of a sponsorship agreement to cooperate with DIAC in the event of any monitoring.

Perdaman Global Services is one of the few immigration companies that provide a thorough monitoring and compliance service. We have helped businesses to avoid costly penalties by ensuring they meet the myriad of obligations that they undertake as part of a business sponsorship.

For more information on Perdaman Global Services’s monitoring and compliance service, please email noelene.murray@perdaman-gs.com.au