Labour Market Testing Explained: What Employers Must Prove Before Sponsoring
October 6, 2026
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The cost to sponsor a skilled worker in Australia is not one fee. It is a set of separate charges paid at different stages of the process, and the total varies from one employer to the next.
Sponsoring an overseas worker involves more than the visa application. Most employers need to plan for:
Your total depends on the visa pathway, the size of your business, the circumstances of the application and how much professional help you need. Our overview of employer sponsored visas explains how the main pathways differ before you start budgeting.
An employer pays the charges linked to sponsorship and nomination, while the worker pays their own visa application charge. Home Affairs treats these as separate categories with separate fees.
Before you can nominate a worker, your business needs to be an approved sponsor. Home Affairs lists the standard business sponsorship application charge as AUD420. If you want accredited sponsor status, there is no additional fee when you request it at the time of the sponsorship or renewal application.
Nomination is the step where you put forward the specific position and worker. It carries its own government charge, which is separate from the sponsorship application and from the worker’s visa charge.
The Skilling Australians Fund levy is paid by the employer when the nomination is lodged. How much you pay depends on the size of your business and, for temporary visas, how long the nomination runs. For many employers the levy is the largest government charge in the process.
Migration agent fees are optional, but most employers use professional support because sponsorship has strict evidence and timing rules. Fees vary with the complexity of your case and the services you need. Recruitment costs are separate again. If LMT applies to your nomination, you will need to pay for job advertising on suitable platforms, and for the administration of the recruitment campaign.
Because the government charges change from time to time, always confirm the current amounts on the Home Affairs fees and charges page before you finalise a budget.
All three pathways involve a nomination and the SAF levy, but the extra steps around them differ. The table below sets out the differences that affect your budget.
| Cost factor | 482 Skills in Demand | 186 Employer Nomination Scheme | 494 Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature of the visa | Temporary. Up to 4 years in the Core Skills stream and up to 5 years in the Specialist Skills stream. | Permanent residency for the worker. | Provisional, for up to 5 years, with a pathway to permanent residency. |
| How the SAF levy applies | Paid at nomination. The amount depends on your business size and the nomination period. | Paid per nomination, based on your business size. | Paid at nomination, based on your business size and the nomination period. |
| Labour market testing | Required for Core Skills and Specialist Skills nominations, so advertising costs apply. | Depends on the stream. Confirm with a Registered Migration Agent before you budget. | Required for the Employer Sponsored stream, so advertising costs apply. |
| Extra steps that add cost | Standard business sponsor approval before you nominate. | The worker’s skills assessment and experience requirements depend on the stream. | Standard business sponsor approval plus certification of the nomination by the relevant Regional Certifying Body. |
Not every cost applies in the same way to every case. Our pages on the 482 visa and the 186 visa cover the requirements behind each pathway in more detail.
Employers cannot make a sponsored worker pay for the cost of sponsoring them. This is a firm rule, and breaching it can put your sponsorship at risk.
In practice this means the costs of sponsorship, nomination and the SAF levy stay with the employer, along with the migration agent fees for those steps. A worker also should not pay, or agree to pay, for the position itself. Recruitment-related costs can also be caught by these rules, so take advice before you set up any reimbursement, deduction or repayment arrangement.
Not every migration expense falls on the employer. The worker generally pays their own visa application charge and personal costs such as medical examinations and police certificates. The line between employer and worker costs is where many sponsors go wrong, so it is worth confirming it in writing before an offer is made.
We cannot give you a precise figure, because the total changes with the visa, the business and the case. We can describe how the pieces add up.
The cheapest sponsorship option is rarely the best fit for your business. A sound budget looks at the role, the candidates, the pathway, your compliance obligations and your long-term workforce needs together.
At My Australian Career, recruitment and migration sit under one roof, so you can look at hiring and sponsorship costs in a single conversation rather than piecing them together from separate providers.
The worker generally pays their own visa application charge. The employer pays the costs of sponsorship, nomination and the Skilling Australians Fund levy, plus migration agent fees for those steps. These employer costs cannot be recovered from the sponsored worker, whether directly or through a deduction or repayment arrangement.
Home Affairs lists the standard business sponsorship application charge as AUD420. There is no additional fee for accredited sponsor status if you request it at the time of the sponsorship or renewal application. Nomination charges and the SAF levy are separate, so check current amounts on the Home Affairs website.
Potentially. Business size alone does not prevent sponsorship, but the employer must meet the relevant requirements, including approval as a sponsor, a genuine position and ongoing compliance duties. A Registered Migration Agent can assess whether your business is ready before you commit to recruitment or advertising spend.
If you are planning to sponsor a skilled worker, book a consultation with our team to map out the likely costs for your business before you commit.
Reviewed by a MYAC Migration Agent. This article is general information only and is not migration advice. Speak to a Registered Migration Agent about your circumstances.
