Written by Immigrad · Registered Migration Agent · MARN 1805710 · Last updated September 2026
A standard business sponsorship is valid for five years from the date the Department of Home Affairs approves it. The application charge is AUD420.00. Approval lets a business nominate workers for Skills in Demand (subclass 482) and Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (subclass 494) visas throughout that five-year period.
What the five years actually covers
The five-year term attaches to the business, not to any individual worker. Once the Department approves your standard business sponsorship, you hold sponsor status for five years from the date of that approval, and you can lodge nominations at any point inside that window. A nomination lodged in year four does not shorten the sponsorship, and a worker whose visa runs past the sponsorship end date does not automatically cause a problem, although your sponsorship obligations continue to apply.
What the five years does not do is remove the separate assessments. Each nominated position is assessed in its own right against the genuine position requirement, the salary requirements and, where it applies, labour market testing. Sponsor approval is the gate you pass through once; nomination is the gate you pass through for every role.
Renewing before it ceases
The practical point most businesses miss is the renewal timing. The Department notes that if your current standard business sponsorship has not ceased when you lodge for a new one, you do not need to reapply for accreditation status. Letting the sponsorship lapse first can therefore cost you more than time. Businesses that sponsor regularly should diarise the approval date and start the renewal well before the fifth anniversary, not after it.
Sponsorship obligations, including record-keeping and the obligation not to recover certain costs from the worker, run alongside all of this and can outlast the sponsorship term itself.
Does accredited sponsor status last as long as the sponsorship?
Yes. The Department states that accreditation status remains in effect throughout the period of SBS validity. There is no additional fee for accreditation if it is requested at the time of the sponsorship or renewal application, and if your current SBS has not ceased when you lodge for a new one, you do not need to reapply for accreditation.
Do I need a separate sponsorship for each worker?
No. The sponsorship is approved at the business level and lasts five years. Each worker still needs their own nomination, and each nomination attracts its own nomination charge and, where it applies, the Skilling Australians Fund levy. One approved sponsorship can support multiple nominations across its five-year term.
What does a standard business sponsorship cost?
The application charge is AUD420.00, as published by the Department of Home Affairs. There is no extra charge to request accredited status at the same time. Nomination charges, the Skilling Australians Fund levy and the worker’s own visa application charge are all separate and additional to this figure.
Which visas can an approved standard business sponsor use?
An approved standard business sponsor can sponsor a worker on a Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) or a Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 494). Sponsorship approval alone does not create a right to nominate; each nomination is assessed on its own merits, including the genuineness of the position.
This page is general information only, current at 21 September 2026, and is not personal migration advice. Sponsorship, nomination and obligation requirements turn on the facts of each business and each role, and charges published by the Department change. Complex cases need personal advice from a registered migration agent.
Working out whether your business is eligible to sponsor, or when your current sponsorship needs renewing? Speak with Immigrad — MARN 1805710.