Most employers budget for the visa and get caught by the levy. Sponsoring a skilled worker is not one payment, it is four, they fall due at different points, and the largest of them is usually the one nobody mentioned at the start.
This sets out what each charge is, how the Skilling Australians Fund levy is actually calculated, which costs you are legally barred from passing on, and when you can get the levy back.
What are the government charges for employer sponsorship?
There are four, and they are separate:
| Charge | Amount | Who pays |
|---|---|---|
| Standard business sponsorship (SID 482 program) | AUD 420 | Employer |
| Nomination, Skills in Demand (subclass 482) | AUD 330 | Employer |
| Nomination, Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) | AUD 540, subject to stream and location | Employer |
| Skilling Australians Fund levy | AUD 1,200 to AUD 7,200 or more, see below | Employer |
| Visa application charge, 482 Core Skills | From AUD 4,015 | Applicant |
| Visa application charge, 186 Direct Entry | From AUD 6,140 | Applicant |
The sponsorship approval comes first and lets the business nominate workers for a defined period. The nomination is assessed per position, covering market salary rates and whether the role is genuine. The visa application is the worker's own, assessed against their skills, English and health.
How is the Skilling Australians Fund levy calculated?
This is where employers get it wrong, and where the money is.
The SAF levy is not calculated on the worker's salary. It is calculated on two things only: the annual turnover of the sponsoring business, and the proposed period of stay of the worker.
| Business size | SID 482 | ENS, RSMS and SESR |
|---|---|---|
| Small, annual turnover under AUD 10 million | AUD 1,200 per year or part thereof | AUD 3,000 one-off |
| Other business, turnover AUD 10 million or more | AUD 1,800 per year or part thereof | AUD 5,000 one-off |
"Per year or part thereof" is doing real work in that table. A nomination for two years and one month is charged as three years, not as 2.08 years. Nominating in whole years, and only for the period you genuinely need, is a legitimate way to control the cost.
Two worked examples:
- A business turning over AUD 12 million nominating a 482 worker for four years pays 4 x AUD 1,800 = AUD 7,200, in full, at nomination.
- A business turning over AUD 4 million nominating the same worker for four years pays 4 x AUD 1,200 = AUD 4,800.
The whole amount is payable at the time you lodge the nomination, not spread across the visa period. For a small business bringing in one worker on a four-year 482, the levy alone is roughly the same as the worker's visa charge.
There is one reduction worth knowing. Where a subclass 494 nominee already holds a SESR visa, the levy is charged at a percentage of the base amount according to the years remaining: 80% with four years left, 60% with three, 40% with two, 20% with one.
Which costs can you not pass on to the worker?
All of the sponsorship ones. Home Affairs is unambiguous: the employer must pay all costs associated with becoming a sponsor and with nominating and sponsoring an applicant, and those costs cannot be transferred to the visa holder or their family members. The SAF levy specifically must not be passed on.
That means no recovery by any route. Not a deduction from wages, not a lower starting salary agreed "to cover the visa", not a repayment clause if the worker leaves early, not an invoice after the fact. Attempting it puts your sponsorship obligations in breach and can cost you the sponsorship, on top of whatever the wage issue creates under workplace law.
The worker pays their own visa application charge, and the charges for any family members included. That is the line.
When is the SAF levy refunded?
Rarely, and only on specific grounds. The Department will not refund because an application was unsuccessful in general terms, but it will refund where:
- the nomination and visa were approved but the worker never arrived or never started
- the nomination was approved but the visa was refused on health or character grounds
- the employer withdraws the nomination because they gave incorrect information about turnover or employment period when the levy was calculated
- the employer withdraws a labour agreement stream nomination before entering the labour agreement, or after hitting the yearly ceiling, or where the occupation was wrong
- a SID or SESR nomination is withdrawn because a concurrent sponsorship application was refused or withdrawn
- an ENS, RSMS or SESR nomination is withdrawn because the wrong stream was specified
- a SID or SESR visa holder leaves the sponsoring employer within the first 12 months, where the visa period was longer than 12 months. Only unused full years are refunded, and this does not apply to ENS or RSMS holders
Note what is not on that list: the worker resigning at month 13, the role becoming redundant, or the business deciding it no longer needs the position. Those are sunk costs.
Is the levy tax deductible?
Yes. SAF levy payments are tax deductible, which materially changes the real cost of sponsoring. A small business paying AUD 4,800 in levy is not out of pocket by AUD 4,800 after tax.
This is worth raising with your accountant at the point of budgeting rather than at year end, because the deduction sits in the year you pay, and you pay the whole levy at nomination.
What about labour agreements and exemptions?
Sponsors party to a labour agreement pay the levy too. The only exemption is narrow: ministers of religion and religious assistants nominated under the Labour Agreement streams of the TSS or ENS visas.
What actually inflates the bill
In our experience the cost overruns come from four places, and none of them are the published fees:
- Nominating for longer than needed. Every additional year, or part of a year, is another AUD 1,200 or AUD 1,800 on a 482. A four-year nomination when three would do is a four-figure decision.
- Getting the turnover band wrong. Declaring the wrong figure means the levy is miscalculated, the nomination is withdrawn and relodged, and the timeline restarts.
- A nomination that fails on market salary rate or genuine position. The charge is not refunded for a refusal on these grounds, and you pay again to relodge.
- Treating the visa charge as the budget. A small business sponsoring one worker on a four-year 482 is looking at AUD 420 plus AUD 330 plus AUD 4,800 in levy before the worker has paid their own AUD 4,015. Employers who budget only for the last number get a shock at nomination.
Questions we get asked most
Does the levy depend on the worker's salary? No. Only on business turnover and the proposed period of stay. Salary matters elsewhere in the nomination, through the market salary rate and income threshold requirements, but it does not touch the levy.
Is the levy per worker or per business? Per nomination. Sponsoring three workers means three levies.
Can the worker agree to repay it? No, and their agreement does not make it lawful. The prohibition on passing the cost on is on the sponsor, not on the worker's willingness.
What if our turnover crosses AUD 10 million after we lodge? The levy is calculated from the information in the nomination application at lodgement. What matters is that the figure you declared was correct at the time.
Does a labour agreement avoid the levy? No. Labour agreement sponsors pay it as well. The only exemption is for ministers of religion and religious assistants under the Labour Agreement streams.
Is the 186 levy really cheaper than the 482? Over a long engagement, yes. A four-year 482 for a small business is AUD 4,800 in levy against a one-off AUD 3,000 for the 186. That is a reason to think about the pathway early rather than defaulting to a temporary visa and converting later.
Where to get this checked
Sponsorship is one of the few areas of migration where the cost is largely knowable in advance, provided the turnover band and nomination period are right before you lodge. Getting them wrong is expensive in both money and months.
Nanak Migration Group are MARA-registered migration agents, and we work alongside accountants on the turnover and deductibility side. If you are planning to sponsor, book your consultation and we will price the whole thing properly before anything is lodged.
Further reading: the 2026-27 skilled visa income thresholds, the subclass 482 skills, costs and timeline guide, and your obligations as a sponsor.
This article is general information, not personal migration or tax advice. It reflects Department of Home Affairs guidance as at 7 September 2026 and does not take your circumstances into account. Charges change; confirm current amounts with the Department and your own tax position with your accountant.