Who Can Sponsor a Subclass 186 Visa and Employer Requirements

The subclass 186 (Employer Nomination Scheme) visa does not place requirements on the worker alone — the business must also meet certain standards before it can sponsor an employee for PR.

Two Steps on the Business Side

To sponsor a subclass 186 visa, the business must complete two separate steps:

Become a Standard Business Sponsor (SBS) — be approved as a valid sponsor
Lodge a Nomination — nominate a specific position for a specific worker

These two steps can be lodged together (concurrent lodgement) or one after the other. A business that already holds a valid SBS from a 482 visa can use it directly for the 186 nomination — there is no need to apply for a new SBS.

Who Can Become a Standard Business Sponsor

Eligible Types of Business

Most types of lawful business operating in Australia can apply for an SBS:

Companies (Pty Ltd, Ltd)
Partnerships
Sole traders (limited — in some specific cases)
Trusts with a corporate trustee
Non-profit organisations, schools, hospitals

The common requirement: the business must be genuinely and actively operating in Australia — not a shell company or a company set up only to sponsor.

Legal Compliance Requirements

The Department checks the compliance history of the business (and its representatives):

No migration-law penalties in the past 3–5 years
No serious breaches of workplace law (Fair Work Act, National Employment Standards)
The business owner has no convictions for fraud or labour exploitation

If a business has previously breached the rules, it is not automatically refused — but it must provide an explanation, and the Department assesses the matter according to its seriousness.

Training Benchmark

This is a requirement that is often overlooked. To obtain an SBS, the business must commit to meeting one of two benchmarks for investment in training the Australian workforce:

Benchmark A: contribute to a government-approved industry training fund, or
Benchmark B: spend at least 1% of annual payroll on training Australian employees

There must be genuine evidence that the benchmark has been met — not just a commitment to do so.

Nomination Requirements

After becoming an SBS, the business lodges a nomination for each specific position. The nomination must demonstrate:

Genuine Need

The business must show it genuinely needs a person in that position — not that it created the position to help someone obtain a visa. Evidence may include:

Business growth requiring additional staff
A retiring or transferring employee who needs to be replaced
Expansion into a new service requiring specialised expertise

Labour Market Testing (LMT)

For a 186 Direct Entry nomination, the business must carry out Labour Market Testing — demonstrating that it advertised for Australian workers for at least four weeks but could not find a suitable candidate. LMT does not apply to the TRT stream (where the worker has already worked 2 yearsPending verification for that business).

LMT evidence: job ads placed on the main channels (SEEK, Indeed, LinkedIn), the number of applications received, and the reasons Australian candidates were not hired.

Appropriate Salary

The salary must be:

No lower than the minimum under the applicable Award or Enterprise Agreement
Equal to or higher than the “market salary rate” for that occupation in that location
If a separate salary arrangement is used, supported by a reasonable explanation

The Position Must Be Full-Time

A 186 nomination requires the position to be full-time (not part-time or casual), except in some exceptions under a Labour Agreement.

Obligations After the Sponsor Is Approved

Once approved as a valid sponsor, the business has ongoing obligations to:

Pay the salary and working conditions it committed to
Not unlawfully recover recruitment costs from the worker
Notify the Department if the employee leaves early
Not “on-hire” the 186 visa worker to a third party without approval

Breaching sponsor obligations can lead to financial penalties, cancellation of the SBS, and an impact on the ability to sponsor in the future.

Comparison With 482 Sponsorship

The SBS requirements for 186 are essentially the same as the SBS requirements for 482. If a business is already an approved SBS for 482, it can use that SBS for a 186 nomination — but it must still meet the separate nomination requirements of the 186 (genuine need, LMT, full-time, and so on).