Immediate answer
The Australian Border Force keeps a Register of sanctioned sponsors. It lists sponsors of skilled foreign workers who have breached sponsorship obligations since 18 March 2015 and have been sanctioned.
Use it as one check before trusting a business, recruiter or visa-linked job offer. It can show that a sponsor has already had official action taken against them. But absence from the register does not prove a workplace is safe, lawful or fair.
The ABF page says it is updated monthly, and that sponsors found to have breached obligations may not appear until updates are applied. A star on the register means an Administrative Review Tribunal review is pending.
What this register can tell you
The register is useful when someone says a business is an approved sponsor, or when a job offer depends on a sponsor, migration pathway, labour hire arrangement or employer nomination.
It may help you check:
- whether a sponsor has a public sanction record;
- the legal business name, not only a trading name or social-media name;
- whether a person is asking you to trust a company that already has a migration-compliance history;
- whether a visa-linked promise needs more checking before you pay money, move accommodation or hand over documents.
What it cannot tell you
Do not treat the register as a complete employer safety list.
- It is about sponsorship obligations, not every workplace law problem.
- It does not list every underpayment, unsafe house, scam, unpaid trial, sham-contracting arrangement or informal farm contractor.
- A business not appearing on the register may still be unsafe, unlicensed, newly created, using a different entity, or simply not in a sponsor category covered by this register.
- A public sanction record is not the same as advice about your own visa or employment situation.
If your problem is wages, payslips, hours, deductions or minimum conditions, start with work rights and payslips and the Fair Work Ombudsman. If there are threats, document control, debt bondage, forced work or trafficking signs, use official help and call 000 if there is immediate danger.
How to use it without putting yourself at risk
- Search the ABF register using the legal company name, ABN/ACN if you have it, and any trading names.
- Save a copy or screenshot of job ads, messages, contracts, payslips, rosters, bank transfers and any promise about sponsorship.
- Do not confront the employer alone if you are dependent on them for accommodation, transport, documents or visa paperwork.
- If you suspect sponsorship abuse, the ABF page points to Border Watch, where reports can be made anonymously.
- For workplace entitlements, use the Fair Work Ombudsman. You can ask for an interpreter through TIS National on 131 450.
Red flags around sponsored jobs
Be careful if someone:
- asks for money to arrange a sponsor, job, visa outcome or nomination;
- refuses to give the legal employer name;
- says sponsorship means you cannot complain to Fair Work, police, a union or a lawyer;
- wants your passport, ImmiAccount, myGov, TFN or bank login;
- says cash, unpaid trials or below-award pay are normal because you “need the visa”; or
- ties work, transport and housing together so leaving the job means losing everything at once.
Relevant references
- Australian Border Force — Register of sanctioned sponsors.
- Australian Border Force — Border Watch for suspicious border-related activity and possible sponsorship breaches.
- Fair Work Ombudsman — official workplace-rights information for visa holders and migrants.
This page is general information only. It is not legal, migration or employment advice.