Immigration Law: Recap on 457 visa sponsorship obligations

On 20 May 2015, the Federal Court of Australia handed down the largest ever court imposed fine for breaching subclass 457 visa sponsorship obligations. The offending company, Choong Enterprises operated restaurants and cafes in Darwin, acting as a sponsor for 10 employees from the Philippines, who travelled to Australia on subclass 457 visas.

The primary obligation of a 457 sponsor is to ensure that the sponsored employees are employed on equivalent terms and conditions to Australian employees in an equivalent role and location. In this case, Choong Enterprises was not paying entitlements such as loadings, sick leave and superannuation contributions, and was also paying below the award minimum by paying $12 per hour.