How to Keep Your Business Off the 'Prohibited Employer Register': Compliance Strategies for Critical Sectors

Australia has entered a new era of accountability for employers who rely on sponsored workers. With tougher migrant worker protection laws, stricter enforcement and the launch of the Prohibited Employer Register, businesses face real consequences if they fall behind on compliance.

Particularly, Health, aged care, tech, defence and hospitality employers depend heavily on overseas talent to fill chronic skills gaps. That dependence brings enormous value, but it also makes organisations more vulnerable. A single compliance failure can shut the door to sponsored talent, damage a brand overnight and spark wage audits that drag on for months.

If you're an HR leader, in-house counsel or part of an executive team, you now need a solid framework to manage immigration risk—not a theoretical plan, but a practical structure that works across the business.

This guide walks you through why immigration compliance has moved to board level, where the biggest risks sit, and what a strong governance model looks like.

Why Immigration Compliance Now Demands Board-Level Attention

The Migration Amendment (Strengthening Employer Compliance) Act 2024 has reshaped the regulatory landscape. What used to be a niche HR issue is now a major enforcement priority.

The new rules created:

• Criminal offences and civil penalties for forcing or pressuring non-citizens to breach visa conditions

• Stronger powers for the Minister to issue prohibited employer declarations

• A public Prohibited Employer Register run by the Australian Border Force (ABF)

  
  

Once listed, a business cannot hire additional temporary visa holders for a period. The reputational impact can be brutal. A public listing can influence tenders, accreditation, funding and recruitment efforts. And it doesn’t only apply to direct employers—labour hire firms, subcontractors and anyone in the labour supply chain can be caught.

Because of this shift, boards and audit committees now treat immigration risk like wage compliance, privacy, WHS or financial misconduct. They expect a clear strategy, documented controls and evidence of regular internal review.

Where Sponsorship Programs Create Real Exposure

Although compliance issues can arise anywhere, most sponsor sanctions come down to four recurring problems.

1. Pay, Underpayments and Minimum Income Thresholds

Sponsored workers must receive:

• The salary approved in the nomination

• At least the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT)

• Award or enterprise agreement rates

  
  

Underpayments and unlawful deductions remain at the centre of most Fair Work Ombudsman actions involving migrant workers. Even small errors cause serious problems when they involve sponsored staff.

2. Duties and “Occupation Drift”

Every sponsored role is tied to a specific ANZSCO occupation. If a worker gradually shifts into different tasks—higher, lower or simply unrelated—the sponsorship can fall out of alignment.

Common triggers include:

• Role creep after restructures

• Project-based work where duties evolve

• Title changes without legal review

  
  

Tech and aged care employers are especially vulnerable here.

3. Location, Hours and Leave Patterns

Employer-sponsored visas assume a full-time role at a designated work location. That assumption is broken when a worker:

• Moves to another site

• Drops below full-time hours

• Takes extended unpaid leave

• Shifts into hybrid or remote settings not covered in the original nomination

These changes must be reviewed before taking effect.

4. Failure to Report Changes to Home Affairs

Sponsors must notify the Department of Home Affairs when employment or role conditions change. Missed notifications often arise from poor communication between line managers, HR and legal.

A breakdown in internal reporting is one of the most common causes of unintentional non-compliance.

How Sector Dynamics Influence Risk

Health and Aged Care

These employers run large, complex operations with heavy use of casuals, shift workers, labour hire and overtime. This environment makes it easier for:

• Underpayments to slip through

• Sponsored staff to be used in ways the visa doesn’t allow

• Sites to rotate workers without notifying HR or legal

Tech

Tech companies move fast. Hybrid work, flexible duties and cross-functional roles are the norm. This creates:

• Frequent role drift

• Covert location changes

• Increased reliance on contractors

Without strong monitoring, sponsored workers can easily drift outside approved settings.

Defence and National Security

These employers face unique obligations around:

• Citizenship pathways

• Security clearance requirements

• Restricted-site access

Any compliance breach sits uncomfortably alongside security vetting and can disrupt entire projects.

Public and Not-for-Profit Providers

Hospitals, aged care providers and education institutions face intense scrutiny. Underpayment cases involving visa holders attract media interest and political attention. Transparency and regular audits are essential in these settings.

Building a Strong Governance Model for Corporate Immigration Risk

Immigration compliance sits across HR, legal, payroll, risk and operational managers. Without structure, things get missed.

A strong governance model clarifies who owns what.

Clear Ownership Across Key Functions

• HR: day-to-day contact with sponsored workers; roster changes

• Legal: interpreting migration law; reviewing high-risk scenarios

• Payroll/Finance: salary accuracy; meeting TSMIT and award rates

• Risk & Compliance: maintaining enterprise risk registers

• Managers: frontline changes to duties, work patterns or location

Policies and Decision Flows That Reduce Human Error

A well-designed immigration policy should outline:

• Which roles are eligible for sponsorship

• Approval steps for new sponsorship requests

• Mandatory checks before changing duties or location

• How restructures and redundancies involving sponsored staff are handled

Example:Before moving a sponsored nurse to another aged care facility, the policy may require HR and legal approval. In tech, a sponsored engineer switching into a product role must go through a nomination review.

These flows help managers understand when a simple change becomes an immigration issue. They also show regulators that the organisation takes compliance seriously.

Sector-Specific Risk Controls That Work

Health & Aged Care Controls

• Central approval for use of labour hire

• Regular pay audits for all sponsored workers

• A reporting channel for facility managers to flag roster changes

• Quarterly checks against visa conditions

Tech Controls

• HRIS automation that triggers alerts when duties or reporting lines change

• Mandatory legal review for any functional role change

• Clear remote-work rules for sponsored workers

Defence & National Security Controls

• Integrated framework linking HR, security and legal

• Alignment between visa status, clearance progression and project access

• Exit plans for sponsored workers who cannot progress in security vetting

Public & NFP Controls

• Board-level oversight of wage and immigration risk

• Transparent engagement with unions and regulators

• Annual external compliance audits

Next Steps for Employers

Boards and executives can begin with a simple internal review:

1. Do we know exactly where our sponsored workers sit—by role, site and reporting line?

2. Are our sponsorship policies clear, documented and consistently followed?

3. Does our HRIS and payroll data match the information held by Home Affairs?

4. Are wage audits capturing visa holders, contractors and labour hire?

If the answer to any of these is “not sure,” it’s time to review the program.

FastVisa Australia offers a sponsorship program health check designed for employers in high-dependency sectors. HR, legal and risk leaders can engage us to assess pressure points, refine governance or discuss concerns around 482 visas, SID issues or audit exposure.

A structured compliance program does more than keep regulators satisfied. It protects your workforce, reduces turnover and creates a fair, transparent environment for skilled migrants—exactly what the reforms aim to deliver.