A NSW South Coast aged care provider has been sanctioned by the Australian Border Force (ABF) and ordered to repay nearly $120,000 to sponsored employees, after an investigation found it had unlawfully recovered sponsorship-related costs from migrant workers.
Acting on a Border Watch report, ABF’s Sponsor Monitoring Unit found the company had sponsored 19 workers under the Skills in Demand (Subclass 482) visa, with 13 affected by breaches totalling $118,197 including two workers who personally paid $17,449 and $19,847 toward nomination and visa costs, in breach of Australia’s migration laws.
The company acknowledged the breaches in April and repaid all affected workers in full. It is now subject to a six-month bar from making new sponsor nomination applications.
ABF Acting Commander Tim Thorley said the case demonstrates the ABF’s commitment to enforcing sponsor obligations, warning that employers avoiding their responsibilities “should expect to be detected, investigated, and held accountable.”
Click here: Australian Border Force