A Standard Business Sponsorship is approved for a period of five years from the date of grant. If the business is likely to be looking at hiring overseas workers, we always recommend them to maintain an ongoing valid sponsorship, which means they would apply for the ‘renewal’ one to two months before the current sponsorship expires.
During its validity, the business can nominate multiple workers across different roles without needing to reapply for sponsorship approval each time. This is one of the aspects of the SBS that clients often underestimate when they first come to us. Many businesses assume they need a fresh sponsorship application for every new overseas hire – in fact, a single approved SBS covers the entire five-year period. The investment in getting it right upfront pays dividends across multiple hires.
It is worth noting that holding an active SBS does not mean a business can nominate anyone for any role. Each individual nomination is still assessed separately, and the nominated occupation, salary, and worker must each meet the relevant requirements at the time of nomination.
If a business’s circumstances change significantly during the five-year period – for example, a change of ownership, a substantial change in business activity, or a restructure – the Department of Home Affairs should be notified. Some changes may affect the validity of the sponsorship or trigger a review of obligations