482 Visa Conditions Explained: What You Can and Cannot Do on a Skills in Demand Visa

First, a Quick Reference: 482 Rules at a Glance

The Core Condition: 8607

The central condition on a Skills in Demand visa is condition 8607. It restricts you to working only in your nominated occupation, for the approved sponsor who nominated you (or an associated entity of that sponsor). Breaching it, even by accident, is one of the most common ways 482 holders put their status at risk.

In practical terms, condition 8607 means you cannot take a second job with another employer (outside the 180-day window), cannot work in a different occupation from the one on your nomination, and cannot keep working for your employer if they lose their sponsorship approval.

Pay close attention to the phrase nominated occupation. It refers to the specific ANZSCO occupation on your nomination, not a loose description of your industry. If your day-to-day duties drift substantially away from that occupation, you can be in breach even if your employer asked you to take on the extra work. An employer might ask you to manage a new function, cover for a departing colleague, or shift into an adjacent area. None of those conversations come with a visa warning attached, but they can affect your status.

The 180-Day Window If Your Job Ends

One of the most important protections came in with the Skills in Demand visa: the flexibility window after job loss was extended from the old 60 days to 180 days.

If your employment ends, you now have up to 180 consecutive days at a time to find a new sponsor, with a maximum of 365 days of unsponsored time across the life of your visa. If you find a new sponsor and that job later ends too, the window can reset, subject to that 365-day total cap.

During this window, you are allowed to work for any employer, including in occupations outside your original nomination, while you sort out your next step. Under the old 60-day rule, workers facing sudden job loss had almost no safety net. The 180-day reform was specifically designed to stop visa holders being trapped in bad employment situations purely because they could not afford to lose their status. Our guide on finding a new sponsor as a work visa holder covers what to do during the window.

Your Travel Rights

The 482 is a multiple-entry visa. You can leave and re-enter Australia as often as you like during its validity, and your family members on secondary 482 visas can travel independently too. Two scenarios need care.

First, if your employment has ended and you are in the 180-day window, the window does not pause just because you leave Australia, and time overseas may count toward your unsponsored cap in some circumstances. Get advice before a long trip mid-transition.

What Your Family Can and Cannot Do

Partners and dependent children included in your application receive secondary 482 visas, and their rights are broader than many people realise.

• Your partner (married or de facto) can work for any employer, in any occupation, full-time. They are not tied to your sponsor or your industry, and this applies even while you are in the 180-day window.
• Your dependent children can attend Australian schools and study full-time.
• All secondary holders can travel in and out of Australia independently during the visa's validity.

What secondary holders generally cannot do: access Medicare unless your home country has a reciprocal healthcare agreement with Australia (countries with agreements include the UK, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Belgium, Malta, the Netherlands, and Slovenia); access most Centrelink payments; or apply for permanent residency independently, since their PR pathway runs through you as the primary holder. Importantly, a secondary holder's visa is linked to yours, so if your visa is cancelled, they are generally affected too.

Your Employer's Obligations to You

The 482 framework places real legal obligations on your sponsoring employer, and they exist specifically to protect you. Many holders do not know about them, which leaves them exposed. Under the Migration Act, your employer must:

• Pay you at least the market salary rate, with terms equivalent to an Australian doing the same job in the same location. The Core Skills Income Threshold is $76,515 for nominations lodged to 30 June 2026, rising to $79,423 from 1 July 2026.
• Only assign you duties consistent with your nominated occupation. They cannot use your visa to get work done outside your approved role.
• Pay your travel costs to leave Australia if you or your family request it in writing, an obligation that continues even after your employment ends.
• Not recover migration costs from you, directly or indirectly. They cannot deduct sponsorship, agent, or nomination fees from your pay, or make you repay them if you leave.

These are enforced by both Home Affairs and the Fair Work Ombudsman. As a worker in Australia, you are entitled to the full National Employment Standards, four weeks annual leave, paid sick and carer's leave, superannuation, and the rest, regardless of your migration status.

What Can Actually Get Your 482 Cancelled

This is the most important part, because not every cancellation trigger is within your control. They fall into two groups.

In other words, your visa can be put at risk by your employer's conduct, not just your own. This is exactly why understanding your employer's obligations, and watching for signs they are not being met, matters as much as understanding your own conditions.

Related Guides in This Series

This article is the overview. For the specific situations 482 holders most often face, these companion guides go deeper: