Migrant worker sponsors will be listed on a public website
This law lets the Department of Home Affairs put up a list of employers allowed to sponsor overseas workers. Home Affairs is the department that runs borders and visas. To sponsor a worker means to back their visa and give them a job. The government says it helps migrant workers check that a boss is real. It also helps them find a new one if they need to.
Official name: Migration Amendment (Combatting Migrant Exploitation) Bill 2025
- The Department of Home Affairs can now put up a public list of employers allowed to sponsor skilled migrant workers.
- The list can show the business name, its business number, its postcode, how many workers it put forward and the kinds of jobs.
- Workers can use it to check a boss is real and to look for a new sponsor.
- It became law on 8 April 2026 and must start within six months.
Who it affects
- Migrant workers on skilled visas: You will be able to look up which businesses can sponsor you. That can help if you want to change jobs.
- Businesses that sponsor overseas workers: Your business name, business number, postcode, number of workers put forward and job types can go on a public website.
- People who run a business on their own and sponsor workers: If your business name is your own name, that name can show up on the list.
- Everyone else: Anyone will be able to see which businesses bring in skilled workers, and for what jobs.
No public list of sponsors
Some overseas workers come to Australia on skilled visas. To get one, an Australian business has to sponsor them. That business is called an approved work sponsor.
Workers on these visas need a sponsor to stay. Say they want to leave a bad job. They have to find another business that is allowed to sponsor them. Until now there was no public list of those businesses.
In December 2023 the government put out its Migration Strategy. It is a plan for the visa system. It came after a big review that got 483 written comments from the public.
One promise in the plan was a public list of sponsors. The government says this will make it harder to take advantage of migrant workers. It says workers can use it to check a boss is real.
A public list of sponsors
The law adds a new section to the Migration Act 1958, the main law on visas. It lets the head of the Department of Home Affairs put facts about approved work sponsors on the department's website.
The exact details will be set out in detailed rules the government writes without a new vote. The law says those rules can list the type of sponsor and its name.
They can also list its Australian Business Number and the postcode linked to that number. This is the 11-digit number that marks out each business. The list can show how many workers it has put forward, and the kinds of jobs.
Say you are a chef on a skilled visa and your boss treats you badly. You could look up the list to find other restaurants that already sponsor chefs. Then you could ask them for work.
Privacy limits
Some sponsors run a business on their own. Their business name may be their own name. The law says putting that name up is allowed under the Privacy Act 1988, the main law on keeping personal details safe.
The law bans the rules from listing any personal identifier. Under the Migration Act, that means things like fingerprints, photos and other body measures used to tell who someone is.
The rules can also set out times when the department must not put up some facts.
The government says businesses will agree to be listed as part of being approved as a sponsor.
Start date
The government brought the bill into the House of Representatives on 6 November 2025. That is the lower house of Parliament, where the government sits. The House passed it on 27 November 2025. The Senate, Parliament's second house, passed it on 1 April 2026.
The Governor-General, who stands in for the King, signed it into law on 8 April 2026. It became Act No. 39 of 2026.
The law starts on a day the Governor-General picks. If no day is picked within six months of signing, it starts on its own the day after those six months end.
The gap gives the department time to write the rules, talk to businesses and build the website.
How they voted
| Vote | Result |
|---|---|
| Vote on the main idea House of Representatives, 27 November 2025 Labor 88 aye, Liberal 16 no, LNP 10 no, Nationals 10 no, Independent 7 aye, 1 no, Centre Alliance 1 aye, Greens 1 aye | Ayes won 97 to 37 |
| Vote on the main idea Senate, 1 April 2026 Labor 24 aye, Liberal 16 no, Greens 10 aye, One Nation 3 no, Independent 2 aye, LNP 2 no, Nationals 2 no, Country Liberal 1 no, United Australia 1 no | Ayes won 36 to 25 |
Its journey through Parliament
| 06 Nov 2025 | House of Representatives: Introduced and read a first time |
| 06 Nov 2025 | House of Representatives: Second reading moved |
| 26 Nov 2025 | House of Representatives: Second reading debate |
| 27 Nov 2025 | House of Representatives: Second reading debate |
| 27 Nov 2025 | House of Representatives: Second reading agreed to |
| 27 Nov 2025 | House of Representatives: Third reading agreed to |
| 27 Nov 2025 | Senate: Introduced and read a first time |
| 27 Nov 2025 | Senate: Second reading moved |
| 01 Apr 2026 | Senate: Second reading agreed to |
| 01 Apr 2026 | Senate: Third reading agreed to |
| 01 Apr 2026 | : Finally passed both Houses |
| 08 Apr 2026 | : Assent Act no : 39 Year : 2026 |