Sacked on a 482 / 491 / TSS visa in Australia — 60 days, your options 2026

If you hold a Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) subclass 482 visa, Skilled Employer-Sponsored Regional 494 visa, or Skilled Work Regional 491 (employment-tied) visa, and your sponsored employment ends, you have 60 days from the date the employment ends to:

• Find a new approved sponsor and apply for a new nomination + visa, OR
• Apply to change to a different visa class (e.g. student, partner, working holiday, etc.), OR
• Depart Australia

If the 60-day window expires without one of these, your visa is technically still valid until its expiry date but you're in breach of visa conditions — with future immigration implications (Section 116 cancellation risk).

The 60-day rule was extended from 60 days in 2023 (was previously 60 days but tightly enforced; now formally codified at 60 days as of 1 July 2023).

The 60-day clock starts on the date your employment formally ends — not when you stop attending work, not when notice is given, but the day after your last working day OR the date the employer notifies Home Affairs of the cessation (whichever is earlier).

Common employer mistakes that affect your visa clock:

• Notifying Home Affairs of cessation BEFORE your formal end date — this can start your 60-day clock early. Push back.
• Listing the dismissal date as immediate when notice or notice-in-lieu was actually paid — the end date for visa purposes is when the notice period ends, not when you stopped attending work.
• Failing to notify Home Affairs at all — your obligations may still trigger from the formal end date.

Many 482/491/494 holders don't realise they have the same Fair Work Act protections as Australian citizens. If you've been dismissed:

• Unfair dismissal application — file within 21 days at the FWC. Need 6 months service (12 months for small biz). Compensation cap is 26 weeks pay or A$91,550 (2025-26).
• General protections application — if dismissal was for a workplace right (raised a complaint, took protected leave, etc.). File within 21 days. Uncapped compensation.
• Discrimination claim — if dismissal was on a protected attribute (race, nationality, pregnancy, age, disability). Can run alongside unfair dismissal.

The 21-day FWC deadline is strict. If the 60-day visa clock is ticking, prioritise the FWC filing — it has the shorter window. Filing an unfair dismissal claim doesn't restart your visa clock, but a successful reinstatement order WOULD restore your sponsored employment.

1. Immediately update your immigration agent or registered migration agent (RMA). If you don't have one, get one — the 60-day window is too short for self-managed visa changes.
2. Start job-hunting with a focus on approved sponsors. The Department's sponsorship list is public.
3. If you can't find a new sponsor: consider student visa, partner visa, or working holiday visa as bridging options. Each has different processing times.
4. Bridging visa: if you lodge a new visa application before your 60 days expire, you're typically granted a bridging visa A which lets you stay during processing.
5. Departure: if no other option, departing voluntarily before the 60-day window expires preserves your future immigration record.

Visa status doesn't affect your final-pay entitlements. You're owed:

• All ordinary wages up to your last day
• Accrued annual leave (with 17.5% loading per most awards)
• Unpaid super (recoverable via ATO for up to 6 years — even from overseas)
• Long service leave if you meet your state threshold
• Notice in lieu or redundancy where applicable

Use the Final Pay Timing Calculator for the expected payment date. If you depart Australia, super and final-pay claims can still be processed — the ATO and Fair Work Ombudsman handle international claimants regularly.

Free legal advice: JobWatch (Vic), Working Women's Centres, and Refugee Advice and Casework Service (RACS) for visa-tied dismissals.