Do you need to have complied with your 489 or 487 visa conditions for subclass 887 in 2026?
How substantial compliance with 489 or 487 visa conditions is assessed for subclass 887, and what changing city or employer means.
Yes. Compliance with the conditions on your 489 or 487 visa is a standalone criterion for the Skilled Regional visa (subclass 887), and it runs for the entire period you held that visa — not only for the two years you are counting toward the residence requirement. As at July 2026, the Department of Home Affairs' Skilled Regional visa (subclass 887) official page states that you, and any family members holding an eligible visa, must have complied with the conditions attached to that visa while in Australia, and that the requirement applies for the whole period you hold the visa or visas. The Migration Regulations 1994 express the same test in clause 887.221, which requires that the applicant must have substantially complied with the conditions to which that visa is or was subject. The eligible visas listed on the official page include subclass 489, 495, 496, 475 and 487, and bridging visas A and B granted after a valid application for a 489, 495 or 487.
This is general information about how the criterion is framed, not advice about your own record; for your circumstances, rely on the current official pages and, if you need advice on your own case, on a registered migration agent or legal practitioner.
What does "substantially complied" actually require?
Clause 887.221 uses the words "substantially complied", while the official eligibility page uses the unqualified word "complied". Read together, the test is about your overall record across the whole time you held the eligible visa, rather than a single slip automatically deciding the outcome.
Two features matter in practice. The first is scope in time: the official page says the requirement applies for the whole period you hold the visa or visas, so it is not limited to the months you are relying on for the residence and work tests. The second is scope in people: the requirement covers you and any family members who held an eligible visa, so a partner's or dependent child's record is part of the assessment, not just your own.
Which visa conditions catch people who change city?
The conditions most often relevant to a change of address are condition 8539 and condition 8549, which tie the holder to a particular class of area. Departmental policy guidance summarised in the PAM3 material treats these as follows:
| Condition | Area referred to in policy guidance |
|---|---|
| 8539 | The regional or low-population growth metropolitan areas in Schedule 6A item 6A1001 |
| 8549 | The designated areas in Schedule 6 item 6701 |
The same guidance notes that for subclass 475 and 487 visas granted between 1 July 2010 and 1 January 2011, state or territory government nomination points to item 6A1001, while sponsorship by an eligible family member points to item 6701. It also records that a 475 or 487 visa granted without either condition attached can still lead to subclass 887 eligibility — which is a reminder that the test is about the conditions actually attached to your visa.
The mapping above comes from departmental policy guidance (PAM3), which also states that the area definition that applies is the one in the instrument in force when your eligible visa was granted, so check the postcode and designated-area lists that applied at that time.
Does moving out of the area end your 887 pathway?
Not automatically. Residence for subclass 887 is cumulative rather than necessarily continuous: the official page asks for a total of at least two years living in the relevant area as the holder of one or more eligible visas. Policy guidance adds that breaks for holidays or travel do not interrupt continuity where they fall within a period that is reasonable for continued residence, but that each case is assessed on its own facts.
What a decision maker is looking at is where you actually lived, evidenced by documents such as leases or rental agreements, utility bills showing your home address, school reports and title deeds. A short trip away is a different question from relocating your home. Where a move takes the household out of the relevant area for a substantial stretch, the residence evidence itself usually becomes the problem before the compliance question does.
Does changing employer count against you?
Changing employer is not, by itself, a compliance problem for subclass 887. The visa does not require employer sponsorship or state or territory nomination, and the official page states that you can work in your nominated occupation or any other occupation. Full-time work means 35 hours a week, and the hours can be made up across more than one job in the same week.
The risk from an employer change is usually about hours and location rather than the change itself:
- If your weekly hours drop, you may stop meeting the full-time standard. Policy guidance treats work of fewer than 30 hours a week as not full-time, with 35 hours a week the general reference point, while allowing that some occupations may be less.
- If your usual place of work moves outside the area, the question is where you physically work. Guidance directs attention to the reason and frequency of time outside the area. Suppose an applicant whose main workplace is in a regional centre travels regularly to a Sydney head office for meetings or short training — under the Department's visa processing guidance, that pattern can still be consistent with working in the specified area. Suppose instead the applicant's desk, clients and day-to-day work relocate to the city — that is a different picture. The employer's registered address is not what determines the answer.
Keep in mind that the COVID-19 concessions on the official page shorten the work and residence periods for eligible applicants — nine months of full-time work, with 18 months residence for offshore lodgement and two years for onshore lodgement during the concession period. They are described separately from the visa-condition requirement.
What evidence shows you complied?
The official step-by-step page says you need to provide identity, character and other documents that evidence you have complied with your visa conditions in Australia, and that the evidence should demonstrate that you and any family members included in the application complied while in Australia.
For work, the page lists employment references on company letterhead covering your position, period of employment and weekly hours, together with Australian Taxation Office notices of assessment, bank statements showing wage or salary deposits, superannuation documents, payslips, and contracts or group certificates. For self-employment or contract work, it lists business activity statements, business registration evidence, customer and supplier correspondence, audited financial statements, contracts or franchise arrangements, advertising material, a company profile or prospectus and professional memberships; the documents need to show you were active in the business for at least 35 hours a week.
For residence, it lists leases or rental agreements, telephone, gas or electricity bills showing your home address, school reports and title deeds, plus any other evidence showing you and your family members were resident in a specified regional area.
What if you are not sure you complied?
Be accurate first. The official pages direct applicants to provide accurate information, and public interest criterion 4020, which the Migration Regulations 1994 apply to subclass 887, deals with bogus documents and false or misleading information. Explaining a period away from the area with documents that support the reason is a different exercise from papering over it.
Second, do not assume you will be asked to fill gaps. The official step-by-step page says the department may ask for more information but is not obliged to, and may make a decision without asking for further documents. The eligibility page also records that your immigration history is considered, and that you might not be eligible if you have had a visa cancelled or an application refused.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to have complied with my 489 or 487 conditions if I was only away from the region briefly?
The compliance criterion applies for the whole period you held the visa, so brief absences still sit inside the assessment. Policy guidance treats short breaks for holidays or travel as not interrupting continuity where the length is reasonable, with each case assessed on its own facts.
Does changing employer affect the 887 work requirement?
No employer sponsorship is required for subclass 887, and you can work in any occupation, so a change of employer is not itself a problem. What matters is that you still reach 12 months of full-time work, understood as 35 hours a week, which can be combined across more than one job.
Do my partner's compliance records matter?
Yes. The official page states that you and any family members holding an eligible visa must have complied with the conditions attached to that visa while in Australia. A family member's non-compliance can therefore affect the application, not only yours.
Which areas do conditions 8539 and 8549 refer to?
Departmental policy guidance (PAM3) links 8539 to the Schedule 6A item 6A1001 areas and 8549 to the Schedule 6 item 6701 designated areas. The definition that applies depends on the instrument in force when your eligible visa was granted, so check the postcode and designated-area lists that applied at that time.
Can subclass 887 still be granted if a condition was breached?
The statutory test in clause 887.221 is substantial compliance rather than perfect compliance, and the outcome depends on the whole record, including any visa cancellation or refusal history. No outcome can be assumed either way from the published criteria alone.
Does the two years of residence have to be continuous?
No. The official page requires a total of at least two years living in the relevant area as the holder of one or more eligible visas, so the period can be accumulated. Absences are still assessed against whether you substantially complied with your conditions and remained resident.