Employer sponsored visa condition 8107: work, cease employment and licence rules (2026)

Condition 8107 is the work condition that can be attached to employer-sponsored skilled visas; depending on which subclause applies, it ties the holder to the employer and occupation in relation to which the visa was granted, or to the employer and occupation in the most recently approved nomination, and subclause 8107(3) also caps how long the holder can be out of that work and requires any mandatory licence, registration or membership to be held. Under the text of Schedule 8 to the Migration Regulations 1994 published on the Federal Register of Legislation (Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 8 — visa condition 8107) as at September 2026, the day counts are 90 days to commence work, no more than 180 consecutive days without work, and no more than 365 days without work in total across the visa period.

The catch — and the reason the answer to "can I cease employment for 180 days?" is not simply yes — is where in the condition those numbers sit. The 90/180/365 day limits appear in subclause 8107(3), which is written by reference to Subclass 457 (Temporary Work (Skilled)) visas granted on the basis that the holder met subclause 457.223(2) or (4) as in force before 18 March 2018, including where such a 457 was the last substantive visa the holder held. The more general version in subclause 8107(1), which applies to other visas granted so the holder could be employed in Australia, is drafted as a straight prohibition on ceasing employment, with no day count at all.

Does the 180-day limit apply to your visa, or only to pre-2018 457 grants?

Read the subclause, not the headline number. Subclause 8107(3) opens with a scope test: it applies where the visa is, or the last substantive visa held was, a Subclass 457 granted because the holder met subclause 457.223(2) or (4) as in force before 18 March 2018. Everything people search for — the 90-day start, the 180 consecutive days, the 365-day total and the licence rules — is inside that subclause.

If your visa is not one mentioned in subclause (3) or (4) and was granted to enable you to be employed, subclause 8107(1) is the operative part, and it says only that you must not cease to be employed by the employer in relation to which the visa was granted, must not work in a position or occupation inconsistent with the nominated one, and must not work for another person or on your own account while undertaking that employment. There is no allowance period in that wording.

The note at the end of condition 8107 states that whether a visa of a particular class may be made subject to this condition depends on the relevant provision in Schedule 2 of the Migration Regulations 1994. In practice that means the conditions binding you are the ones recorded on your grant and shown on VEVO, read against the current official text. Treat this article as general information about how the condition is drafted rather than advice on your own visa; where the legislation has been amended, the official text as updated is what governs.

How do the 90-day, 180-day and 365-day limits work together?

Where subclause 8107(3) applies, they are three separate tests, and the holder must satisfy all three.

Starting work. If you were outside Australia when the visa was granted, you must commence work within 90 days after arriving in Australia. If you were in Australia when it was granted, you must commence within 90 days after the grant.

A single gap. You may cease to work in accordance with the requirement for a period, but any such period must not exceed 180 consecutive days. Assume a holder whose last day at work is 1 March and who resumes on 30 August: the days not worked run 30 (March) + 30 + 31 + 30 + 31 + 29 = 181 consecutive days, which is one day over the line even though the absence feels like "about six months".

The cumulative total. Separately, the total number of days on which you do not work in accordance with the requirement must not exceed 365 during the visa period for your visa. Assume instead a holder who has three separate gaps of 150 days each across a four-year visa: each gap is under the 180-day ceiling, but the total of 450 days exceeds 365, so the condition is breached on the cumulative test alone.

The two ceilings measure different things. One protects against a single long absence; the other protects against a pattern of short ones.

Can you change employer, take a second job, or work for yourself?

Under subclause 8107(3), the holder must work only in the occupation listed in the most recently approved nomination for the holder. That is the reference point: not your job title, not your contract, but the occupation in the nomination the Department last approved.

On the employer side, the holder must work only for the party to a labour agreement (or former party to a labour agreement) who nominated the holder in the most recently approved nomination, unless the sponsor is or was a standard business sponsor. Where the sponsor was a standard business sponsor lawfully operating a business in Australia at the time of its approval as a standard business sponsor (or at the time of the last approval of a variation to its term of approval), the holder must work only in a position in the business of the sponsor or of an associated entity of the sponsor. Where the sponsor was not lawfully operating a business in Australia but was lawfully operating a business outside Australia at that time, the holder must work only in a position in the business of the sponsor.

There are two carve-outs in subclause (3A). The first applies where the holder's occupation is specified in an instrument in writing for subparagraph 2.72(10)(e)(ii) or (iii) as in force before 18 March 2018. The second applies where the holder is continuing to work for the sponsor, or an associated entity of the sponsor, for the purpose of fulfilling a requirement under a law relating to industrial relations and relating to the giving of notice — in other words, working out a notice period required by industrial relations law.

For visas governed by subclause 8107(1) instead, the restriction is framed differently but points the same way: no work in a position or occupation inconsistent with the nominated one, and no work for another person or on the holder's own account while undertaking the sponsored employment. Subclause (1) contains no carve-out equivalent to (3A).

What are the licence, registration and membership rules?

Where the holder is required to hold a licence, registration or membership that is mandatory to perform the nominated occupation in the location where the position is situated, subclause 8107(3)(c) sets out seven obligations:

• hold the licence, registration or membership while performing the occupation;
• if the holder was outside Australia when the visa was granted, hold it within 90 days after arrival;
• if the holder was in Australia when the visa was granted, hold it within 90 days after the visa was granted;
• notify the Department in writing as soon as practicable if an application for the licence, registration or membership is refused;
• comply with each condition or requirement to which the licence, registration or membership is subject;
• not engage in work inconsistent with the licence, registration or membership, including any conditions or requirements it is subject to;
• notify the Department in writing as soon as practicable if the licence, registration or membership ceases to be in force, or is revoked or cancelled.

The fourth and seventh items catch the situations holders most often miss: a refused application and a lapsed registration are both separately reportable, and the reporting duty is triggered by the event, not by the next visa application.

What happens if you breach condition 8107?

The note to condition 8107 cross-refers to the Migration Act 1958 sections 41 and 116 to 119 for cancellation for breaches of conditions. The practical consequence is that a breach is not a matter of "catching up later" — it is the ground on which the visa itself can be cancelled.

For anyone using a sponsored visa as a route to permanent residence, that is the real exposure. A permanent pathway built on a sponsored visa assumes the temporary visa stays valid and the sponsorship continues; if the visa is cancelled or the employment ends, the basis for that pathway goes with it. The permanent criteria themselves are set out separately and are outside the scope of this article.

Where a breach arises from a gap in employment, the arithmetic matters more than the intention: a gap of 181 consecutive days, or cumulative days over 365, is a breach even if the holder was ready and willing to work throughout.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I stop working for my sponsor for 180 days?

Under subclause 8107(3), yes — a period without work must not exceed 180 consecutive days, and the total days without work must not exceed 365 during the visa period. Both limits apply at once, so a gap of exactly 180 days is permitted only if it does not push the cumulative total past 365.

Does the 180-day rule apply to a Subclass 482 visa?

In the Schedule 8 text as at September 2026, the 90/180/365 day limits sit in subclause 8107(3), which is scoped by reference to Subclass 457 visas granted on the basis of subclause 457.223(2) or (4) as in force before 18 March 2018, including where that was the holder's last substantive visa. Whether a particular visa class may be made subject to condition 8107 depends on the relevant Schedule 2 provision, so the conditions on your grant and the current official text are the authoritative answer for your own case.

How long do I have to start work after the visa is granted?

Ninety days. The count starts from arrival in Australia if you were outside Australia when the visa was granted, and from the date of grant if you were in Australia.

Can I work a second job while holding a sponsored visa?

Under subclause 8107(1), the holder must not engage in work for another person or on the holder's own account while undertaking the employment the visa was granted for. Under subclause 8107(3), work must be for the nominating labour agreement party, or in the business of the sponsor or an associated entity, subject to the two carve-outs in subclause (3A).

What if my mandatory registration lapses or my application is refused?

The holder must notify the Department in writing as soon as practicable if the licence, registration or membership ceases to be in force, is revoked or cancelled, and equally if an application for it is refused. Performing the occupation without it, or doing work inconsistent with its conditions, is a separate breach.

Can I move to a different occupation with the same employer?

The condition measures your work against the occupation listed in the most recently approved nomination, and separately prohibits working in a position or occupation inconsistent with the nominated one. Moving to a different occupation without a new approved nomination therefore puts the holder outside the condition.

References

• Federal Register of Legislation — Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 8 (visa condition 8107)