Accredited Sponsor Status
Priority Processing for Regular Sponsors.
If your business sponsors workers regularly, accredited status can make a real difference. It means priority processing on your nominations and visas - which matters when you need people in the door quickly.
A step up for businesses with a track record.
Accredited sponsor status is designed for businesses that sponsor often and have a solid history of doing it properly. The main payoff is priority processing - your nominations and your workers' visa applications get looked at faster. When you're trying to fill roles and every week counts, that speed is worth a lot.
It also signals that your business is a trusted, established sponsor, which can make the whole process feel less like a battle each time.
Broadly, these things count.
- An established record of sponsoring workers and meeting your ongoing obligations
- Meeting the government's thresholds around the size or turnover of your business
- A clean compliance history - no concerns about how you've treated sponsored workers
- A genuine, ongoing need to bring in skilled workers from overseas
Compliance is the foundation of accreditation. Because accredited status rewards trusted sponsors, your obligations history really matters. Staying on top of your duties isn't just about avoiding penalties - it's also what keeps faster processing within reach.
What changes when you're accredited.
Both standard and accredited sponsors can nominate skilled workers - the difference is mostly in how your applications are handled and the expectations that come with the status. Here's a broad comparison.
| Where it counts | Standard sponsor | Accredited sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| Processing priority | Standard queue for nominations and visas | Priority processing on eligible nominations and visa applications |
| Most suited to | Businesses that sponsor occasionally | Businesses that sponsor regularly and at volume |
| Track record expected | New sponsors can apply | An established history of sponsoring and meeting obligations |
| Business thresholds | Standard sponsorship criteria apply | Additional thresholds around business size or turnover may apply |
| Compliance bar | Must meet sponsor obligations | A clean compliance history is closely scrutinised |
On processing times. Accreditation is designed to give your eligible nominations and visas priority handling, which generally means a quicker run than the standard queue. We don't quote a fixed number of weeks saved - the actual difference depends on your case, the visa stream and the Department's workload at the time. As a guide only, a 482 employer sponsorship nomination typically sits in the order of 6 to 8 weeks, and these timeframes shift, so we confirm the current position when you engage us.
What it costs. Government charges for sponsorship and nomination sit separately from our professional fee, and fees depend on your circumstances. We set our fee out in writing before you commit. You can read how we approach this on our fees and how we quote page.
Related pages.
Questions about accreditation.
Written and reviewed by Brian Chan, Registered Migration Agent (MARN 2217857)
Visa Store Australia, Perth · Last reviewed June 2026 · Verify on the MARA register · General information only, not personal migration advice.
Sponsor often?
Let's see whether accreditation would speed things up for you. The time saved on every future application can make it one of the better investments in your hiring.