Subclass 494 Change of Employer: New Nomination, Notification Duties and Cancellation (2026)

Changing employer on a Subclass 494 (Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional)) visa is possible, but it does not happen through a new contract alone. Your regional residency obligation keeps running until a new nomination is approved under subsection 140GB(2) of the Migration Act 1958 and you actually start work in the position that nomination covers; failing to meet the obligation is a breach of a visa condition, and breach is handled through the cancellation provisions of the Migration Act 1958 at sections 116 to 119. Two further conditions set hard deadlines around an employer change: 14 days to notify Immigration of the change, and 28 days to produce evidence if the Minister asks for it. This article follows the Schedule 8 visa condition text in the Migration Regulations 1994 published on the Australian Government Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), as at September 2026.

What actually changes when you move to a new employer?

Condition 8579 defines your obligation by reference to a "relevant nomination". That is either the first nomination identified in your application, if it is the only nomination approved under subsection 140GB(2) in relation to you, or a later nomination — but a later nomination only takes over once two things are both true: it has been approved under that subsection, and you have commenced work, as the holder of the visa, in the position associated with the occupation it nominates.

So the mechanism the condition text assumes for an employer change is a fresh approved nomination. The area you must live, work and study in is the part of Australia that was a designated regional area at the time that relevant nomination was made — a frozen snapshot, not the regional map as it stands on the day you move.

Does the obligation pause while you are between jobs?

No. Condition 8579 sets only two endpoints for the regional residency period: the end of the day before you commence work under a later approved nomination, or the time your visa ceases to have effect. There is no day-count allowance inside the condition for periods when you are not working, so a gap between jobs does not switch it off.

Two consequences follow. Until you genuinely start in the new position, the relevant nomination is still the earlier one, so the area designated when that nomination was made continues to bind you. And waiting for a nomination decision, or being stood down, is not an endpoint in itself.

Where the first nomination is the relevant one, the period starts at the time of grant if you were in Australia at grant, or otherwise when you first enter Australia as a 494 holder. Where a later nomination has taken over, the new period starts at the start of the day you commence work in that nominated position.

What do you have to tell Immigration, and how quickly?

Condition 8578 requires you to notify Immigration within 14 days after any of these changes: your residential address; an email address of yours; a phone number of yours; your passport details; the address of an employer of yours; and the address of the location of a position in which you are employed.

An employer change therefore triggers two distinct notifications, not one — the employer's address and the address of where the position is located. The 14 days run from the change itself, not from any reminder.

What evidence can be demanded, and how long do you have?

Condition 8580 applies when the Minister requests evidence in writing: you must provide it within 28 days after the date of the request. The request can cover your residential address; the address of each employer; the address of each location of each position in which you are employed; and the address of an educational institution you attend.

Because the wording is "each employer" and "each location of each position", what you may need to produce can span more than one workplace. The 28 days are counted from the date of the request, so records kept as you go are what make the deadline workable.

Does the same rule bind your family?

Yes. Condition 8579 covers both the primary person who satisfied the primary criteria and any person who is a member of the family unit of that primary person. During the regional residency period, family members must also live, work and study only in the part of Australia that was a designated regional area at the time of the relevant nomination, and the same start-and-end rules apply.

How does a breach turn into a cancellation?

Each of these Schedule 8 conditions carries the same note: whether a visa of a particular class may be made subject to the condition depends on the relevant provision in Schedule 2 of the Migration Regulations 1994, and cancellation for breaches of conditions is dealt with under the Migration Act 1958 at sections 41 and 116 to 119.

In other words, the breach is the trigger and the consequences run through the Act's cancellation provisions rather than through any penalty written into the condition itself. Which conditions attach to a particular 494 grant depends on Schedule 2, so not every holder carries an identical set of obligations. This article describes published condition text for general information only and is not personalised advice about your own circumstances, which can turn on documents and decisions not addressed here; the current official text governs.

Two hypotheticals worth walking through

Suppose a 494 holder is made redundant and, six weeks later, signs with a new regional employer who lodges a nomination. During those six weeks the holder has not commenced work in any newly nominated position, so the relevant nomination remains the first one and the original designated area still applies. Once the new nomination is approved and the holder starts in that position, the earlier regional residency period ends at the end of the day before the start date, and a new period begins at the start of that day.

Suppose instead the holder starts work for the new employer before any nomination is approved. Under condition 8579 the later nomination cannot become the relevant nomination until approval and commencement are both satisfied, so the first nomination continues to govern the regional area during that time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change employer while holding a Subclass 494?

The condition text operates on the basis that a change of employer comes with a new nomination approved under subsection 140GB(2) of the Migration Act 1958. Until that later nomination is approved and you have commenced work in the position it nominates, the first nomination remains the relevant one for condition 8579. The regional area you must live, work and study in therefore does not change just because you have signed with a new employer.

Is there a set number of days I can be out of work before I breach the condition?

Condition 8579 itself contains no day-count allowance for time without work. The regional residency period ends only at the end of the day before you commence work under a later approved nomination, or when your visa ceases to have effect. Whether other conditions with different counting rules are attached to a particular 494 visa depends on the relevant Schedule 2 provision.

How long do I have to tell Immigration about a new employer?

Condition 8578 gives you 14 days after the change occurs. The duty covers the address of an employer and the address of the location of the position in which you are employed, so a single job change can mean two separate updates.

What if I cannot produce the evidence the Minister requests in time?

Condition 8580 sets 28 days from the date of a written request, and the request can extend to the address of each employer and of each location of each position. The condition states the deadline rather than any consequence for missing it; consequences for breach are dealt with under the Migration Act 1958, sections 116 to 119.

Do my partner and children have to follow the same regional rule?

Yes. Condition 8579 applies to members of the family unit of the primary person as well as to the primary person. Family members must live, work and study only in the part of Australia that was a designated regional area at the time of the relevant nomination, for the same regional residency period.

Which regional area definition applies if rules change after my nomination?

The condition fixes the area by reference to the time the relevant nomination was made, not the time you are living or working there. That snapshot moves only when a later nomination becomes the relevant nomination, at which point the area is the one designated when that later nomination was made.

References

• Federal Register of Legislation (Australia) — Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 8 visa conditions (8578, 8579, 8580)