Event Organisers: Your Obligations When Bringing International Artists to Australia

When you invite an international artist to an Australian event, you are not simply a host. Depending on the visa, you may be the sponsor or supporter whose evidence the application stands on, and you carry exposure under the Migration Act if the artist ends up working in breach of their visa. Neither obligation is obvious from the outside, and both are easier to meet before the artist is booked than after.

This article is for festival and expo organisers, promoters, venues, galleries and production companies. It sets out what the law asks of you, where organisers most often get caught, and what to keep on file.

You are part of the application, not a bystander

Most entertainment applications rest on evidence you provide. Clause 408.111 of the Migration Regulations 1994 defines what it means to pass the support test, and it is your letter that has to do the work:

(a) if requested by the Minister, the applicant produces a letter of support, from the person or organisation, which:

(i) identifies the event, activity or work for which the applicant seeks to enter or remain in Australia; and

(ii) sets out the duties of the applicant in relation to the event, activity or work; and

(iii) sets out the date or dates, and the location or locations, of the event, activity or work.

Three mandatory elements. Not a reference, not a note confirming the artist is welcome. The event, the duties, the dates and the locations.

There is a second limb most organisers never think about. The support test also requires that there is no adverse supporter information known to Immigration about your organisation, or a person associated with it, or that it is reasonable to disregard it. Your own compliance record is part of the artist’s application.

Sponsor or supporter, and which one you are

Home Affairs draws the line by length of stay and place of lodgement.

A supporter is required where the artist applies outside Australia and intends to stay in Australia for less than 3 months.

A sponsor is required where the artist applies in Australia, or applies outside Australia and intends to stay for more than 3 months.

The distinction matters because becoming a sponsor is a formal process. Clause 408.111 defines passing the sponsorship test as being an approved sponsor who has agreed in writing to sponsor the applicant, has not withdrawn that agreement, and has not ceased to be the sponsor. If your event runs long, or the artist is already in the country, you may need approved sponsor status that you do not currently hold, and that is not something to discover six weeks out.

The requirements that depend on third parties

Three requirements in clause 408.229A sit outside your control, which is exactly why they need to be started first.

Union consultation. For film and television work under clause 408.229A(2) and (3), and for live performance work under clause 408.229A(4), the eligible sponsor or supporter must have “consulted with relevant Australian unions in relation to the employment or engagement of the applicant in Australia”. This is an obligation on you, not the artist.

An Arts Minister certificate. For government-subsidised film and television under clause 408.229A(2), a certificate is required confirming the relevant Australian content criteria have been met. For non-subsidised productions under clause 408.229A(3), the certificate confirms that citizens and residents of Australia have been afforded a reasonable opportunity to participate in all levels of the production, and that the foreign investment in the production is greater than the amount to be expended on entertainers sponsored or supported for entry.

A full itinerary. For live performance under clause 408.229A(4), the sponsor or supporter must have “provided an itinerary specifying the dates and venues for all performances”. Not the headline dates. All of them.

Clause 408.229A also requires that the sponsor or supporter holds any necessary licences in respect of the production or activity.

The net employment benefit test is your argument to make

For live performance under clause 408.229A(4), the activity must bring a net employment benefit to the Australian entertainment industry. Clause 408.111 defines that as the Minister being satisfied that the activity “would lead to greater employment of Australian citizens or Australian permanent residents (or both) than if a person normally resident in Australia undertook the activity”.

That comparison is the whole test, and organisers routinely answer the wrong question. Listing the Australian crew you hire is a start, but the benchmark is a hypothetical Australian act doing the same thing. What makes this booking generate more Australian work than a local booking would?

Venue capacity, support acts, additional crew, extended production requirements and touring scale are the sorts of things that answer it. Reputation on its own does not.

Your exposure if the artist works in breach

This is the part that turns a booking into a legal risk, and it applies whether or not you are the sponsor.

Section 245AC of the Migration Act 1958 makes it an offence to allow a lawful non-citizen to work in breach of a work-related condition. A person contravenes it if they allow, or continue to allow, another person to work; that worker is a lawful non-citizen; the worker holds a visa subject to a work-related condition; and the worker is in breach of that condition solely because of doing the work.

The penalty for the offence is imprisonment for 2 years or 360 penalty units, or both. There is a separate civil penalty provision carrying 240 penalty units. The value of a penalty unit is set under Commonwealth law and indexed periodically, so check the current figure rather than relying on an old conversion.

Note the phrase “or continues to allow”. This is not only about the moment of engagement. If you learn mid-event that an artist is on a visitor visa and let them go on anyway, that is squarely within the provision.

The defence, and what it requires of you

Section 245AC(2) provides that the offence does not apply if the person “takes reasonable steps at reasonable times to verify that the worker is not in breach of the work-related condition”, including by using a computer system prescribed by the regulations.

In practice that means checking the artist’s visa conditions through VEVO rather than taking their word or their agent’s word, and checking again when something changes. Note the plural in “reasonable times”. A single check at contract signing, six months before an event whose lineup has since changed, is a thin defence.

The fault element for the offence is knowledge or recklessness. Deciding not to ask because you would rather not know is exactly what recklessness describes.

Once the visa is granted, the itinerary is not yours to change

Home Affairs is explicit about this: “You must not change the times and places of engagements specified in the application. If you need to do so, you must ask the Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs for permission before you make any changes.”

Changes go through the Temporary Specialist Entry Centre, by email or through ImmiAccount. That includes new events, changes in times, and new venues.

Live events change constantly. A venue falls through, a slot moves, a second show is added because the first sold out. Each of those is a change to the engagements the visa was granted for, and the permission has to come before the change, not after.

There is a related obligation on the artist that affects your planning. If the sponsor, supporter or individual stops the activity or employment, the artist must leave Australia within 28 days of stopping work, or earlier if the visa is expiring. Cancelling a run of shows starts that clock.

What to keep on file

Treat the following as the minimum record for any international artist booking.

• A copy of the support or sponsorship letter as lodged, with the event, duties, dates and locations.
• A dated VEVO check of the artist’s visa conditions, repeated when the lineup or itinerary changes.
• The contract or engagement agreement, and evidence of non-profit status where the engagement is non-profit.
• Records of union consultation, where the relevant subclause required it.
• The itinerary as lodged, and any written permission for subsequent changes.
• Any licences held in respect of the production.

If the artist is on a visa that does not permit the work, the safest position is that they do not perform. That is a hard conversation on the day. It is a considerably better outcome than the alternative.

Frequently asked questions

The artist says their visitor visa is fine. Can we rely on that?

No. Section 245AC exposes the person who allows the work, and the defence depends on you taking reasonable steps to verify. Our article on the visa trap for international artists explains why visitor visas so rarely cover performance.

We are not paying the artist. Does that remove the problem?

Generally not. Regulation 1.03 defines work as an activity that normally attracts remuneration in Australia, and clause 408.229A(4) covers engagements “other than non-profit engagements” as a distinct category, which tells you non-profit work is handled differently rather than being exempt.

Do we need to become an approved sponsor?

Only if the artist applies in Australia, or applies offshore intending to stay more than 3 months. For shorter offshore applications, a supporter letter that satisfies clause 408.111 is what is required.

How far ahead should we start?

Earlier than feels necessary. Union consultation and Arts Minister certificates involve third parties and sit before lodgement. If your lineup locks eight weeks out, the visa work should have started before that.

What should the letter actually say?

Event, duties, dates, locations, in specific terms. We have written a full checklist in invitation letters that actually work, and the wider stream requirements are in our guide to the Subclass 408 Entertainment stream.

A realistic next step

Before you announce a lineup, do two things. Confirm which visa each international artist will hold and whether your organisation needs to be a sponsor or a supporter for it. Then put one person in charge of VEVO checks and itinerary change approvals, so those do not fall between the promoter, the tour manager and the venue.

If you are planning an event with international artists and want your obligations mapped out, book a consultation with our migration lawyers and we will work through the visa route, the letters and the compliance steps with you. If your engagement is closer to ongoing employment than a one-off event, our employer sponsorship service is the better starting point.

About the author: Tina Nematian is the Principal Lawyer at One Planet Migration Law. She is admitted as an Australian Legal Practitioner and is a Registered Migration Agent, and has guided clients through partner, skilled, employer-sponsored, student, and humanitarian visa applications across Australia.

Legislative references in this article were checked against the Migration Regulations 1994 and the Migration Act 1958 as in force on 3 August 2026. Visa rules change frequently. Always check immi.gov.au before lodging.

This article is general information only and does not constitute legal or migration advice. Visa rules change frequently and outcomes depend on individual circumstances. Speak with a registered migration lawyer or agent before making any application.