Starting Work on a 494 Visa: Which Date Starts the 90-Day Period?
For a 494 holder subject to condition 8608, the starting point for commencing work depends on where the holder was when the visa was granted. Under subclause 8608(4), subject to the mandatory-authorisation provisions in subclause (6), an offshore holder must commence within 90 days after arrival in Australia; an onshore holder must commence within 90 days after the grant. The date an adviser forwards the news is not a substitute for the actual grant event.
Read your grant notice and current conditions before calculating a personal deadline. Initial work commencement, the visa's expiry and any first-entry instruction answer different questions. An employer's preferred induction date does not amend a visa condition. Family travel and school arrangements should follow a reviewed timeline rather than a general statement that the visa lasts several years.
Put the events in separate columns
Record | What to establish |
Grant | The actual date and your location when granted |
Arrival | The completed entry relevant to the offshore arrangement |
Employment | The genuine start, employer, occupation and worksite |
Authorisation | Any mandatory licence, registration or membership and its scope |
Keep completed events separate from plans. A booked flight is not an entry record, and a proposed first shift is not evidence that work occurred. If you entered briefly and left again, obtain advice before assuming another arrival restarts the period. Do not use a convenient later trip to replace the actual history.
Confirm a job you can actually start
Ask the employer's authorised contact to confirm the reporting date, location, role, contract and induction requirements. Resolve inconsistent instructions between a manager and human resources. If the employer postpones the role, identify whether the problem is a short scheduling change, an outstanding occupational requirement or the job no longer being available. Those situations need different assessments.
Mandatory occupational authorisation has its own requirements under 8608(6), including obtaining and maintaining it, observing its scope and relevant notifications. A commencement timetable is not permission to perform restricted work without authorisation. Give the adviser the actual licensing position rather than describing every outstanding requirement as ordinary onboarding.
Do not arrange a nominal first day, invented attendance or a payslip for work that never happened. Preserve genuine commencement and employment records. The initial commencement rule should also be kept distinct from the separate rules governing periods after sponsored work ceases; a cessation allowance is not an additional initial-arrival window.
Check the worksite and each family member's position
A 494 relocation involves regional conditions as well as employment. Check the actual residential, work and school addresses against the applicable requirements. A company's headquarters can differ from the branch where you will work. Remote work, rotating sites and assignments should be described accurately for review, not reduced to the city named in a recruitment advertisement.
Family members travelling later need their own grants, passports and conditions checked. Their school or resignation dates do not automatically postpone the principal holder's commencement obligation. Maintain a separate row for each person so private preferences do not become confused with immigration deadlines. An overseas stay does not simply add time to the visa's expiry.
If the timetable changes, review it before committing
Send the actual employer notice, grant and travel history to the appropriate Australian migration professional promptly. Confirm what needs to be reported or assessed and who is responsible. A private agreement to start later does not establish that Home Affairs has accepted the delay. Use genuine current status for work and travel while an issue is being reviewed.
Budget for accommodation, transport and living costs before the first salary arrives. Check cancellation terms before paying for flights or removals: an employer's delay does not automatically make those costs refundable. A workable plan connects the confirmed job, actual conditions and family timetable, with the uncertain items visible before money or travel commitments are made.
Official sources and verification date
18 October 2026
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