VEVO Checks: How to Confirm a Worker's Right to Work in Australia

Before anyone starts work for you in Australia, you need to know they are allowed to. For citizens that means sighting a document. For everyone else it means a VEVO check. Running the check is quick. Remembering that a visa ends, and checking again before it does, is the hard part.

This post covers what the law asks of you, how VEVO works, and how to set WorkZerk up to keep the record and the reminders.

What the law asks of you

It is against the law to hire a non-citizen who does not hold a valid visa, or to have them do work that goes against their visa conditions. Home Affairs lists the work-related offences and penalties, and each penalty applies per worker.

The same list includes offences for referring a non-citizen to someone else for work, so labour hire and recruitment businesses are covered too.

The Migration Act gives you a defence if you take reasonable steps at reasonable times to verify that a worker is allowed to work. A VEVO check, kept on file and repeated when it matters, is how you show you did.

What changed on 1 July 2024

Since 1 July 2024, it has been an offence for an employer or labour hire intermediary to:

• pressure a temporary visa holder into breaching a work-related visa condition
• pressure a non-citizen without a valid visa into accepting a work arrangement
• use a worker's visa status to exploit them

Each carries up to two years in prison, a fine of 360 penalty units, or both.

The same changes created the Prohibited Employer Register. A business that seriously, deliberately or repeatedly breaks these laws can be barred from hiring more temporary visa holders for up to 10 years, with its name and ABN published while the ban lasts.

Who you need to check

Who	What to look at
Australian citizen	Their Australian passport or citizenship certificate. VEVO cannot confirm citizenship.
Born in Australia before 20 August 1986	A full Australian birth certificate also proves citizenship. For anyone born later, it does not on its own.
New Zealand citizen	Usually holds a Special Category visa (subclass 444), granted on arrival. Check it in VEVO.
Permanent resident or temporary visa holder	Check their visa and its conditions in VEVO.

Only Australian citizens, permanent residents and New Zealand citizens on a Special Category visa have no conditions on their work. Anyone else may be limited in the type of work, the hours, or how long they can work for one employer.

How a VEVO check works

VEVO (Visa Entitlement Verification Online) is a free Home Affairs service. As a business, you register for an ImmiAccount and use VEVO for organisations.

You need the visa holder's permission before you check, and their passport details to run it. The result shows their current visa, whether they can work, and any conditions.

Read the conditions, not just the yes or no:

• Student visas. While their course is in session, most student visa holders can work up to 48 hours a fortnight.
• Working holiday visas. These limit how long a holder can work for the same employer.

Why one check is not enough

VEVO only shows a visa currently in effect. When a temporary visa ends, so does the right to work, unless a new one has been granted. A new visa can also carry different conditions, and a visa can be cancelled.

So keep the result and date of each check, and check before the person starts, again before their visa ends, and whenever a new visa is granted. Rules change, so this is general information, not legal advice. An employment lawyer or registered migration agent can advise on your situation.

What WorkZerk does with right to work

WorkZerk keeps the paperwork side in one place:

• Each person uploads proof of their right to work from a private link, with no account or password. Visa holders enter their visa end date as the expiry date.
• Passports and visas marked Sensitive are stored encrypted, only admins can open them, and every view is recorded.
• WorkZerk emails the person before their visa ends and asks for the new grant notice.
• The Document compliance report shows whose visa is current, expiring, expired or missing.

What it does not do: WorkZerk does not run VEVO checks or connect to any Home Affairs system. Your team runs the check in VEVO and records the result in WorkZerk.

Setting it up in WorkZerk

1. Turn on two-factor authentication

Asking people to upload documents needs two-factor authentication on your account. Set it up first under Account, then Two-factor authentication (opens in WorkZerk in a new tab).

2. Create the fields

Open Fields (opens in WorkZerk in a new tab) in the sidebar and add:

• Right to work evidence, an Upload field. Leave Require an expiry date off, because a citizenship certificate never expires.
• Visa, an Upload field with Require an expiry date ticked. The expiry date is the visa's end date, which the reminders count down to.
• Passport number and country, a Text field.
• VEVO checked on, a Date field your team fills in after each check.

Open each of these and switch on Sensitive, except VEVO checked on. See Keeping sensitive information private.

Shortcut: the Staff onboarding (Australia) pack already asks for proof of the right to work, marked sensitive. See starter request packs.

3. Create a portal, or use the one you have

Open Portals (opens in WorkZerk in a new tab) and click New portal, or add these requests to an onboarding portal you already run.

Leave the portal open while anyone on it holds a temporary visa. Closing a portal switches off its links, and the expiry reminders stop with them.

4. Ask each person only what applies to them

On the portal's Requests panel, click + Insert and add, in this order:

1. A Choice request, "Which of these applies to you?", with four options: Australian citizen, New Zealand citizen, Permanent resident, Temporary visa holder.
2. An Upload request, "Proof of your right to work", with Right to work evidence as its Document type. In the description: "Your Australian passport or citizenship certificate. If you hold a visa, your passport photo page."
3. A Section called "Visa details". Open Limit who sees this, pick the Choice question, tick everything except Australian citizen, and choose Match any. Inside it, add a Fields request for Passport number and country, and a Choice request with one option: "I give permission for my visa to be checked in VEVO." A single option shows as a tick box.
4. An Upload request, "Your visa", with Visa as its Document type and Require expiry on. Under Show only when, pick the Choice question and Temporary visa holder. In the description: "Upload your visa grant notice. Enter the date your visa ends as the expiry date."

A request hidden from someone never counts against them.

5. Add your people

Add people to the portal and send each one their private link.

6. Run the check, then approve

Uploaded files wait under Needs review on Requests (opens in WorkZerk in a new tab). For each visa holder:

1. Run the VEVO check with their passport details.
2. Compare the visa end date in VEVO with the expiry date they entered. If it differs, click Change date and correct it.
3. Approve the upload.
4. Enter today's date in VEVO checked on on their contact record.

7. Switch on the expiry reminders

Open Automations (opens in WorkZerk in a new tab). Switch on Document expiring reminder and Document expired reminder. Both start switched off.

The expiring reminder goes 30 days before the visa ends. A new visa can take months to be granted, so consider changing it to 90 days.

To remind your team to re-check VEVO too, build a Document expiring automation with Send account email. See Automations.

8. Check who is covered

Open Requests (opens in WorkZerk in a new tab) and click Document compliance. Each person shows as current, expiring, needs review, expired or missing for each document.

Tick Only people who aren't compliant for the list to work through, and use Download CSV when you need a register.

Getting started

Start a free WorkZerk trial at workzerk.com, then work through the steps above. If you get stuck, the getting started guide walks through a first portal end to end, or email us at [email protected].