The Skills in Demand Visa replaced the Temporary Skill Shortage (subclass 482) Visa from 7 December 2024.
The Migration Strategy proposed replacing the Temporary Skill Shortage (subclass 482) Visa with a three-tiered system for applicants based on their annual earnings and occupation.
Note: The Skills In Demand Visa (Core Skills Pathway) is now open to new applications.
The second pathway in the new Skills in Demand visa is the Core Skills Pathway. Most temporary skilled migrants come through the Core Skills Pathway, which is designed to bring in the skilled employees Australia needs now and in the future to ensure that we are able to provide ourselves with the goods and services we need to support our way of life. It might include, for example, a Registered Nurse who is helping a regional hospital’s emergency department deal with acute workforce shortages or a Secondary School Teacher helping teach science in our public schools.
The Core Skills Pathway would be available to applicants who meet the general eligibility criteria and:
- whose occupation is on a new Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL), which relates to occupations identified by Jobs and Skills Australia as being in shortage or where Australia has committed to providing access to our labour market in relation to that occupation through international trade agreements
- who will be paid a salary at or above the TSMIT (now called the Core Skills Income Threshold, CSIT), or the relevant average market salary where it is above the CSIT.
Unlike the Specialist Skills Pathway, trades workers, machinery operators and drivers, and labourers are eligible under the Core Skills Pathway subject to being identified on the Core Skills Occupation List based on advice from Jobs and Skills Australia, and being paid above the CSIT (including for roles paid above the Specialist Skills Threshold).
| Subclass 482 (Skills in Demand) – Summary | ||
| Stream# | Core Skills | Specialist Skills |
| Salary threshold* | AUD $79,423 from 1 Jul 2026
Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT) |
AUD 146,576 from 1 Jul 2026
Specialist Skills Income Threshold (SSIT) |
| Market salary rate | Pay at least annual market salary rate which must be at least CSIT | Pay at least annual market salary rate which must be at least SSIT |
| Financial Capacity | Business must have the capacity to employ the nominee for at least the period of the nomination and to pay the person at least the market salary rate for the occupation each year | |
| Labour Market Testing | No change to date | |
| Occupation | CSOL | Does not need to be on CSOL but must be an ANZSCO occupation in Major Group 1, 2, 4, 5 or 6. Trades, machinery operators, drivers, and labourers excluded |
| Caveats | Applicable | Applicable if nominated occupation is listed on CSOL |
| Work experience | At time of application, 12 months equivalent full-time work experience in the last 5 years, casual, part-time, and full-time work included | |
| English | Equivalent to at least IELTS 5 in each test component (same as previous TSS Medium-term stream) | |
| Visa period | Up to 4 years | |
| Visa conditions | No change | No change |
| Processing priority | To be advised | To be advised |
| SAF Levy | No change | |
| Nomination application charge | No change | |
| Visa application charges | (i) AUD3115 Primary and secondary applicant 18 and over
(ii) AUD780 Secondary applicant under 18 |
|
| #Labour Agreement stream carries over existing settings while further development of the Essential Skills stream takes place | ||
| *Annual earnings excluding non-monetary benefits. Salary thresholds to be indexed annually | ||
The three-tiered system was proposed as follows (thresholds shown are the rates from 1 July 2026):
| Tier 1 – Specialist Skills Pathway | Tier 2 – Core Skills Pathway | Tier 3 – Essential Skills Pathway |
| – No occupation list applicable, however trades workers, machine operators, drivers and labourers are excluded
– Requires guaranteed annual earnings of at least $146,576 indexed annually – Priority processing with a commitment to a 7-day median visa processing time |
– A simpler and regularly updated Core Skills Occupation list managed by Jobs and Skills Australia
– Requires guaranteed annual earnings of at least $79,423 indexed annually |
– For occupations earning under $79,423 per year but working in essential skill occupations.
– Further assessment by the government is being undertaken on the best way to introduce this pathway This pathway is likely to be sector-specific, with stronger regulatory framework, minimum standards and ongoing advice from Jobs and Skills Australia |
Skills in Demand visa: replacement of the TSS 482 visa
As part of Australia’s new migration strategy, a new three tiered system of visa pathways (Skilled In Demand Visa) replaced the TSS SC 482 on 7 December 2024.
- The specialist skills visa pathway has no occupation list and a target processing time of 7 days. Trades occupations, machinery operators, drivers and labourers are excluded from this stream. The original proposal included a cap of 3,000 places a year. The ‘specialist skills’ visa for those earning over $146,576 per year.
- The core skills visas pathway provides the majority of visas in the program. Trades workers apply under this stream if their occupation is on the ‘skills in demand list’ developed by Jobs and Skills Australia. The ‘core skills’ visa for the $79,423 to $146,576 cohort. Earnings must be at least the Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT, which replaced the TSMIT), $79,423 from 1 July 2026 and indexed each year.
- The details of the essential skills visa pathway were never finalised and no general Essential Skills stream has opened. The proposal involved union oversight, a cap and a restriction to specific sectors, with aged care and disability mentioned. The ‘essential skills’ visa is for those earning under $79,423.
The visa is granted for up to 4 years, visa holders can change employers more easily, and there are clear pathways to permanent residency. The ‘TSMIT‘ threshold is now the CSIT and is indexed annually. A public register of employer sponsors was also announced to make it easier to move between employers.
Skilling Australians Fund
The government considered collecting the SAF in smaller increments over time in recognition of the greater freedom of visa holders to change employers. A monthly or quarterly payment model was flagged, but as at 2026 the SAF levy is still paid upfront with the nomination.
Labour Market Testing
LMT was streamlined from 11 December 2023. The requirement to advertise on the Workforce Australia site was removed, and you now need two advertisements, each running for at least 4 weeks, within the 4 months before the nomination is lodged.
The government has said LMT will be gradually phased out as Jobs and Skills Australia data on skills shortages improves and a Core Skilled Occupation List created as an alternative to LMT.
Employer sponsored visa guides
- Skills in Demand 482 visa
- 482 Core Skills stream
- 482 Specialist Skills stream
- 482 visa fees
- 482 visa path to PR
- Employer Nomination Scheme (186 visa)
- Regional employer sponsored (494 visa)
- Becoming a standard business sponsor
- Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy
- Labour agreements
- Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMA)
- Employer sponsorship assessment
Key elements of the Skills in Demand visa include:
- Time spent with any approved employer counts towards permanent residence requirements
- Skills in Demand visa holders have access to self-nominated independent permanent pathways, in addition to employer-sponsored pathways
- The visa provides for a stay of up to 4 years in all streams
- Target median processing time of 21 days for the Core Skills stream
- Skills in Demand visa holders can move between sponsors with an 180 day time period to find a new sponsor
- Streamlined labour market testing (LMT) requirements started on 11 December 2023. The requirement to advertise on Workforce Australia was removed
Book a meeting for a commitment free briefing with our Registered Migration Agents in Melbourne to find more about your visa options.
Related:
There is no requirement to obtain a new Sc 482 visa if there has been a nomination transfer or a change in Sc 482 visa streams, unless there has been a change in occupation and/or a decrease in salary than what has been approved on the Sc 482 visa or the Sc 482 visa is close to ceasing.
Not necessarily.
A new visa is generally not required simply because of a nomination transfer or a change between Subclass 482 streams.
However, a new visa may be required if:
- The occupation changes;
- The salary falls below what was approved; or
- The existing visa is close to expiry.
If a client currently holds a Subclass 482 visa under the Labour Agreement stream and then changes employers, with the new employer intending to nominate them under the Core Skills stream, are they required to obtain a new nomination and visa?
A new nomination will always be required when changing employers.
Where the applicant previously accessed concessions under a Labour Agreement and is then required to meet the requirements of the standard Subclass 482 program, a new visa application will likely be required.
There is, however, some ambiguity in circumstances where the applicant moves from the Labour Agreement stream to the Core Skills stream but did not rely on any concessions under the Labour Agreement. In such cases, there does not appear to be any visa condition that expressly requires a new visa to facilitate the change of stream. On this basis, it may be sufficient to proceed with a nomination transfer only.
It is also noted that some members have reported successfully assisting applicants to change employers and streams from the Labour Agreement stream to the standard program stream by lodging only a new nomination, provided all other circumstances relevant to the original visa grant remained unchanged.
If a client has a pending Subclass 482 visa application and associated nomination, and their employment is terminated, can the original nomination be withdrawn and a new nomination lodged by a different employer, with that new nomination then linked to the existing Subclass 482 visa application?
No.
A new nomination cannot be substituted into an existing Subclass 482 visa application.
If the original nomination can no longer proceed, the visa application will usually need to be withdrawn and re-lodged after the new employer’s nomination has been submitted.
In many cases, the visa application charge may be refundable where the associated nomination was not approved.
