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Skills in Demand – 482

The Subclass 482 Skills in Demand visa allows Australian businesses to sponsor skilled overseas workers for roles that cannot be filled locally. It covers a broad range of occupations and, for eligible workers, can serve as a stepping stone to permanent residency.

Who is the Skills in Demand Visa for?

The Australian Skills in Demand Visa (Subclass 482), previously known as the Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa, is designed to address workforce shortages by enabling employers to sponsor skilled workers from overseas. This temporary visa allows businesses to fill critical skill gaps while providing skilled professionals with the opportunity to work in Australia.

This visa is designed for employers who are unable to source suitably skilled Australian workers and need to fill positions with overseas talent. The visa is comprised of different streams, including the Core Skills stream and the Specialist Skills stream.

Common Eligibility Criteria for Specialist & Core Skills Streams

Core Skills Stream

  • Work in an occupation that is approved for this visa.
  • Visa granted for up to 4 years, or 5 years for Hong Kong Citizens
  • Nomination by an Approved Sponsor, must have a job offer from an employer approved as a Standard Business Sponsor.
  • At least 1 year of relevant work experience in your nominated occupation or a related field at the skill level of the nominated occupation, within the past 5 years.
  • English language requirement equivalent to IELTS 5.0.
  • Indexed annual earnings based on Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings
  • Retain updated employee “flexibility” allowing up to 12 months without a sponsoring employer over the life of the visa, in maximum 6 month periods.

This visa enables employers to address labour shortages by bringing in skilled workers where employers can’t source an appropriately skilled Australian worker.

Key features of this visa

  • Work in Australia for up to 4 years for your sponsor or up to 5 years if you are a Hong Kong passport holder.
  • You may study (you won’t receive government assistance).
  • Travel to and from Australia as many times as you want, while the visa is valid.
  • Have your employer sponsor you for permanent residence through the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186).

Requirements

  • Be nominated to work in an occupation on the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL).
  • Have a market salary and remuneration above $73,150 plus superannuation.
  • Have at least 1 year of relevant work experience in your nominated occupation or a related field at the skill level of the nominated occupation.
  • Have a relevant skills assessment if this is required for your occupation
  • Work only for your sponsor or associated entity, unless you are exempt
  • Meet minimum standards of English language proficiency unless you are exempt from needing to show this.

This visa enables employers to address labour shortages by bringing in skilled workers where employers can’t source an appropriately skilled Australian worker.

Specialist Skills Stream

This visa enables employers to address labour shortages by bringing in skilled workers where employers can’t source an appropriately skilled Australian worker.

Key features of this visa

  • Work in Australia for up to 4 years for your sponsor or up to 5 years if you are a Hong Kong passport holder.
  • You may study (you won’t receive government assistance).
  • Travel to and from Australia as many times as you want, while the visa is valid.
  • Have your employer sponsor you for permanent residence through the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186)

Requirements

  • Be nominated to work in an occupation listed in ANZSCO Major Groups 1, 2, 4, 5 or 6.
  • Have a market salary and remuneration above $135,000 plus superannuation.
  • At least 1 year of relevant work experience in your nominated occupation or a related field at the skill level of the nominated occupation, within the past 5 years.
  • Have a relevant skills assessment if this is required for your occupation
  • Work only for your sponsor or associated entity, unless you are exempt
  • Meet minimum standards of English language proficiency unless you are exempt from needing to show this

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is eligible to apply for a 482 visa?

To be eligible for a Subclass 482 visa, an applicant must be nominated by an approved Standard Business Sponsor for a specific skilled position, and must meet several individual eligibility requirements that apply regardless of which stream the nomination falls under. 

Work experience is a core requirement – applicants must have at least one year of relevant full-time work experience gained in the five years preceding the application, in the nominated occupation or a closely related field. This is assessed against the worker’s actual duties and employment history, not simply their job title. 

The Department will refer to the ANZSCO to identify the required skill level. They may also consider whether the specialisation (major) in a degree is relevant to the nomination occupation. For example, for someone with a Bachelor of Laws, they might still not meet the qualification requirement for the occupation of architect. Nonetheless, we had successfully secured visas for clients where their degree might not be considered highly relevant on face value. Some occupation might require licencing or registration, this is also a key consideration when preparing the application.

For a English language proficiency must be demonstrated through an approved test, unless an exemption applies – passport holders from some English-speaking countries are exempt from sitting a formal test.  Health and character requirements apply to all applicants and to relevant members of their family unit included in the application. These are assessed at the visa stage rather than at nomination, but it is worth obtaining health examinations and police clearances early in the process to avoid delays. 

One aspect of eligibility that we see cause issues for applicants is the work experience requirement when the nominated occupation is different from the applicant’s previous job titles. The Department looks at whether the duties actually performed match the occupation being nominated – not just whether the titles align. How the work experience is documented and presented in the application matters significantly.

The Subclass 482 visa – now formally known as the Skills in Demand visa – is one of Australia’s most widely used employer-sponsored temporary work visas.

It replaced the Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) visa and introduced a revised three-stream structure designed to better match sponsored workers to genuine skill needs in the Australian economy.  The three streams are the Core Skills stream, the Specialist Skills stream, and the Labour Agreement stream. Each stream has different occupation eligibility, salary thresholds, and processing timeframes – and choosing the right stream from the outset is one of the most important early decisions in the sponsorship process. 

For many of our clients – both employers and workers – the 482 is not just a temporary work visa. It is step one of a planned pathway to permanent residency. The way the nomination is structured, and the occupation code selected, can have direct consequences for the worker’s eligibility for the 186 Temporary Residence Transition stream down the track.

This is why we always look at the full picture before lodging, not just the immediate visa grant.  The 482 visa requires an approved Standard Business Sponsor to nominate the worker, and the worker must meet occupation, English language, work experience, and salary requirements. The visa is employer-tied, meaning the worker is sponsored for a specific role with a specific employer – though the rules around changing employers mid-visa have become more flexible in recent years.

A point we emphasise strongly with our clients: compliance in 2026 is active, not passive. The ATO operates a formal visa data-matching programme with the Department of Home Affairs that has been running since 2009 and is publicly gazetted on the ATO website. Under this programme, the ATO collects data on visa holders and sponsors from the Department of Home Affairs each quarter of the financial year, and matches it against its own records to identify potential compliance issues relating to tax, superannuation, and sponsorship obligations. The scope of data matched between the two agencies has expanded over time and employers should assume that salary, occupation, and employment details are within the programme’s reach.

The programme is used to identify sponsors who may be breaching their obligations – including by incorrectly paying sponsored workers – and visa holders who may be working outside their nominated occupation or for an unauthorised employer. Where issues are identified, matters may be referred for investigation by the Department of Home Affairs or the Australian Border Force.

The practical implication for employer sponsors is straightforward. Payroll records, employment contracts, and the details lodged in nomination applications need to be consistent and accurate throughout the entire visa period – not just at the time of lodgement. This is also important for the visa applicant, because it would be important to show the Department at the permanent visa application stage (subclass 186 transition stream) that the nominating business has been compliant with the sponsorship obligations.

If a worker’s role or salary changes materially, those changes need to be assessed and where necessary a new nomination and/or visa application should be considered.

If a sponsored worker on a 482 visa loses their job – whether through redundancy, resignation, or termination – they have up to 180 days to either find a new approved employer sponsor or make arrangements to depart Australia. This ‘grace period’ also extend to 365 days in total across the period for the duration of the 482 visa grant. This was introduced to give skilled workers a genuine opportunity to transition between employers without immediately falling into an unlawful status. 

For the outgoing employer, the sponsorship obligation does not end the moment the employment relationship does. The employer must notify the Department of Home Affairs promptly when a sponsored worker’s employment ceases. Failure to do so is a breach of sponsorship obligations and can result in sanctions. 

For the worker, the 180-day period is a genuine window of opportunity, but it requires active effort. Finding a new employer who is an approved Standard Business Sponsor, and completing a new nomination and potentially a new visa application, within 180 days is achievable but not automatic. We regularly assist clients in this situation. 

An important change to note: work experience accumulated under multiple sponsors now counts cumulatively toward the two-year qualifying period for the 186 Temporary Residence Transition stream, it no longer resets with each change of employer.  However, only time worked being sponsored can be counted, that is, when you are switching employers, the time working for the new employer before the nomination transfer application is submitted cannot be counted towards the qualifying period.

The occupation list that applies to your 482 nomination depends on which stream the role falls under. 

For the Core Skills stream – by far the most commonly used – the nominated occupation must appear on the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL), which was developed by Jobs and Skills Australia and currently covers 456 occupations across a broad range of industries including healthcare, engineering, IT, construction, education, and professional services. The CSOL is contained in the Migration (Specification of Occupations—Subclass 482 Visa) Instrument 2024. It is worthwhile to note that these occupations are not static, they change from time to time, depending on the demand and supply on the Australian labour market. Further some of the occupations have caveats, which narrows the eligible occupation further down to smaller cohort of employer sponsors.

For the Specialist Skills stream, the position must fall within certain ANZSCO occupations with skill levels 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6, and must attract a salary at or above the Specialist Skills Income Threshold. This stream is designed for genuinely high-skilled, high-earning roles and does not rely on the CSOL. 

A Labour Agreement stream is also available for occupations covered under an approved Labour Agreement between the employer and the Australian Government – these are negotiated arrangements typically used in industries or regions with specific workforce needs not met by the standard occupation lists. 

One of the most common issues we see at nomination stage is an occupation that is close to, but not exactly, what is listed on the CSOL. How the role is classified under the ANZSCO framework, and how its duties are described in the nomination, matters significantly. A well-drafted nomination that clearly demonstrates how the role aligns with the listed occupation gives the application the best possible chance of a straightforward approval.

Salary is one of the most closely scrutinised aspects of any 482 nomination, and getting it right requires understanding two separate but related requirements. 

The first is the income threshold – the Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT) for the 2025-26 financial year is AUD $76,515 per year. From 1 July 2026, this increases to AUD $79,499.

For the Specialist Skills stream, the threshold is AUD $141,210, rising to AUD $146,717 from mid-2026. These figures exclude superannuation. 

The second – and equally important – requirement is the Annual Market Salary Rate (AMSR), this is the salary offered must be comparable to what an Australian worker in the same role, location, and industry would earn. This requirement exists to prevent employers from using visa sponsorship to underpay overseas workers relative to the local market. 

In practice, we see the AMSR requirement catch employers who offer exactly the CSIT figure and assume that satisfies the requirement. If the market rate for the occupation in that location is materially higher than the CSIT, the nomination can be questioned even if the threshold is technically met. 

We assist our clients in conducting proper salary benchmarking before lodging nominations, using industry salary surveys, comparable job advertisements, and enterprise agreements where relevant. The investment in getting this right at nomination stage avoids compliance issues that can arise during the worker’s employment period. 

A 482 nomination is the second step in the employer-sponsored visa process, following approval of the Standard Business Sponsorship.

It is the point at which an approved sponsor formally nominates an overseas worker for a specific skilled position, providing the Department of Home Affairs with the details of the role, the salary, the location, and the justification for why an overseas worker is needed. 

The nomination is assessed on its own merits, separately from the worker’s individual visa application – though in most cases the nomination and visa are prepared and lodged concurrently. The worker cannot apply for the 482 visa until at least the nomination application has been submitted. 

In our experience, the nomination is where many employers run into difficulty.

The occupational classification, salary benchmarking, and labour market justification all require careful preparation. Identifying the right ANZSCO classification from the outset matters enormously – not just for the nomination, but because it flows through to the worker’s employment record, annual market salary rate, their future PR eligibility, and compliance monitoring under the ATO and Home Affairs data-matching programme.  The nomination is also the stage at which the Skilling Australians Fund levy is calculated and paid.

Disclaimer!

Content on this page is for informational purposes only and not intended as legal advice, nor should it be relied on as such. Australian immigration law is complex and its policies and visa eligibility criteria are changing regularly.