Australia · Work authorisation

Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482)

Issued by Department of Home Affairs. It is checked against conditions rather than scored, so the question is whether you meet each one, not how many points you gather.

Basis
Checklist
Steps
5
Possible outcomes
3
Last checked
2026-08-09

Conditions

What this permit
asks of you.

Which desk decides

The authority, exactly

The Department decides both the employer's approval as a sponsor and the visa itself — there is no separate regional authority. Where a skills assessment is required for your occupation, that assessment is issued separately by the authority the Department's own directory lists against it, which for ICT-related occupations is ACS, not the Department.

2026 figure

Salary floor

AUD 79,423 a year

This is the Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT), the floor for the Core Skills stream, in force for nomination applications lodged between 1 July 2026 and 30 June 2027. It replaced the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold on this visa when the Skills in Demand visa itself replaced the Temporary Skill Shortage visa. A separate, higher Specialist Skills Income Threshold of AUD146,576 (same 2026–2027 cycle) applies instead to the Specialist Skills stream, open only to occupations in ANZSCO Major Groups 1, 2, 4, 5 or 6. Both figures are indexed every 1 July; check the figure in force on the date you lodge. In every case your pay must also meet the Annual Market Salary Rate for the role — whichever of the two is higher.

A figure without the year it belongs to and the condition attached to it is how someone rules themselves out of a permit they qualify for. Both are above.

Qualification

What it wants from your degree

At least 1 year of relevant work experience in your nominated occupation or a related field, plus a skills assessment from the occupation's assessing authority where your occupation requires one.

The procedure

5 steps,
in the order they happen.

Prepare your documents

  1. Secure sponsorship from an employer approved as a sponsor, nominated to an occupation on the Core Skills Occupation List (Core Skills stream) or, for the Specialist Skills stream, to an occupation in one of the eligible ANZSCO Major Groups paid at least the Specialist Skills Income Threshold.
  2. Confirm the nominated position is paid the Annual Market Salary Rate for the role and no less than the applicable income threshold, and that you have at least 1 year of relevant work experience in the occupation or a related field.

Get your qualification assessed

  1. Where your occupation requires it, obtain a skills assessment from the assessing authority the Department lists against that occupation before your nomination is decided.The Department states this is required "if this is required for your occupation" — not universally. Its directory of assessing authorities names ACS for ICT-related occupations and other bodies for the rest.
  2. Meet the minimum standard of English language proficiency the Department sets for this visa, unless you are exempt.

Register and start working

  1. Once the nomination is approved, lodge the visa application. You may work only for your sponsor or an associated entity unless you fall within a published exemption.

Cost and time

What it costs,
and how long the authority says it takes.

Fees

Visa application charge
From AUD4,015.00 — concessions apply in limited circumstances; use the Department's Visa Pricing Estimator for your own figure

Timeframes

Processing time
Not published as a single national figure — the Department publishes a visa processing time guide tool instead
Visa validity
Up to 4 years (up to 5 years for Hong Kong passport holders)

Published processing times, not a prediction about your case.

Both halves together

Guides that use this permit.

Each one takes a profession into Australia and runs the recognition branch and the authorisation branch side by side, including what your country of qualification adds.

Evidence

Every claim on this page, and where it came from.

5 official pages, each with the jurisdiction it speaks for and the date a human last opened it. The oldest is 2026-08-09, and that is the date this page is only as fresh as.

Is this the right permit for you?

That depends on where you qualified.

The planner compares every route Australia opens to your country of qualification, and adds the recognition branch when your profession has one.

Check my path →All Australia permits