482 Skills in Demand Visa: Complete Guide for 2026

What Changed: From TSS to Skills in Demand

The old 482 Temporary Skill Shortage visa used occupation lists to determine eligibility — you either appeared on the Short-term or Medium-term list, or you didn't qualify. From December 2024, Australia replaced this system with salary-based thresholds under the Skills in Demand framework. The old Short-term stream closed. The Medium-term stream became the Core Skills stream. A new Specialist Skills stream was introduced for high-earning professionals. A Labour Agreement pathway continues for industries and occupations where neither standard stream fits. The key practical change is that many occupations that were previously excluded or on the wrong list are now accessible through the Core Skills stream — provided the salary meets the threshold. This makes the 482 more useful for a broader range of employers and workers, but it also means salary settings are now critical to eligibility in a way they weren't before.

The Three Streams Explained

The Core Skills stream is available for occupations on the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL). The salary threshold is $76,515 for nominations lodged before 1 July 2026, rising to $79,499 from 1 July 2026. Visa duration is up to 4 years. This stream carries a pathway to permanent residency after 2 years of continuous employment. It replaced the old Medium-term stream and is the most commonly used pathway for skilled workers in Australia. The Specialist Skills stream is available for most ANZSCO occupations provided the salary is at or above $141,210 (before 1 July 2026) or $146,717 (from 1 July 2026). It is designed for highly paid professionals — engineers, IT specialists, finance professionals, and similar roles. Processing is extremely fast at the visa application stage, with a median of approximately 8 days. The Labour Agreement stream continues for employers who have negotiated a specific Labour Agreement with the Department of Home Affairs. Terms vary by agreement, including salary thresholds and occupation eligibility. The government is developing an Essential Skills stream to eventually replace this pathway, targeting persistent-shortage lower-paid roles. If you are unsure which stream applies to you, an experienced agent can advise based on your ANZSCO code and proposed salary.

Who Is Eligible — Requirements for the Worker

To be eligible for the 482 visa you must have at least one year of relevant full-time work experience in your nominated occupation or a closely related field within the last 5 years. This is down from the previous two-year requirement. Some occupations still require a formal skills assessment — your agent or employer should check whether this applies to your ANZSCO code before lodging. English language proficiency is required at a minimum of IELTS 5.0 in each band (or equivalent in PTE, TOEFL, or Cambridge), though some occupations are exempt. You must meet health requirements including a medical examination, and character requirements including police clearances from every country you have lived in for 12 or more months in the last 10 years. Your salary in the role must equal or exceed the relevant stream threshold, and this salary must genuinely reflect market rate — the Department checks nominations against industry benchmarks.

Employer Requirements: Sponsorship and Nomination

The 482 visa requires three separate approvals in sequence. First, your employer must be approved as a Standard Business Sponsor (SBS). This typically takes 3 to 6 weeks for first-time applicants. Second, your employer lodges a Nomination for your specific role, demonstrating the job meets the salary threshold, the employer has conducted labour market testing, and the position is genuine. Nomination assessment takes 4 to 10 weeks depending on the occupation and evidence quality. Third, you lodge the Visa Application once the nomination is approved. The Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy is payable by the employer at nomination stage — $1,200 per year for businesses with annual turnover under $10 million, or $1,800 per year for larger businesses. By law, employers cannot pass sponsorship or nomination costs to the worker. The cost of the visa application itself and personal costs (health checks, police clearances) are typically the worker's responsibility.

Costs and Processing Times in 2026

The visa application charge for the primary applicant is approximately $3,210. Each additional adult secondary applicant (spouse or de facto partner) is also $3,210, and dependent children under 18 are $805 each. The employer pays the sponsorship application ($420), nomination application ($330), and the SAF levy based on the visa duration. Health examinations cost approximately $300 to $400. Police clearances vary by country, typically $50 to $150 each. If you use a migration agent to manage the full process, expect professional fees of $2,500 to $6,000 depending on complexity and whether they handle both employer and employee sides. Total end-to-end processing time is typically 2 to 5 months across all three stages. The Specialist Skills stream is fastest at the visa stage, with a median of around 8 days from visa lodgement to grant. The Core Skills stream is slower at approximately 51 days median, and the Labour Agreement stream can take up to 6 months in complex cases.

Pathway to Permanent Residency

The Core Skills stream of the 482 provides a well-established pathway to the subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme permanent visa via the Temporary Residence Transition stream. The requirement is 2 years of continuous employment with your sponsor — reduced from 3 years in November 2023. Importantly, this 2-year period is now portable across sponsors: time worked for multiple approved sponsors counts toward the total requirement. This means if you change employers (with a new nomination), the clock does not restart. The Specialist Skills stream also has PR pathways. Some 482 holders pursue parallel pathways to PR through the skilled migration points system (189, 190, or 491 visas) while remaining on employer sponsorship. A good agent thinks about the PR strategy from the day your 482 is lodged — ensuring your employment records, role continuity, and transition timing are all in order.

When You Need a Migration Agent

The 482 visa is one of the most agent-dependent categories in the Australian system because success requires coordination across two parties — the employer and the worker — across three approval stages. You may not need an agent if your employer has a large HR or legal team that handles visa sponsorship regularly. You will benefit from professional help if your employer has never sponsored before and needs guidance through the SBS and nomination process, your occupation's ANZSCO code is not obvious (misclassification is a common and costly mistake), your proposed salary is close to the threshold and needs to be structured correctly, you have had previous visa refusals or hold a character concern, you are planning the PR pathway and want the right structure in place from the start, or you are changing employers and need to manage the transition without a compliance gap. Migratio is Australia's marketplace for finding and comparing MARA-registered migration agents. Migratio matches you with up to 3 MARA-registered agents who specialise in 482 applications. You describe your situation once in a free case brief, agents review your details and apply if it fits their expertise, and you choose the best fit. Migratio is free to use as the applicant — agents pay us only if you select them.

Can I apply for a 482 visa without a job offer?

No. The 482 requires an employer sponsor and a nomination for a specific role. You need a confirmed job offer from an approved employer before the process can begin.

Can my family come with me on a 482 visa?

Yes. Your spouse or de facto partner and dependent children can be included as secondary applicants and receive the same work and study rights as you during the visa's validity.

What happens if my employer closes down?

You have 60 days to find a new sponsor, lodge another visa application, or depart Australia. Act quickly — an agent can help coordinate a new sponsorship arrangement before the deadline.

Can I work for other employers on a 482 visa?

Generally no. You are restricted to working for your sponsoring employer in the nominated role. If you want to change employers, the new employer must become an approved sponsor and lodge a fresh nomination. Do not start working for the new employer until the nomination is approved.

Does the salary threshold increase every year?

Yes. Thresholds are indexed annually, with increases taking effect from 1 July each year. Nominations lodged before 1 July 2026 use the current thresholds; nominations lodged from 1 July 2026 will use the updated amounts.

How long does a 482 visa last?

Up to 4 years for both Core Skills and Specialist Skills streams in most cases. Labour Agreement stream duration varies.