Australian visa terminology: what changed, and when

The AAT is now the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) stopped operating on 14 October 2024. The Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2024 established its replacement, the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART), and a companion Act abolished the AAT and the Immigration Assessment Authority outright, amending 138 Commonwealth Acts in the process. This was not a rebrand of the same body under a new sign — the appointments process, case management system and structure changed alongside the name.

If you had a matter before the AAT when it closed, it transferred to the ART automatically; no new application was required. For new reviews, the ART's own site states that deadlines are strict and vary by decision type — commonly around 28 days for people not in immigration detention and shorter for those in detention — measured from the day after you're notified, and the Tribunal generally cannot extend a missed migration deadline. Because the exact limit depends on which decision you're reviewing, always read it off your own decision letter or the current page at art.gov.au rather than relying on a remembered figure — a missed deadline under this framework typically extinguishes the right to review permanently.

Source: Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2024; art.gov.au.

The Global Talent visa is now the National Innovation Visa (858)

The Global Talent visa (subclass 858) was replaced by the National Innovation Visa on 6 December 2024, when the Migration Amendment (National Innovation Visa) Regulations 2024 amended the Migration Regulations 1994. The subclass number didn't change — it's still 858 — but the name, the criteria and the pathway did. The National Innovation Visa is an invitation-only, expression-of-interest model aimed at people who can demonstrate an exceptional record and ongoing benefit to a listed target sector, rather than the more open talent-nomination approach the Global Talent visa used.

If you're reading advice that describes 'Global Talent' as a program you can simply apply to, it predates December 2024. The current process starts with an EOI, not a direct application, and being invited to apply is a gate in itself.

Source: Migration Amendment (National Innovation Visa) Regulations 2024, Federal Register of Legislation.

DIBP is now the Department of Home Affairs

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) was dissolved in a machinery-of-government restructure, with the Department of Home Affairs established on 20 December 2017 (announced by the Prime Minister in July 2017). This was broader than a rename: national security coordination, transport security and multicultural affairs functions moved in from other portfolios at the same time, alongside DIBP's own immigration and border functions.

One ambiguity worth flagging: 'DHA' is sometimes used informally for the Department of Home Affairs, but it's also a common abbreviation for other Australian bodies (the Department of Health and Aged Care, for one) in unrelated documents. If you see 'DHA' in a migration context without qualification, check which department the writer actually means before citing it.

Source: Department of Home Affairs, 'Our history' (homeaffairs.gov.au).

TSS (482) is now Skills in Demand (482) — and TSMIT is now CSIT/SSIT

The Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa was replaced by the Skills in Demand (SID) visa on 7 December 2024. The subclass number stayed 482, but the streams changed: TSS's Short-term and Medium-term streams were replaced by Specialist Skills and Core Skills streams, alongside the existing Labour Agreement stream. An Essential Skills stream has been announced to eventually cover sector-specific shortages, but as of this reference it remained under development rather than a fully operational fourth stream — check the current Skills in Demand visa pages on immi.homeaffairs.gov.au before assuming it's live.

The same date replaced the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) with two new figures: the Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT), which applies to the Core Skills stream (482) and the Employer Nomination Scheme (186), and the Specialist Skills Income Threshold (SSIT), a higher figure for the Specialist Skills stream. Both are now indexed every 1 July, so 'TSMIT' in anything dated after December 2024 is describing a threshold that no longer applies in that form.

Source: immi.homeaffairs.gov.au, Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) pages.

The 188/888 Business Innovation and Investment Program wasn't renamed — it closed

This one is a genuinely different kind of change, and it's worth stating plainly because 'closed' gets read as 'renamed' surprisingly often. The Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP) — the Business Innovation, Investor, Significant Investor and Entrepreneur streams of the subclass 188 visa — closed to new applications on 31 July 2024. It was not replaced by a new visa under a different name; the pathway for new applicants simply ended.

Applications lodged on or before that date are still being processed under the rules in force when lodged. A narrower set of pathways remains open: Business Innovation Extension and Significant Investor Extension applications for existing 188 holders, applications addressing secondary criteria on an existing 188, and the permanent subclass 888 visa for people who already hold a 188. If you're reading anything that describes the 188 as an open pathway for a new applicant, it's describing a program that no longer accepts new entrants.

Source: Department of Home Affairs BIIP closure notices, cited via Fragomen and Envoy Global immigration advisories.

MLTSSL, STSOL and ROL were consolidated into the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL)

From 7 December 2024, the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL) replaced the three separate skilled occupation lists — the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL), the Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL) and the Regional Occupation List (ROL) — that previously governed which occupations qualified for which employer-sponsored pathway. The CSOL runs to several hundred occupations, built from labour-market analysis by Jobs and Skills Australia, and it is the list that now governs eligibility for the Skills in Demand (482) visa and the Employer Nomination Scheme (186) Direct Entry stream.

Different skilled visas can still reference different lists or eligibility criteria, so don't assume the CSOL is the only occupation list that matters for every pathway — check the specific list named on the current page for the visa you're looking at, at immi.homeaffairs.gov.au, rather than assuming CSOL supersedes every prior reference uniformly.

Source: immi.homeaffairs.gov.au Core Skills Occupation List and Skills in Demand visa pages.

The Temporary Graduate (485) visa streams were renamed

From 1 July 2024, the subclass 485 Temporary Graduate visa's two main streams were renamed. The Graduate Work stream — for diploma, trade and vocational-qualification graduates whose qualification links to a skilled occupation list — became the Post-Vocational Education Work stream. The Post-Study Work stream — for bachelor, master's and doctoral graduates, regardless of field of study — became the Post-Higher Education Work stream. The underlying eligibility criteria for each stream are broadly consistent with their prior names; what changed is which name appears on the form and on the streams themselves.

If older advice tells you to apply for 'Graduate Work' or 'Post-Study Work,' look for the corresponding current stream name on the visa's immi.homeaffairs.gov.au page rather than searching for the old term, which no longer appears there.

Source: immi.homeaffairs.gov.au Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) stream pages.

Other terms worth double-checking, and how to check what something is called now

A few pairs of terms are commonly confused rather than genuinely renamed, and it's worth being precise about the difference. 'Sponsorship' and 'nomination' are not interchangeable: sponsorship is the approval for a business to sponsor workers generally (a standing approval, similar to a licence), while a nomination approves one specific worker for one specific role under that sponsorship. And 'MARA' and 'OMARA' both refer to the regulator for migration agents, but OMARA — the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority — is the current form: a branch within the Department of Home Affairs since 1 July 2009, when regulation moved from the Migration Institute of Australia to a statutory office.

The reliable method for checking any term not covered here: search the exact phrase on immi.homeaffairs.gov.au first (the department updates its own visa pages when something changes); check art.gov.au directly for anything tribunal-related; and, for the legally precise wording and commencement date, search the term on legislation.gov.au, the Federal Register of Legislation, where every amending regulation and its explanatory statement is published with an exact date. Secondary sources — law firm blogs, migration agent sites, aggregator guides — are useful for context but should point back to one of these three.

Citing this page: Migratio, 'Australian visa terminology: what changed, and when,' migratio.com.au/blog/australian-visa-terminology-changes. Checked against primary sources as at August 2026 — always confirm against the current government page before relying on any changelog, including this one, for a decision with a deadline attached.

Is the AAT still called the AAT?

No. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was abolished on 14 October 2024 and replaced by the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART). Matters that were before the AAT transferred automatically to the ART. Any document referring to 'the AAT' as a currently operating body predates October 2024.

What happened to the Global Talent visa?

It was replaced by the National Innovation Visa on 6 December 2024. The subclass number is unchanged at 858, but the name, criteria and process changed — it now runs on an invitation/expression-of-interest model rather than direct application.

Is TSS the same as the 482 visa?

The Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa was subclass 482. On 7 December 2024 it was replaced by the Skills in Demand (SID) visa, which kept the same subclass number, 482, but replaced the TSS streams with Specialist Skills, Core Skills and Labour Agreement streams (with an Essential Skills stream announced but not yet fully operational). So '482' still refers to the same visa number, but 'TSS' describes the version that existed before December 2024.

What replaced the 188 visa?

Nothing replaced it under a new name — the Business Innovation and Investment Program (the Business Innovation, Investor, Significant Investor and Entrepreneur streams of the subclass 188) closed to new applications on 31 July 2024. Existing 188 holders can still apply for extensions or for the permanent subclass 888, and applications lodged before the closure date continue to be processed.

What is the CSOL?

The Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL), introduced 7 December 2024, consolidated the previous Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL), Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL) and Regional Occupation List (ROL) into a single list. It governs eligibility for the Skills in Demand (482) visa and the Employer Nomination Scheme (186) Direct Entry stream — check the current immi.homeaffairs.gov.au page for the specific visa you're looking at, since not every skilled pathway references the CSOL alone.

What does OMARA stand for, and is it different from MARA?

OMARA is the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority, the current regulator for registered migration agents. It has sat as a branch within the Department of Home Affairs since 1 July 2009, when the function moved from the Migration Institute of Australia. 'MARA' and 'OMARA' are generally used to mean the same regulator — OMARA is simply the more precise current name for the office.