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Skills in Demand visa 482 requirements: why an offer alone cannot settle your move

Visa guide · 2026-10-08 · 8 min read

Skills in Demand visa 482 requirements go beyond receiving an Australian job offer. The employer must take the sponsorship and nomination steps, while the worker must meet the conditions of the relevant stream. Before building a move around an offer, identify the occupation, pay test, experience and evidence that actually apply.

This guide explains the position for a person planning an Australian move on 8 October 2026. Your passport may affect a particular exemption or concession, but a vacancy is not restricted to one nationality unless its own lawful conditions say so. Keep the job search and the migration process connected without treating them as the same decision. Our visa guide library helps separate the routes before you compare their individual conditions.

Skills in Demand visa 482 requirements start with the stream

The Skills in Demand visa replaced the Temporary Skill Shortage visa on 7 December 2024. Both use subclass 482, so an older reference to “TSS” can appear in conversations or documents. Confirm the current stream rather than deciding that a familiar subclass number means every older description still fits.

The visa has Core Skills, Specialist Skills and Labour Agreement streams. Each links an employer’s position with a worker, but the occupation and salary framework differs. Ask which stream the employer is discussing and what makes the proposed position fit it. A general statement that a business “does sponsorship” does not answer those questions.

Core Skills: check the occupation and both pay tests

In the Core Skills stream, the nominated occupation must be on the Core Skills Occupation List, usually shortened to CSOL. The worker must be paid the Annual Market Salary Rate, or AMSR, and no less than the Core Skills Income Threshold, or CSIT. Do not replace the market-rate question with the threshold alone.

For nominations lodged from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, the CSIT is AUD79,423. The salary requirements page explains the period and the relationship between market pay and income thresholds. This is a nomination threshold, not a salary advertised for every Australian job.

For nominated salaries below AUD250,000, the employer must show that the AMSR is correct and that the worker will not receive less than an Australian worker would. Both the market rate and the worker’s pay, excluding non-monetary benefits, must meet the relevant threshold. Accommodation or another non-cash item should not be added to the cash figure to make an offer appear to clear that test.

Specialist Skills is an occupation test as well as a salary test

The Specialist Skills stream requires an eligible ANZSCO occupation and excludes Major Groups 3, 7 and 8. For the same nomination period, its Specialist Skills Income Threshold is AUD146,576. A senior-sounding title or a large figure in an email does not resolve the occupation classification.

Describe the work you would actually do. Decision-making authority, technical responsibilities and everyday duties help explain a role more clearly than a business-card title. Our article on why duties matter more than a management title shows why this distinction matters when preparing an employment history.

The Labour Agreement stream works through an occupation covered by an agreement between the employer and the Commonwealth. It normally requires at least 12 months of relevant full-time experience within the previous 5 years unless the agreement provides otherwise. English must suit the occupation and may be specified in that agreement. Do not borrow a concession from a different employer’s arrangement.

Employer nomination comes before the worker’s application

Before the worker can apply, the proposed employer must submit a nomination. It can do so only if it is an approved sponsor or has at least applied to become a Standard business sponsor. The worker needs the nomination’s Transaction Reference Number, known as the TRN, to apply.

This sequence gives you a useful way to read correspondence. An interview, an offer, a nomination reference and a visa decision each show something different. Save them under their own names instead of calling every positive message an approval. If a detail is unclear, ask what has been submitted and which step is still pending.

For the broader process, use our Australian Skills in Demand visa guide. When comparing opportunities, read the actual conditions in current job listings. A listing helps you assess the work; it does not decide your application.

Experience and evidence must describe the same work

Core Skills requires at least 1 year of relevant work experience. Relevant experience must be in the nominated occupation or a related field and gained within the last 5 years; part-time or casual work must add up to at least 12 months full-time. Write the dates and duties accurately rather than rounding a varied history into an unsupported claim.

Some applicants need a mandatory skills assessment. Where it applies, starting it before lodging the visa application is essential: an application without that step is not valid. A skills assessment is also different from registration with a professional regulator. Being experienced, having a positive migration assessment and being authorised to practise are not interchangeable statements.

A clear employment account makes these distinctions easier to discuss. You can use Build AI CV to organise role-specific duties and employment dates, then check every entry against your records. The CV explains your history; it does not replace evidence requested in a formal application.

Read the stay, English and costs without borrowing another passport’s concession

The usual maximum stay is up to 4 years; Hong Kong passport holders can stay up to 5 years. The longer period is specific to that passport. Core Skills has no age requirement, but that fact does not remove English, experience or other conditions and should not be carried across to permanent visa pathways.

English is required unless an exemption applies. Passport exemptions cover Canada, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America; other exemptions have their own conditions. Living in an English-speaking country or speaking English at work is not the same fact as holding one of those passports.

The base application charge in the Home Affairs pricing table is AUD4,015.00 for each 482 stream. Family applicants and other applicable charges are separate, so that figure is not a complete household budget. Paying an employer for sponsorship, including through salary deductions, is illegal; keep employer sponsorship costs separate from personal application costs.

Common mistakes that make a promising offer look more complete than it is

Do not assume a high salary settles the occupation test, a nomination reference is a visa, or a temporary sponsored job creates a permanent outcome. A job title alone also cannot establish how your experience fits. Compare our discussion of salary trends and individual migration decisions with the practical timing concerns employers raise; market context helps you ask questions but does not replace the rules.

1. Identify the proposed stream and the actual nominated duties.
2. Check the occupation framework and both relevant pay tests.
3. Clarify the employer’s sponsorship and nomination stage.
4. Match experience, English and any assessment requirement to your records.
5. Read costs, family arrangements and any later pathway separately before making commitments.

Frequently asked questions

Does a job offer let me apply for the 482 immediately?

The employer must first submit a nomination and must be an approved sponsor or have applied to become one. You need the nomination Transaction Reference Number for your application. An offer and a nomination are different records, and neither is the worker’s visa decision.

Can a high salary put any occupation into Specialist Skills?

No. The Specialist Skills stream excludes occupations in ANZSCO Major Groups 3, 7 and 8. The nominated salary must also meet the Specialist Skills Income Threshold. Occupation and salary are separate checks, so clearing the salary figure alone does not establish the stream.

Is there an age limit for Core Skills?

Home Affairs states that the Core Skills stream has no age requirement. That does not remove its experience, occupation, salary, English or assessment requirements. It also does not establish eligibility for a later permanent visa, which has its own conditions.

Does every applicant need a skills assessment?

Some primary applicants need a mandatory assessment depending on their occupation and circumstances. Where it is required, it must be commenced before lodging the visa application. Check the assessment requirement separately from professional registration and from the employer’s recruitment assessment.

Does the 482 automatically lead to permanent residence?

An employer may be able to sponsor a holder through the Employer Nomination Scheme. That possibility is a separate process with its own conditions and an employer decision. A temporary offer should therefore be assessed on its actual terms rather than an assumed permanent outcome.

Last checked: 9 November 2026 against the official pages linked above; this archival article describes the position on 8 October 2026.

Every case is different — book a consultation and our partner registered migration agents (MARA) can assess your circumstances.

Key takeaways

• A suitable offer must fit the occupation, stream and salary rules.
• Employer nomination and the worker’s application are separate steps.
• Experience, English, assessment and professional registration need separate checks.
• Passport-specific concessions and later permanent routes should never be assumed.

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