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Work & skilled workersEffectiveMedium impactVerified

Australia indexes Skills in Demand income thresholds

🇦🇺 AustraliaWork Permits1 recorded versionLast change 24 Jul 2026
ConfidenceVery high · 95%

Current rules

From 1 July 2026: Core Skills Income Threshold: AUD 76,515 Specialist Skills Income Threshold: AUD 141,210 The applicable salary must meet the threshold or the annual market salary rate, whichever is higher. The change applies to relevant new nomination applications. The Core Skills stream requires the nominated occupation to be on the Core Skills Occupation List. The Specialist Skills stream applies to eligible occupations and requires the nominated salary to meet the SSIT.

Overview

The Core Skills and Specialist Skills income thresholds for the Skills in Demand visa have been indexed upward in line with earnings growth.

Who is affected by the latest change

  • Employers nominating workers under the subclass 482 Core Skills stream
  • Employers nominating workers under the Specialist Skills stream
  • Skilled workers whose proposed salary is close to the applicable threshold
  • Workers applying for employer-sponsored pathways that use the indexed skilled-income thresholds

What changed in the latest version

Before

For the year 2025: * The Core Skills Income Threshold was AUD 73,150. * The Specialist Skills Income Threshold was AUD 135,000. For new nomination applications submitted from 1 July 2025, the employer had to meet either the relevant threshold or the annual market salary rate, whichever was higher.

After

From 1 July 2026: Core Skills Income Threshold: AUD 76,515 Specialist Skills Income Threshold: AUD 141,210 The applicable salary must meet the threshold or the annual market salary rate, whichever is higher. The change applies to relevant new nomination applications. The Core Skills stream requires the nominated occupation to be on the Core Skills Occupation List. The Specialist Skills stream applies to eligible occupations and requires the nominated salary to meet the SSIT.

This change means that applicants for the Skills in Demand visa in the Core Skills and Specialist Skills streams must now meet higher income requirements to be eligible. The increased thresholds reflect a broader adjustment to economic conditions, potentially affecting the eligibility of some prospective visa holders and the remuneration strategies of sponsoring employers.

Explained simply

Imagine the Australian government sets a minimum salary you need to earn to get certain work visas, like the Skills in Demand visa. Think of it like a minimum income requirement. Now, they've nudged that number up a bit. This means if you're applying for the Core Skills or Specialist Skills versions of this visa, you'll need to show you're earning a bit more than before. It's like they've updated the 'price tag' for these visas to keep up with how much people are generally earning now.

Version history

  1. v2Effective 1 Jul 2026EffectiveMedium impact
    Australia indexes Skills in Demand income thresholds

    Australia has increased the income thresholds for the Core Skills and Specialist Skills streams of the Skills in Demand visa. These changes are because of growth in average earnings.

Other routes in this country

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