The skilled visa income thresholds went up on 1 July 2026, and the number that applies to your nomination is the one in force on the day you lodge it. Not the day you offered the job, not the day the worker accepts, and not the day the visa is granted.
Here are the current figures, which visa each one applies to, and the part employers most often miss: the threshold is a floor, not the test you have to pass.
What changed on 1 July 2026
All three skilled visa income thresholds were indexed up by 3.8%, in line with the change in Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings. Indexation happens on 1 July every year, so this will move again in 2027.
| Threshold | 2025-26 | From 1 July 2026 | Applies to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT) | AUD 76,515 | AUD 79,423 | 482 Core Skills stream and 186 ENS |
| Specialist Skills Income Threshold (SSIT) | AUD 141,210 | AUD 146,576 | 482 Specialist Skills stream |
| Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) | AUD 76,515 | AUD 79,423 | 494 SESR and 187 RSMS |
The change is not retrospective. It does not affect existing visa holders, and it does not affect nominations lodged before 1 July 2026. If your nomination went in on 28 June, the AUD 76,515 figure is the one that governs it.
The Core Skills Income Threshold
The CSIT is the one that catches most employers, because it covers both the temporary and the permanent employer-sponsored route.
It applies to 482 Core Skills stream nominations, and to 186 Employer Nomination Scheme nominations lodged on or after 7 December 2024. For nominations lodged between 1 July 2026 and 30 June 2027 the figure is AUD 79,423.
For reference, the recent history: AUD 73,150 from 7 December 2024, AUD 76,515 from 1 July 2025, AUD 79,423 from 1 July 2026. That is roughly AUD 6,300 of movement in under two years, which matters if you are budgeting a multi-year sponsorship or building a salary band around the minimum.
The Specialist Skills Income Threshold
The SSIT applies only to the 482 Specialist Skills stream, and sits at AUD 146,576 for nominations lodged in 2026-27, up from AUD 141,210.
The Specialist Skills stream exists for higher-paid roles and carries different processing and labour market testing settings, so the threshold is doing more than setting a wage floor. It is the gate into a different pathway. A role priced at AUD 140,000 does not qualify for it this year even though it would have come close last year.
TSMIT, and why the name confuses people
TSMIT is still the term most employers search for, but it now covers less ground than it used to. Since the December 2024 changes, TSMIT applies to the 494 Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional and 187 RSMS visas. For the 482 and the 186, the equivalent figure is the CSIT.
The amounts happen to be identical this year, both AUD 79,423, which hides the distinction. They are separate thresholds that could diverge, so use the right name for the right visa when you are dealing with the Department.
The TSMIT history goes back further and is worth seeing in one place: AUD 53,900 from 2013 to 2023, then AUD 70,000 from 1 July 2023, AUD 73,150 from 1 July 2024, AUD 76,515 from 1 July 2025, and AUD 79,423 now. It sat frozen for a decade and has moved every year since.
Which stream does the salary put you in?
On the 482, salary is not just a compliance number. It decides which stream you are in, and the streams are not equivalent.
- At or above AUD 146,576, the Specialist Skills stream is available, with faster processing and no labour market testing requirement.
- Between AUD 79,423 and AUD 146,576, you are in the Core Skills stream, which requires the occupation to be on the Core Skills Occupation List and requires labour market testing.
- Below AUD 79,423, the role cannot be nominated at all.
That means a salary decision around the AUD 146,576 mark is also a decision about how long the process takes and how much evidence you have to assemble. It is worth modelling both before you write the offer.
The threshold is a floor, not the test
This is the part that gets nominations refused.
Meeting the income threshold does not satisfy the salary requirement on its own. If you will pay the worker an annual salary of less than AUD 250,000, you must show all of the following:
- you have determined the annual market salary rate (AMSR) for the position correctly
- you will not pay the overseas worker less than that AMSR
- both the AMSR and the worker's earnings, excluding non-monetary benefits, are at or above the relevant income threshold
In plain terms: you have to pay the market rate for the job, and that market rate itself has to clear the threshold. If you intend to pay the nominated worker less than an equivalent Australian worker, the nomination is refused. That is stated, not implied.
The AMSR is what an Australian citizen or permanent resident earns, or would earn, for equivalent full-time work for one year at the same workplace and location. Where you have an equivalent Australian worker in the same workplace doing equivalent work, that is your reference point. Where you do not, you have to establish the rate another way and evidence it.
Non-monetary benefits do not count
Accommodation, a vehicle, and similar benefits are excluded from the threshold calculation. They must be paid in addition to the threshold, not counted towards it.
Employers in regional areas and in hospitality get caught by this regularly, because a package that looks generous on paper can sit under the threshold once the housing component comes out. Price the cash salary against the threshold first, then add the benefits.
What employers should do now
- Check the lodgement date on anything in progress. If a nomination has not gone in yet, it is assessed against AUD 79,423, not last year's figure.
- Re-price any role sitting between AUD 76,515 and AUD 79,423. Those roles cleared the threshold in June and do not now.
- Check Specialist Skills roles between AUD 141,210 and AUD 146,576. Same problem, larger numbers.
- Separate cash from benefits in the offer, so the threshold test is obvious on the face of it.
- Diarise 1 July 2027. If it indexes at a similar rate, expect the CSIT somewhere near AUD 82,000. Build that into any salary band you are setting now.
Questions we get asked most
Which year's threshold applies to us? The one in force on the date the nomination is lodged.
Does the increase affect our existing sponsored workers? No. It applies to new nomination applications only.
Can we count a car allowance or accommodation towards the threshold? No. Non-monetary benefits such as accommodation and a car are excluded and must be paid on top. Get the structure of the package checked before you lodge.
We pay above the threshold. Are we fine? Only if you are also paying at or above the annual market salary rate for the occupation. The threshold is the lower bar of the two tests, not the only one.
What if we pay more than AUD 250,000? The market salary rate evidence requirements work differently above that figure. Worth confirming your position rather than assuming the requirement disappears.
Is TSMIT the same as the CSIT? Same amount this year, different thresholds. TSMIT is for the 494 and 187; the CSIT is for the 482 Core Skills stream and the 186.
Where to get this checked
Salary is the single most common reason employer nominations are refused, and almost always because the market rate evidence was thin rather than because the wage was low. Both tests have to be met and both have to be documented.
Nanak Migration Group are MARA-registered migration agents. If you are pricing a role, renewing a sponsorship, or unsure whether a package clears both tests, book your consultation before the nomination goes in.
Further reading: what it really costs to sponsor a worker, the subclass 482 skills, costs and timeline guide, and your obligations as a sponsor.
This article is general information, not personal migration advice. It reflects Department of Home Affairs guidance as at 7 September 2026 and does not take your circumstances into account. Income thresholds are indexed on 1 July each year; confirm the current figure before lodging.