Skills in Demand Visa 482
Current SID visa advice for Australian employers and skilled workers.
SID 482 is the current employer-sponsored pathway
Home Affairs states that the Skills in Demand visa became the current subclass 482 skilled work pathway from 7 December 2024. If your sponsorship or nomination history started before that date, the transitional rules should be checked before you rely on a pathway.
SID 482 sponsorship needs stream, salary and evidence alignment
Before a nomination is prepared, the role, sponsor status, occupation, income threshold, English position and worker evidence need to be checked together.
Decision points
- Core Skills, Specialist Skills or Labour Agreement settings
- CSIT, SSIT and market salary evidence
- Nomination and visa evidence before lodgement
Skills in Demand Visa 482
What the SID visa is for
The Skills in Demand visa is a temporary employer-sponsored visa. It allows an approved sponsor to nominate a suitably skilled worker for a position where an appropriately skilled Australian worker cannot be sourced.
For primary applicants, the core eligibility position is that the person must be nominated for a skilled position by an approved sponsor, have the right skills for the role, and meet the relevant English language requirements unless an exemption applies.
Before you prepare a nomination
- Confirm the correct SID stream for the role before preparing salary and occupation evidence.
- Check whether the occupation sits on the Core Skills Occupation List or falls within the Specialist Skills settings.
- Compare the proposed salary against the relevant income threshold and the annual market salary rate.
- Review English, skills and work experience evidence before lodgement timing is locked in.
Current SID 482 Streams
Specialist Skills stream
For skilled workers nominated in eligible occupations where the nominated earnings meet the Specialist Skills Income Threshold. Home Affairs materials describe this stream as covering occupations in ANZSCO Major Groups 1, 2, 4, 5 or 6.
Current threshold: AUD141,210 for nomination applications lodged from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026.
Core Skills stream
For skilled workers nominated in an occupation on the Core Skills Occupation List where the nomination meets the Core Skills Income Threshold.
Current threshold: AUD76,515 for nomination applications lodged from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026.
Labour Agreement stream
For skilled workers nominated by employers that have a labour agreement with the Australian Government. The occupation, concessions and other requirements depend on the agreement terms.
Subsequent entrant
For a partner or dependent of a subclass 482 or 457 visa holder who is applying separately and wants to join the primary visa holder in Australia.
Income thresholds
TSMIT, CSIT and SSIT
For SID 482 nominations, the Department now separates the Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT) and Specialist Skills Income Threshold (SSIT). The salary requirements page still refers to TSMIT for some other employer-sponsored programs, but the SID Core Skills and Specialist Skills streams use CSIT and SSIT.
The nominated salary must also satisfy the annual market salary rate requirements. In practical terms, a nomination should not be treated as ready simply because it reaches the threshold; the market salary evidence still matters.
1 July indexation
Home Affairs says income thresholds are indexed annually and salary indexation changes apply from 1 July each year. For a future lodgement, including one after 1 July 2026, the applicable published Home Affairs figure at the time of lodgement should be checked before sponsor or nomination work is finalised.
- CSIT: AUD76,515 for nominations lodged from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026.
- SSIT: AUD141,210 for nominations lodged from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026.
- Previous SID period: CSIT AUD73,150 and SSIT AUD135,000 for nominations lodged from 7 December 2024 to 30 June 2025.
English Requirements
Primary applicants
Home Affairs says primary Skills in Demand visa applicants must demonstrate minimum English language proficiency by taking and achieving a specified English test result unless an exemption applies.
For Core Skills and Specialist Skills streams, if no exemption applies, the test must generally be taken within 3 years before application and meet the minimum score in one accepted test.
Home Affairs also states that English tests must be undertaken at a secure testing centre and that fully online or at-home tests are not accepted for Australian visa purposes. For Labour Agreement matters, the agreement may specify English settings for the occupation.
Common current score examples
For tests taken on or after 13 September 2025, Home Affairs lists the following examples for Core Skills and Specialist Skills streams:
- IELTS Academic or General Training: 5.0 in each component.
- PTE Academic: listening 33, reading 36, writing 29, speaking 24.
- OET: listening 220, reading 240, writing 200, speaking 270.
- TOEFL iBT: listening 8, reading 8, writing 9, speaking 14.
- CELPIP General: 5 in each component.
Older tests, single skill retake rules and TOEFL registration requirements are handled separately by Home Affairs, so the Department table should be checked before relying on a result.
How AIA helps
Sponsor, nomination and visa strategy
- Assess whether the role fits Specialist Skills, Core Skills, Labour Agreement or subsequent entrant strategy.
- Check occupation, salary threshold, annual market salary rate and evidence gaps before lodgement.
- Prepare sponsorship, nomination and visa evidence in a coordinated sequence.
- Review English, skills, the current 12-month relevant work experience requirement, health, character and family-member issues before they become lodgement problems.