Australia Skills in Demand
Australia
Residency
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See if you're a match →Australia's Skills in Demand visa is for people sponsored by an Australian employer for a qualifying role. It generally requires employer sponsorship, a suitable occupation, skills and English evidence, and compliant employment terms.
- Type
- Employer-sponsored residence
- Employer fit
- People with an employer ready to sponsor them in Australia
- Core requirements
- Employer sponsorship, job terms, and qualifications
- Renewal / path
- Renewal depends on continued employment and may count toward long-term residence.
Summary
The Skills in Demand visa (Subclass 482) is Australia's main temporary employer-sponsored work visa. It replaced the Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa on 7 December 2024 and operates through three streams designed around salary and skill tier:
- Specialist Skills — for high-salary roles above the current Specialist Skills Income Threshold, excluding manual trades, drivers, machinery operators, and labourers. Up to 5 years. This is the fast-track stream.
- Core Skills — for occupations on the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL) with pay at or above the current Core Skills Income Threshold. Up to 4 years.
- Labour Agreement — for employers with a negotiated labour agreement for roles outside the standard occupation lists. Less common.
The 482 is the most heavily used Australian work visa and, for most sponsored applicants, the on-ramp to the permanent Subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme.
Eligibility
The 482 is sponsor-driven. You cannot apply without an Australian employer nominating you for a specific role. The process has three legal moving pieces:
- The employer becomes a standard or accredited business sponsor (a status their HR or migration agent manages).
- The sponsor files a nomination for a specific role and specific person.
- You — the nominated worker — file the visa application.
Applicant requirements
- Job offer and nomination from an approved Australian sponsor for a full-time role.
- Occupation. On the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL) for the Core stream, or in an eligible ANZSCO major group for the Specialist stream. ANZSCO is the Australia and New Zealand occupation-classification system.
- Salary. Meets or exceeds the current stream threshold and the Annual Market Salary Rate for the role. These thresholds can change, so check the latest Home Affairs figure before relying on a number.
- Skills assessment. Required for certain nationalities and occupations — not usually required for US, UK, Canada, Ireland, NZ citizens in white-collar roles.
- Experience. At least 1 year of full-time, relevant work experience in the last 5 years.
- English. IELTS 5.0 overall with 5.0 in each component, or equivalent. Many applicants from English-speaking countries are exempt.
- Health and character. Standard medicals and police certificates.
Pathway to PR
After 2 years of eligible sponsored work, many 482 holders can apply for permanent residency through the Subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) — Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream if their employer is willing to nominate them. The age cap is usually 45 at the 186 application, so the timing matters — start early.
What This Route Allows
This route can let you live in Australia and work in the nominated job for the sponsoring employer. It can also support a later permanent-residence plan if the role, employer, and your circumstances fit a route such as the Employer Nomination Scheme.
Eligible family members may be able to come with you when the visa grant includes them. Confirm the dependant file before relying on it: relationship records, minimum income or occupation limits if they apply, health and character checks, and whether dependants receive work authorization or residence only.
What This Route Is Not
This is not a job-search visa or a general open work permission. You need an approved sponsor, a nominated role, and a visa application that fits the correct stream.
Next Steps
- Secure an employer — direct outreach to accredited sponsors, in-house transfers from a US/UK/EU parent company, or industry recruiters specializing in Australian placements.
- Confirm occupation eligibility. Your role's ANZSCO code must match the nomination; title alone isn't enough.
- Sit an English test if required.
- Have the employer lodge the nomination through the Department of Home Affairs process.
- Lodge the visa application with identity, skill, English, health, character, and family documents as needed.
- If targeting permanent residence, plan early for whether the employer may later support a Subclass 186 application.
Sources
- Department of Home Affairs — Skills in Demand visa (482) — official landing page.
- Skilled occupation list — official occupation and assessing-authority lookup.
- Specialist Skills stream
- Sponsor accreditation — for employers.
- Employer Nomination Scheme (186) — PR transition.