482 Skills in Demand (SID)

The Skills in Demand (SID) visa replaced the Temporary Skill Shortage visa on 7 December 2024. The subclass number remains 482. It has three streams, Core Skills, Specialist Skills and Labour Agreement, and is generally granted for up to four years. There is no age limit for the 482 itself.

From 1 July 2026 the temporary skilled migration income threshold, commonly called the Core Skills Income Threshold, is AUD 79,423. The Specialist Skills stream requires income at or above the higher Specialist Skills Income Threshold. Salary must also meet the annual market salary rate for the role; the thresholds are floors, not targets.

Thresholds are indexed each July, so material published before July 2026 is likely to be out of date. Information current as at 25 July 2026.

This answer is general information only and is not advice about your individual circumstances. Read the full disclaimer.

The usual route is the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186), Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream. You must have worked in the nominated occupation for at least two years with an approved work sponsor, while holding a 482 (or predecessor TSS or 457) visa, and the employer that nominates you must be your current sponsoring employer. From 29 November 2025, under subclauses 186.227(1) and (2) of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994, as amended by the Migration Amendment (Skilled Visa Reform Technical Measures) Regulations 2025, work undertaken during any period when the employer was not an approved work sponsor does not count towards the two years, even where the work was lawful, full time and in the correct occupation. A great deal of published material still describes the old position.

No skills assessment is required in the TRT stream, unlike the Direct Entry stream. The standard age requirement is under 45 at the time of application, with exemptions for certain applicants including high income earners, regional medical practitioners and senior academics.

Beware of advice describing a general under 50 age limit. That applies only to transitional arrangements for certain people who held or had applied for a subclass 457 visa on or before 18 April 2017.

This information is current as at 28 July 2026.

This answer is general information only and is not advice about your individual circumstances. Read the full disclaimer.

A visa condition is a specific rule or restriction that sometimes MUST be imposed and sometimes CAN be imposed upon a visa holder, depending upon the class and subclass of visa. Each visa condition has a four-digit number.

Examples of visa conditions are:

• 8607 Must only work in nominated occupation
• 8503 No further stay
• 8105 Work limitation

Please note that visa conditions can vary from brief in nature and compliance requirement, through to complex with very careful consideration required to ensure compliance with the visa conditions.

Breaching a visa condition is a ground for visa cancellation under section 116 of the Migration Act 1958, and a visa breach or visa cancellation history can seriously affect future applications.

Most visa breaches are not deliberate; the visa holder simply did not know the visa condition existed or assumed it was a guideline rather than a legally required obligation to comply with.

Visa conditions are listed in all visa grant notifications, and visa conditions can be checked by a visa holder at any time in VEVO.

If you have been granted a visa for Australia, read your visa grant notification, make sure you know which visa conditions apply to your visa, and if any condition is unclear, get professional advice from an Australian Registered Migration Agent before acting rather than after.

This answer is general information only and is not advice about your individual circumstances. Read the full disclaimer.

VEVO (Visa Entitlement Verification Online) is a free online system provided by the Australian Department of Home Affairs.

It allows visa holders, employers, and other registered organisations to check current Australian visa status, expiry dates, and visa conditions like work or study rights.

VEVO can only provide current visa information about visa holders whose details are available in the Department of Home Affairs systems. You may not have a searchable record if you migrated to Australia before 1990 and have not travelled out of Australia. If this applies to you, you may need to request an electronic record of your permanent visa from the Department.

This answer is general information only and is not advice about your individual circumstances. Read the full disclaimer.

Only a Registered Migration Agent (RMA), an Australian legal practitioner, or an exempt person may lawfully provide immigration assistance under Part 3 of the Migration Act 1958. Providing immigration assistance while unregistered is an offence.

RMAs are regulated by the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA) and are bound by a Code of Conduct. Australian legal practitioners practise under their legal practising certificate and are not required to hold a MARN.

Be cautious of consultants and education agents who offer visa advice without being registered or admitted; counselling on visa options can cross into unlawful immigration assistance.

This answer is general information only and is not advice about your individual circumstances. Read the full disclaimer.

The Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL) is the occupation list for the Core Skills stream of the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) and the Direct Entry stream of the subclass 186 visa. It contains 456 occupations, is set by legislative instrument, and can change; the Specialist Skills stream of the Skills in Demand visa does not use an occupation list.

The full list of all 456 occupations and their ANZSCO codes is provided in the link below. Please note that information, rules, criteria and requirements change frequently; the information provided is current as at 28 July 2026.

All occupations on the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL)

This answer is general information only and is not advice about your individual circumstances. Read the full disclaimer.

Not every applicant. Under the Migration (IMMI 18/039: Mandatory Skills Assessment, Subclass 482 Visa) Instrument 2018, a skills assessment is mandatory where the nominated occupation is one of 24 specified occupations and the applicant holds a passport issued by a country specified for that occupation.

The 24 specified occupations are:

• Automotive Electrician
• Baker
• Cabinetmaker
• Carpenter
• Carpenter and Joiner
• Chef
• Cook
• Diesel Motor Mechanic
• Electrician (General)
• Electrician (Special Class)
• Fitter (General)
• Fitter and Turner
• Fitter-Welder
• Joiner
• Metal Fabricator
• Metal Fitters and Machinists nec
• Metal Machinist (First Class)
• Motor Mechanic (General)
• Panelbeater
• Pastrycook
• Program or Project Administrator
• Sheetmetal Trades Worker
• Toolmaker
• Welder (First Class)

The specified passport countries vary from occupation to occupation, and include China, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Macau, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Vietnam and Zimbabwe. Always check the combination that applies to your own nominated occupation and passport.

Exemptions apply in limited cases, including for applicants who already hold a subclass 457 or 482 visa granted as the primary applicant and who are working in Australia in the nominated occupation, and for certain overseas employees nominated by the same company or an associated entity of their overseas employer.

Even where a skills assessment is not mandatory, the Department of Home Affairs delegate deciding the application retains the right to request a skills assessment of any applicant, regardless of country of passport. So while a skills assessment is not mandatory for all applicants, the delegate can require one, and this is where a properly prepared and evidenced visa application can make all the difference.

Talk to an Australian Registered Migration Agent about preparing your 482 visa application

This information is based on the compilation of the instrument in force from 14 December 2024, and is current as at 28 July 2026.

This answer is general information only and is not advice about your individual circumstances. Read the full disclaimer.

The English language requirements for the Core Skills and Specialist Skills streams of the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) are set by the Migration (English Language Test Requirements for Subclass 482 Visas) Instrument 2025, in force from 10 September 2025. Unless an exemption applies, the applicant must have taken an approved English language test and achieved the required score in every test component; there is no overall score requirement.

The eight approved tests, and the minimum score required in each component, are:

• CELPIP General: 5 listening, 5 reading, 5 writing, 5 speaking
• IELTS Academic: 5.0 in listening, reading, writing and speaking
• IELTS General Training: 5.0 in listening, reading, writing and speaking
• LANGUAGECERT Academic: 41 listening, 44 reading, 45 writing, 54 speaking
• Michigan English Test (MET): 49 listening, 47 reading, 45 writing, 38 speaking
• Occupational English Test (OET): 220 listening, 240 reading, 200 writing, 270 speaking
• PTE Academic: 33 listening, 36 reading, 29 writing, 24 speaking
• TOEFL iBT: 8 listening, 8 reading, 9 writing, 14 speaking

Two practical rules in the instrument help applicants: if you miss the required score in one component, you may re-sit that component on a later day and combine it with your original test, and the test day must be no more than 3 years before you provide the evidence.

Some applicants are exempt from the test requirement, including holders of certain passports, and English requirements for the Labour Agreement stream can differ. Check whether an exemption applies to you before booking a test.

This information is based on the instrument as in force from 10 September 2025, and is current as at 28 July 2026.

This answer is general information only and is not advice about your individual circumstances. Read the full disclaimer.

Member of the family unit (MOFU) is defined in regulation 1.12 of the Migration Regulations 1994. For most visas, the members of your family unit are your spouse or de facto partner, and children or step-children of you or your partner who meet the age and dependency rules.

A child or step-child is a member of the family unit if they are under 18; or if they are 18 but under 23 and financially dependent on you or your partner; or if they are 23 or older and dependent because a physical or cognitive incapacity prevents them from supporting themselves. A dependent child of such a child can also be included.

Three points catch people out. A child of any age who is married, engaged or in a de facto relationship is not a member of the family unit. A child aged 18 or over must genuinely be financially dependent, and that dependency must be evidenced, not assumed. And the criteria are assessed at time of decision as well as time of application, so a child approaching 23, or approaching financial independence, needs careful planning before you lodge.

Some visas, including certain humanitarian visas, use broader definitions, and evidence requirements differ between visa subclasses. If your family includes an adult dependent child, or the dependency is not straightforward, book an initial consultation before you lodge.

This information is general in nature and is current as at 28 July 2026.

This answer is general information only and is not advice about your individual circumstances. Read the full disclaimer.

Member of the family unit (MOFU) is a legal definition, not a general description of your family. It is defined in section 5(1) of the Migration Act 1958 and regulation 1.12 of the Migration Regulations 1994, and it decides who can be included in your visa application as a secondary applicant.

For most visas, a member of the family unit of the primary applicant (the family head) is:

• a spouse or de facto partner of the family head; or
• a child or step-child of the family head, or of their spouse or de facto partner, who is not engaged to be married and does not have a spouse or de facto partner, and who is either under 18, or aged 18 to under 23 and dependent on the family head or their partner, or aged 23 or over and dependent because of a disability as defined in the Regulations; or
• a dependent child of a child who meets the description above.

Points that catch people out: parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins and other relatives are not members of the family unit for most visas, no matter how close the family is or whether they live in the same household. A child who marries or enters a de facto relationship stops being a member of the family unit. Dependency is a test that must be evidenced, not assumed, and it is assessed against the definition in the Regulations rather than what the family regards as dependency.

The definition is not identical for every visa. Some visa classes have their own version of the rule, for example student visas, and protection, refugee and humanitarian visas use a broader definition that can include other relatives. Always check the definition that applies to the visa you are applying for.

Because family members must meet this definition at the time of application and, for many visas, at the time of decision, changes in your family circumstances during processing can affect who can be granted the visa with you. If you are not certain whether a family member meets the definition, book an initial consultation before you lodge.

This information is general in nature and is current as at 28 July 2026.

This answer is general information only and is not advice about your individual circumstances. Read the full disclaimer.

No, not for all visas, and the answer depends on the visa you hold and the conditions attached to it rather than on any single rule.

Many temporary visas carry visa condition 8501, which requires the holder to maintain adequate arrangements for health insurance for the whole of their stay in Australia. Where that condition is attached, health insurance is a legal obligation, and letting cover lapse is a breach of a visa condition rather than simply a personal risk. Your conditions are listed in your visa grant notification and can be checked in VEVO; see also what a visa condition is and what it is for.

Some common positions, always subject to the conditions on your own visa:

• Student visa holders are generally required to hold Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) for the duration of their student visa, with limited exceptions.
• Temporary skilled workers, including Skills in Demand (subclass 482) visa holders, are generally required to maintain adequate health insurance while in Australia.
• Visitors are not usually subject to a health insurance condition, but they have no access to Australia public health system and travel insurance is strongly advised.
• Permanent residents can enrol in Medicare, and a permanent visa does not carry a private health insurance condition. Private cover remains a personal and tax decision rather than a visa obligation.

Australia has reciprocal health care agreements with a number of countries, which can give visitors from those countries limited access to Medicare for medically necessary treatment. Being covered by such an agreement does not automatically satisfy a visa condition that requires health insurance, so check both questions separately.

Do not confuse health insurance with the health requirement. The health requirement is about medical examinations and whether a condition would result in significant costs to the Australian community; see can I be refused a visa because of a medical condition. Health insurance is a separate obligation about maintaining cover while you are here.

If you are not certain whether a health insurance condition applies to you, read your visa grant notification, check your conditions in VEVO, and book an initial consultation if anything is unclear. This information is general in nature and is current as at 28 July 2026.

This answer is general information only and is not advice about your individual circumstances. Read the full disclaimer.