482 Visa Requirements in 2026: What the Employer and the Worker Must Meet

The 482 visa requirements cover both the employer and the worker. The employer must be an approved sponsor, advertise the job in Australia, and nominate a genuine full-time position that pays at least AUD 79,423 a year and no less than an Australian in the same job would earn.

The worker needs at least 1 year of relevant work experience, an English test result unless exempt, and a skills assessment if their occupation calls for one. There is no age limit. Health and character checks apply to the worker and to any family members included.

What must an employer meet to sponsor a 482 worker?

Home Affairs tests the business in two applications: sponsorship (approval to sponsor overseas workers) and nomination (the request to fill one job with one named worker). A business can lodge both on the same day.

• Approved sponsor — the business must be legally established and operating, in or outside Australia, with no adverse information about it or people linked to it. Applying costs AUD 420, and approval lasts 5 years. See our standard business sponsorship guide.
• A genuine, full-time job — the position must be real, needed by the business, and full-time. Part-time is accepted only in limited cases.
• An eligible occupation — for the Core Skills stream, the occupation must be on the Core Skills Occupation List. The Specialist Skills stream has no list, but it excludes trades, machinery operators and drivers, and labourers.
• The salary floor and the market rate — at least AUD 79,423 a year (Core Skills) or AUD 146,576 (Specialist Skills), and no less than the annual market salary rate, which is what an Australian in the same job earns. Non-cash benefits such as a car or housing do not count.
• Labour market testing — the job is advertised in Australia before you nominate, unless an exemption applies. The rules are below.
• A written employment contract — for an Australian business, the worker must be engaged as an employee, not a contractor, under a written contract with your business or an associated entity. A signed copy goes with the nomination.
• Charges the business pays — the nomination charge (AUD 330) and the Skilling Australians Fund levy (a training levy of AUD 1,200 or AUD 1,800 for each year of the nomination). The business cannot pass these costs on to the worker.

Which 482 stream fits the job?

Each stream of the Skills in Demand visa sets its own salary floor and the occupations you can nominate. The figures below apply to nominations lodged between 1 July 2026 and 30 June 2027, and are reset each 1 July.

In both the Core and Specialist Skills streams, the salary must also meet the market rate. If you will pay AUD 250,000 a year or more, the market rate check does not apply.

How do you advertise the job before you nominate?

Unless an exemption applies, you need at least two job ads, published in Australia and in English. Each ad must run, and accept applications, for at least four weeks, all within the four months before you lodge the nomination.

Each ad must give the job title or a description, the skills or experience needed, and the name of your business or your recruiter. If the salary is under AUD 96,400 a year, the ad must show it, and a salary range is acceptable.

Keep a count of how many people applied. The nomination form asks for that number and for the reasons none of them was suitable, so record those reasons before the ads close.

Ads count on national recruitment websites, industry job boards in wide use, LinkedIn’s job platform (if the ad is open to everyone), national print media and national radio. General classifieds sites and social media posts do not count.

If you made an Australian worker in that occupation redundant in the four months before lodging, the ads must run after the redundancy. Citizens of some trade-agreement countries, including the UK, New Zealand, Canada, Japan and China, can be exempt in set categories. Our labour market testing guide covers the exemptions.

Sign the employment contract with the overseas worker only after the ads have closed. A contract dated before the advertising ends suggests the job was already filled and the ads were not a real search for an Australian worker, which puts the nomination at risk of refusal.

What must the worker meet for a 482 visa?

The worker’s requirements are tested in the visa application, which can be lodged once your nomination is lodged.

• Work experience — at least 1 year in the nominated occupation or a closely related field, within the last 5 years. Part-time or casual work counts if it adds up to 12 months full-time, and it does not need to be continuous. Some internships and placements count: see our 482 work experience guide.
• English — for tests taken from 13 September 2025, at least 5.0 in each of the four IELTS parts, or PTE scores of 33 listening, 36 reading, 29 writing and 24 speaking. The test must be taken within 3 years before the visa application. Other accepted tests and scores are in our 482 English test guide.
• A skills assessment, for some workers — required for 24 listed occupations, with some exemptions. For the trades on the list, such as cook, electrician and motor mechanic, it applies to holders of listed passports, including India and the Philippines. Program or project administrators need one on any passport. It must be started before the visa application, or the application is invalid.
• Skills to do the job — without a mandatory assessment, the worker still has to show the qualifications and experience the occupation needs. Medical practitioners also need their qualifications recognised for registration in Australia.
• Health and character — the worker and any family members included must meet the health and character requirements. Not everyone needs a medical exam: for a temporary visa, it depends on things like the person’s country, how long they will stay and the work they will do.
• Health insurance — proof is not usually requested with the application. The worker still needs adequate cover arranged by the time the visa is decided, and must keep it for the whole stay as a condition of the visa.
• No age limit — Home Affairs sets no age requirement for the 482. Age matters later if you plan to nominate the worker for permanent residence on a 186 visa, where the general rule is under 45 unless an exemption applies.

Can you sponsor a worker who is already in Australia?

Yes. A worker in Australia on another visa, including a student, graduate or working holiday visa, can apply if they hold a substantive visa, or a Bridging visa A, B or C, when they lodge.

Check their current visa for a no further stay condition such as 8503, which blocks most applications made in Australia unless it is waived. The worker must also have substantially complied with their visa conditions, and past refusals or cancellations can affect eligibility.

What does a 482 visa cost in government charges?

The levy is charged for each year or part year of the nomination period, from 1 to 4 years, and is paid when you lodge. English tests, health checks, police certificates and any skills assessment cost extra. Our 482 visa cost breakdown works through examples, and our fixed professional fees are on the fees page.

What order do the steps go in?

1. Advertise — start the ads first, unless an exemption applies. They must run for at least four weeks, so they set the earliest date you can nominate.
2. Sponsorship — prepare and lodge the sponsorship application while the ads run, unless your business is already a sponsor.
3. Employment contract — sign it with the worker after the ads close and you have recorded why no applicant was suitable.
4. Nomination — lodge it in ImmiAccount with the signed contract, salary evidence and the ads, and pay the nomination charge and the levy.
5. Visa application — the worker lodges once the nomination is lodged. Any required skills assessment must already be under way.
6. Decision — Home Affairs processes 482 visa applications in a priority order, set by Ministerial Direction 121.

Which 482 applications is Home Affairs processing now?

As at 12 October 2026, the Home Affairs 482 visa page showed these groups, in priority order, and the lodgement month each had reached:

1. February 2026 — jobs in construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing or resources, or in law enforcement and defence.
2. July 2026 — the Specialist Skills stream.
3. January 2026 — other applicants who were in Australia when they applied.
4. October 2025 — applicants outside Australia whose application was never combined with a family member’s.
5. October 2025 — all other applicants outside Australia.

Home Affairs warns these dates can move while it re-sorts applications under the new order. Check its page before you plan a start date; our 482 processing time page tracks the changes.

Where do 482 nominations run into trouble?

In our experience, the requirement employers underestimate is the genuine position test (regulation 2.72(10) of the Migration Regulations). The visa officer asks whether the business needs this job done, at this skill level, and can afford it, not only whether the forms are complete.

Small and family-run businesses get the closest look, especially where the worker is related to the owner or the business has no other staff at a similar level. The evidence that helps is an organisation chart showing where the role sits, financial statements showing the business can pay, and client contracts showing demand.

The duties in the employment contract should match the occupation’s ANZSCO description (the official Australian job classification) and the work the business does. A refused nomination can be reviewed at the Administrative Review Tribunal, or lodged again with better evidence. Our merits review page explains the review option.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an age limit for a 482 visa?

No. Home Affairs sets no age requirement for the 482 visa. Age matters if the employer later nominates the worker for permanent residence on a 186 visa, which generally requires the worker to be under 45 unless an exemption applies.

Can you get a 482 visa without IELTS?

Yes. Home Affairs also accepts PTE Academic, TOEFL iBT, OET, CELPIP General, LANGUAGECERT Academic, the Michigan English Test and Cambridge C1 Advanced. Passport holders of the UK, the US, Canada, New Zealand and Ireland are exempt, as are workers with at least 5 years of full-time study in English at secondary level or above.

Can a small business sponsor a worker on a 482 visa?

Yes. There is no minimum turnover or staff number to become a sponsor. The business must be legally established and operating, and the nominated job must be genuine and needed by the business. A business with turnover under AUD 10 million pays the lower levy of AUD 1,200 a year.

Does the employer have to pay the worker’s visa fee?

No. The employer must pay the sponsorship and nomination costs, including the levy, and cannot pass them on to the worker. The visa application charge can be paid by either side, as the employer and worker agree.

Can a 482 worker get permanent residence?

Yes, if the employer nominates them for a 186 visa and they meet its requirements. The Temporary Residence Transition stream needs 2 years of full-time sponsored work in the 3 years before applying. Our 482 to PR guide explains the pathway.