TSMIT Is Now CSIT: The $79,423 Salary Floor for Sponsored Visas in 2026
By Matin Amirshahi, Registered Migration Agent (MARN 1685110)
Published 9 Sep 2026
The TSMIT is $79,423 for nominations lodged between 1 July 2026 and 30 June 2027. For the 482 and 186 visas it now has a new name, the Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT), and the same figure. The $79,499 quoted on migration websites and in AI summaries is not the legislated amount.
The rise from $76,515 is 3.8%, set by a formula in the Migration Regulations, not by an announcement. Any nomination lodged on or after 1 July 2026 is tested against the new floor, whatever the worker was paid before. The full figure set, back to 2013, is on our Australian visa fees and thresholds page.
For 482 Core Skills and 186 nominations lodged from 1 July 2026, the salary floor is $79,423 before superannuation. Home Affairs publishes $79,423 as the CSIT, and the regulations registered on 30 June 2026 set the TSMIT at the same $79,423. Neither source contains $79,499.
What replaced the TSMIT, and which visas use which threshold?
Three thresholds now exist, and each belongs to particular visas. All three sit in regulation 1.03 of the Migration Regulations 1994 and move together every 1 July.
| Threshold | 2026-27 amount | Nominations it applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT) | $79,423 | 482 Core Skills stream; every 186 nomination lodged since 7 December 2024 |
| Specialist Skills Income Threshold (SSIT) | $146,576 | 482 Specialist Skills stream |
| Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) | $79,423 | 494 regional visa; the closed 187 for transitional cases still open |
The TSMIT, $53,900 when it began in 2013, has not been abolished. Until 7 December 2024 it was the single floor for the 457 and TSS 482. When the Skills in Demand visa replaced the TSS, the 482 and 186 moved to the CSIT and SSIT; the TSMIT stayed on for the 494 and 187.
The 482 Labour Agreement stream follows the salary terms of the agreement itself. Designated Area Migration Agreements, the regional deals such as the Northern Territory’s, can allow a concession below the threshold. The agreement, not this post, is where to check the percentage.
Why do so many websites say the TSMIT is $79,499?
Because the increase comes from a formula, and rounding changes the answer. Regulation 5.42A moves the amounts each 1 July by an indexation factor, which is the ABS figure for full-time adult average weekly ordinary time earnings in the latest December quarter divided by the same figure a year earlier, rounded to three decimals.
That factor was 1.038 this year, and $76,515 × 1.038 = $79,422.57, rounded to $79,423. A factor of 1.039 gives $79,499. Home Affairs published $79,423 as the indexed CSIT, and the regulations registered on 30 June 2026 wrote the same $79,423 into the TSMIT definition.
The same factor explains the SSIT: $141,210 × 1.038 = $146,576, not the $146,717 also in circulation. If a page you are reading shows $79,499 or $146,717, it is quoting another website, not the source.
The printed text of regulation 1.03 still says the CSIT is $73,150 and the SSIT $135,000. Those are the December 2024 starting amounts. The indexed amounts replace them each 1 July and are published on the Home Affairs salary requirements page, which is why that page, not the consolidated Regulations, carries the current figure.
How is a salary tested against the threshold?
The test has two parts, and a nomination must pass both. The worker’s guaranteed annual earnings must reach the threshold, and they must also reach the annual market salary rate (AMSR), the pay of an Australian doing the same job at the same workplace. Whichever is higher is the real floor.
Guaranteed annual earnings means base salary plus any other amounts the contract promises, counted before compulsory superannuation. Bonuses, commissions and overtime that are not guaranteed do not count. Non-monetary benefits such as a car or housing are left out of the threshold test even where the contract gives them a value (regulation 2.57A).
Three more rules in regulation 2.72 shape the test:
- Full-time positions — the position must be full-time (regulation 2.72(10)). Part-time can be accepted where the visa officer finds that reasonable (2.72(10A)); Home Affairs policy recognises some roles that way, medical practitioners being the usual example. The threshold is relaxed only where the officer also finds that reasonable, so do not plan on a pro-rata salary below it.
- The $250,000 exemption — where guaranteed earnings reach $250,000, the AMSR and threshold steps do not apply. The employer still has to show the position is genuine.
- Tested at lodgement — the threshold in force on the day the nomination is lodged is the one that applies. A nomination lodged on 30 June 2026 was tested against $76,515; one lodged on 1 July, against $79,423.
Who does the 1 July 2026 TSMIT increase affect?
- New 482 or 186 nominations — every nomination lodged from 1 July 2026 must show guaranteed earnings and an AMSR of at least $79,423 (Core Skills stream or 186) or $146,576 (Specialist Skills stream). A contract signed earlier at $77,000 needs a written variation before lodgement.
- Workers already on a 482 — the rise does not by itself require a pay increase. The sponsor’s obligation is to keep pay and conditions no less favourable than an Australian doing the same work, which usually means tracking the market rate rather than the threshold.
- 482 holders moving to the 186 — the 186 nomination is a new nomination, tested against the CSIT on the day it is lodged. Someone on $78,000 who cleared the 2025-26 floor now needs $79,423 before the employer lodges the 186 nomination.
- Regional 494 nominations — the TSMIT proper still applies, at the same $79,423. Since 1 July 2026 the amount sits in regulation 1.03 alongside the other two, and it will index with them from 1 July 2027.
When is the next TSMIT increase?
On 1 July 2027, and every 1 July after that. The factor is not known until the ABS publishes the December 2026 quarter wage figure in February 2027, so any number you see before then is a forecast. The $79,499 episode shows how a forecast can outlive the real figure.
Nominations are not re-tested when the amount rises. The threshold that matters is the one in force at lodgement, so an employer with a nomination ready in June has a reason to lodge before 1 July. The 482 visa costs that go with the nomination are indexed on the same date.
Frequently asked questions
Is the TSMIT still used?
Yes, for the subclass 494 and 187 only. For the 482 and 186 the floor is the CSIT or the SSIT. All three are indexed together each 1 July, and for 2026-27 they are $79,423, $79,423 and $146,576.
Does the TSMIT include superannuation?
No. A package of $79,423 that includes super does not meet the threshold, because the comparison is with guaranteed annual earnings before compulsory superannuation. The base salary must reach $79,423 on its own.
Is the CSIT $79,423 or $79,499?
$79,423, for nominations lodged from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027. The Home Affairs salary requirements page and the regulations registered on 30 June 2026 both state $79,423. The $79,499 figure comes from a slightly different rounding of the wage index and has been copied between websites.
What happens if the salary is below the threshold?
Outside a labour agreement concession, a salary below the threshold is a refusal risk the employer controls. Raise the guaranteed earnings by written variation before lodging; a later pay rise does not count. A visa officer may disregard the threshold only where satisfied that is reasonable, which is nothing to plan around.
Not sure whether a salary clears the threshold?
Send us the position, the proposed salary and the award or comparator you are using, and we will tell you whether the nomination passes the salary test before you spend the nomination fee. Book an eligibility call.
Matin Amirshahi, Registered Migration Agent (MARN 1685110) · Preston, Melbourne
