The Department of Home Affairs has confirmed that the annual indexation of minimum salary floors for employer-sponsored visas will take effect tomorrow, 1 July 2026. From that date, the Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT) will rise from AUD 76,515 to AUD 79,499, while the Specialist Skills Income Threshold (SSIT) will climb from AUD 141,210 to AUD 146,717. These thresholds apply to new nomination applications for the Skills in Demand (Subclass 482) visa and the Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 186) visa. Any nomination lodged on or after 1 July must satisfy the higher amount or the market salary rate, whichever is greater.
![Australia to Raise Employer-Sponsored Visa Salary Thresholds by 3.8 % from 1 July 2026]()
VisaHQ’s visa specialists can help employers and sponsored workers ensure their nomination packages align with the new salary benchmarks, streamlining documentation and deadline management. To learn more or start the process online, visit https://www.visahq.com/australia/
For employers, the change means that workforce plans and offer letters drafted under the current figures must be reviewed immediately. Businesses with borderline salary packages have less than 24 hours to lodge nominations if they wish to be assessed against the lower 2025-26 thresholds; after midnight, files prepared on last year’s numbers will be refused. Global mobility teams are therefore accelerating lodgements and advising hiring managers to factor an extra 3.8 % into remuneration budgets for 2026-27. Migrants already holding a 482 or 186 visa are unaffected, but anyone changing employer, moving to a permanent 186 visa, or applying for a second 482 will be assessed against the new floors. Companies that fail to uplift salaries risk nomination refusal, back-pay orders or sanctions under the Migrant Worker Protection laws. Practical steps include checking payroll systems, updating labour-market testing advertisements, and re-calculating training levy amounts that are pegged to salary. The indexation underscores the Government’s wider push to keep migrant wages in step with domestic earnings and to deter underpayment. Corporate mobility teams should brief stakeholders on the new figures, review mobility allowances, and adjust cost-projection models for all assignments commencing from 1 July 2026.
VisaHQ’s visa specialists can help employers and sponsored workers ensure their nomination packages align with the new salary benchmarks, streamlining documentation and deadline management. To learn more or start the process online, visit https://www.visahq.com/australia/
For employers, the change means that workforce plans and offer letters drafted under the current figures must be reviewed immediately. Businesses with borderline salary packages have less than 24 hours to lodge nominations if they wish to be assessed against the lower 2025-26 thresholds; after midnight, files prepared on last year’s numbers will be refused. Global mobility teams are therefore accelerating lodgements and advising hiring managers to factor an extra 3.8 % into remuneration budgets for 2026-27. Migrants already holding a 482 or 186 visa are unaffected, but anyone changing employer, moving to a permanent 186 visa, or applying for a second 482 will be assessed against the new floors. Companies that fail to uplift salaries risk nomination refusal, back-pay orders or sanctions under the Migrant Worker Protection laws. Practical steps include checking payroll systems, updating labour-market testing advertisements, and re-calculating training levy amounts that are pegged to salary. The indexation underscores the Government’s wider push to keep migrant wages in step with domestic earnings and to deter underpayment. Corporate mobility teams should brief stakeholders on the new figures, review mobility allowances, and adjust cost-projection models for all assignments commencing from 1 July 2026.
