Core Skills Stream of the 482 Visa: Who Qualifies

The Core Skills stream of the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) is for a worker nominated in an occupation on the Core Skills Occupation List at a salary of at least $79,423 a year, for nominations lodged from 1 July 2026. The employer must be an approved standard business sponsor, test the Australian labour market and nominate a genuine full-time position, and the worker needs at least 1 year of relevant work experience in the last 5 years and English at the 482 standard unless exempt. The first step is to find the ANZSCO 2022 code that matches the job’s tasks and check whether an applicable circumstance on the list excludes the position.

An immigration lawyer can check the position against the Core Skills criteria before the nomination is lodged.

Who qualifies for the Core Skills stream?

Eight conditions decide who qualifies for the Core Skills stream, four on the employer’s side and four on the worker’s.

The employer:

1. is an approved standard business sponsor. A nomination can be lodged while the sponsorship application is pending, but the sponsorship must be approved before the nomination is;
2. offers a genuine, full-time position under regulation 2.72(10) of the Migration Regulations 1994. Full time means 38 hours a week, or 32 to 45 hours set by an award or agreement;
3. has tested the Australian labour market before lodging;
4. guarantees annual earnings, excluding non-monetary benefits, of at least $79,423 and at least the annual market salary rate for the role (regulation 2.72(15)).

The worker:

5. is nominated in an occupation on the Core Skills Occupation List, and the tasks to be performed correspond to the ANZSCO 2022 tasks for that occupation (section 6(1)(c) of LIN 24/089);
6. has at least 1 year of full-time experience, or the part-time equivalent, in the occupation or a related field within the 5 years before applying;
7. meets the English requirement of IELTS 5.0 in each of the four components, or an equivalent score in another accepted test, unless exempt (for example, a passport from Canada, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom or the United States, or 5 years of full-time study in English);
8. meets the health and character requirements and holds adequate health insurance, as do family members who apply.

A mandatory skills assessment applies on top of these where IMMI 18/039 lists both the occupation and the applicant’s passport. It covers 24 occupations, mostly trades such as chef, carpenter and electrician, and the assessment must be commenced before the visa application is lodged or the application is invalid. The Home Affairs Core Skills stream page sets out each criterion in full.

What is an applicable circumstance?

An applicable circumstance is a condition numbered in column 3 of the list that switches a listed occupation off for a particular position. Under section 6(2) of the Core Skills Occupation List instrument, LIN 24/089 on the Federal Register of Legislation, the occupation does not apply to the nominee if that circumstance applies to the position. Section 7 sets out 16 circumstances, and 34 of the 456 occupations carry at least one.

For example, Chef (351311) and Cook (351411) carry circumstance 4, so neither occupation can be used for a position in a limited service restaurant, which the instrument defines to include fast food and takeaway outlets, fast casual restaurants and limited service cafes. Section 8 applies the same circumstances to Specialist Skills nominations.

How does the Core Skills stream differ from the other streams?

Regulation 2.73(6) of the Migration Regulations 1994 allocates each nomination for the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) that is not made under a labour agreement. The table above shows the result, and the rule works in this order:

1. If the occupation is in ANZSCO Major Group 1, 2, 4, 5 or 6 and the nominee’s annual earnings, excluding non-monetary benefits, are at least the Specialist Skills Income Threshold ($146,576), the nomination must be made in the Specialist Skills stream.
2. Otherwise, if the occupation is on the Core Skills Occupation List, the nomination is made in the Core Skills stream.
3. The Labour Agreement stream applies only where the employer holds a work agreement with the Commonwealth.

The Core Skills stream has no upper salary cap. A Major Group 3 trade, such as an electrician or a chef, paid above $146,576 stays in the Core Skills stream, because the Specialist Skills stream excludes Major Groups 3, 7 and 8. The stream is therefore not a salary band between the two thresholds: the test in regulation 2.72(15) is a floor only.

What salary must a Core Skills nomination pay?

A Core Skills nomination must pay guaranteed annual earnings of at least $79,423, the Core Skills Income Threshold for nominations lodged from 1 July 2026. The date the nomination is lodged decides which amount applies:

Some stream tables still show $73,150 and $135,000 as current. Those amounts applied only to nominations lodged from 7 December 2024 to 30 June 2025, according to the Home Affairs salary requirements page.

Both the annual market salary rate for the role and the worker’s guaranteed earnings must meet the threshold, and the earnings must also be at least the market rate. Under regulation 2.57A, commissions, incentive payments, bonuses, overtime that is not guaranteed, reimbursements and superannuation guarantee contributions do not count as earnings. Non-monetary benefits such as accommodation or a car are left out of the threshold test and must be paid on top.

Where annual earnings are $250,000 or more, the market salary and threshold tests do not apply (IMMI 18/033 s 5).

Does the Core Skills stream need labour market testing?

Yes. Section 140GBA of the Migration Act 1958 and LIN 18/036 require the employer to test the Australian labour market before lodging a Core Skills nomination. The labour market testing rules are:

• at least 2 advertisements, each accepting applications for at least 4 weeks, within the 4 months before the nomination is lodged;
• advertisements in English on a national recruitment website (LinkedIn’s recruitment platform counts, but member-only posts do not), in national print media or on national radio, or on the sponsor’s own website if the sponsor is accredited. General classifieds and social media posts alone are not accepted;
• the salary shown in the advertisement if annual earnings are below $96,400 (a range is acceptable);
• copies of all advertising lodged with the nomination.

There are no occupation-based exemptions. Exemptions under international trade obligations cover listed nationalities, such as nationals of China, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam, intra-company transferees, and some executives and senior managers, as set out in LIN 21/075. Advertising on Workforce Australia has not been required since 11 December 2023.

How fast is the Core Skills stream processed?

Core Skills visa applications took 4 months for 50% and 9 months for 90% to be decided, as published in the Home Affairs processing-time guide on 24 September 2026. The employer’s nomination is decided separately: 50% within 57 days and 90% within 9 months.

Ministerial Direction 121, in effect from 19 September 2026, has no Core Skills tier. It orders 482 visa applications as follows, with the lodgement month Home Affairs was processing on 24 September 2026:

1. applications relating to construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing, resources, or law enforcement and defence: October 2025;
2. Specialist Skills stream applications: July 2026;
3. applicants who were in Australia when they lodged: January 2026;
4. offshore applicants whose application is not combined with anyone else’s: October 2025;
5. all other applications: October 2025.

A Core Skills application therefore moves at the speed of its sector and location, not its stream. The Home Affairs skilled visa processing priorities page sets out the order, and Home Affairs warns that published timeframes may move backwards for a time while applications are re-prioritised.

Where does the Core Skills stream lead?

The Core Skills stream leads to permanent residence through the 186 Temporary Residence Transition stream after 2 years in the last 3 of full-time sponsored employment. Since 7 December 2024, sponsored employment with every approved sponsor counts, not only with the employer that nominates for the 186.

The other 186 conditions are:

• the current sponsor nominates the worker in the same occupation, at a salary of at least the CSIT, which has applied to all 186 nominations lodged since 7 December 2024;
• the worker is under 45 when applying, unless an exemption applies;
• the worker has at least Competent English;
• the visa application is lodged within 6 months of the nomination being approved.

The 186 Direct Entry stream is the alternative for a worker who has not built up the sponsored time. It uses the Core Skills Occupation List and needs 3 years of experience and a positive skills assessment.

What about the Essential Skills stream?

The Essential Skills stream is not in force as at 24 September 2026. Home Affairs announced it on 7 December 2024, in news item 1272, as “under development” to replace the Labour Agreement stream. Part 482 of the Migration Regulations 1994, as compiled on 1 July 2026, contains no Essential Skills subdivision.

The Migration Strategy of December 2023 said the Government would evaluate an Essential Skills Pathway for lower-paid workers with essential skills. That was a policy proposal, not a rule, and no salary band or occupation list for it has been made in law.

An immigration lawyer makes a Core Skills nomination more likely to be approved by checking the position against the ANZSCO tasks and the applicable circumstances before it is lodged. That matters because a nomination refused for a mismatched occupation is not one of the cases in which Home Affairs refunds the Skilling Australians Fund levy, while a nomination withdrawn before a decision may be refunded.