Employer-Sponsored Visas Compared: 482, 186, 494 and Labour Agreements

Employer-sponsored visas in Australia for skilled workers are three, the 482 (temporary, 1 to 4 years), the 186 (permanent) and the 494 (provisional, 5 years in regional Australia), and each has a labour agreement stream for employers who hold an agreement with the Commonwealth. All three need an employer to nominate the position at a salary floor that differs by visa: $79,423 for Core Skills 482 and all 186 nominations, $146,576 for Specialist Skills 482 nominations and the TSMIT of $79,423 for 494 nominations. Compare the four routes in the table, then check which fits the position’s location, length and occupation.

Which visas are employer-sponsored?

Four employer-sponsored routes are open to skilled workers:

1. The 482 (Skills in Demand) visa. A temporary visa of 1 to 4 years in the Specialist Skills, Core Skills or Labour Agreement stream. The employer must be a standard business sponsor, or party to a labour agreement.
2. The 186 (Employer Nomination Scheme) visa. A permanent visa with three streams: Temporary Residence Transition for 457 and 482 holders, Direct Entry, and Labour Agreement.
3. The 494 (Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional) visa. A provisional visa of 5 years for a position in a designated regional area, in the Employer Sponsored or Labour Agreement stream, leading to the permanent 191.
4. Labour agreements. Agreements between an employer and the Commonwealth for needs the standard programs cannot meet, usually in effect for 5 years: company-specific agreements, industry labour agreements in 10 industries, 13 Designated Area Migration Agreements, and the Global Talent Employer Sponsored program. They feed the 482, 186 and 494 rather than forming a separate visa.

The 187 Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme closed in 2019 except for certain transitional groups (Home Affairs news item 1273), so it is not a route for a new position.

Employer-sponsored visas: the comparison table

Charges and thresholds below are those in force on 24 September 2026:

Which one fits the position?

The position, not the worker’s preference, decides which visa is available. Five situations and the visa each points to:

1. A temporary role of 1 to 4 years, anywhere in Australia: the 482.
2. A permanent role for a worker who has been on a 482 for 2 years: the 186 Temporary Residence Transition stream, nominated by the current sponsor.
3. A permanent role in a Core Skills Occupation List occupation, for a worker with 3 years of experience and a positive skills assessment: the 186 Direct Entry stream.
4. A regional role likely to exist for at least 5 years, for a worker under 45 with 3 years of experience: the 494.
5. An occupation or a concession the standard programs cannot meet: a labour agreement.

The temporary visa, its streams and its steps for both sides are set out in the guide to the 482 visa.

Choosing the wrong visa costs the employer fees that are not refunded (the 494 levy is kept if the nomination is refused), so a migration lawyer who matches the position’s location, salary floor, occupation list and the worker’s age and experience to one visa before anything is lodged makes approval more likely.

482 vs 494: which fits a regional position?

A regional employer can use either visa. The differences, row by row:

The 494 adds age, English, experience and skills-assessment conditions for the worker, but it has no nomination fee and a one-off levy for the employer (Home Affairs 494 Employer Sponsored stream page). The 482 reaches permanent residence sooner, after 2 years of sponsored work within 3, but ties the worker to the sponsor under condition 8607. A 482 holder whose job ends has 180 days at a time and 365 days in total to find a new sponsor, be granted another visa or leave (condition 8607(5), from 1 July 2024).

Which salary floor applies to each?

Three thresholds apply, depending on the visa and the stream:

In each case the worker must also be paid at least the annual market salary rate unless earnings are $250,000 or more (Home Affairs salary requirements page). The TSMIT moved into regulation 1.03 of the Migration Regulations 1994 from 1 July 2026, with its first automatic indexation on 1 July 2027 (Home Affairs Legislation Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Regulations 2026). The history of that threshold and where it still applies are on the TSMIT salary page.

What does ‘sponsored’ mean for each visa?

“Sponsored” has four senses in Australian visas, and only the first applies to the 482, 186 and 494:

• Employer sponsorship: an employer sponsors or nominates the worker (482, 186, 494).
• State or territory nomination: a state or territory government nominates the applicant for the 190 or 491; this is a nomination, not employer sponsorship.
• Relative sponsorship: an eligible relative sponsors an applicant for the 491 only.
• Family sponsorship: partner and parent visas, which this guide does not cover.

Who can sponsor and how the three approvals fit together is on the visa sponsorship in Australia page.

Common mistakes

Six mistakes about employer-sponsored visas, each set against the rule and its source:

1. Applying the TSMIT to a 482 nomination. The 482 uses the CSIT or SSIT since 7 December 2024; the TSMIT is for the 494 and 187 (Home Affairs salary requirements page).
2. Paying the 482 levy on the wrong turnover band. Under $10 million: $1,200 a year; $10 million or more: $1,800 a year, with turnover as defined in section 4 of the Migration (Skilling Australians Fund) Charges Regulations 2018 (Home Affairs cost of sponsoring page).
3. Nominating a 494 for a Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane position. The 494 position must be in a designated regional area (494 page).
4. Expecting international trade obligation exemptions from labour market testing on a 494. They do not apply to 494 or labour agreement nominations (Home Affairs labour market testing page).
5. Expecting a 494 levy refund on refusal. Home Affairs states the Skilling Australians Fund levy is not refunded if it refuses a 494 nomination (494 page, sponsor tab).
6. Recovering sponsorship costs from the worker. The employer cannot transfer these costs to the visa holder (Home Affairs cost of sponsoring page), and asking for or receiving a benefit in return for sponsorship is an offence under section 245AR of the Migration Act 1958.

Supplementary: the employer’s steps

For the 482, the employer first becomes a standard business sponsor, then tests the labour market and nominates the position with the levy, and the worker then applies for the visa. The 494 follows the same order, with a Regional Certifying Body assessing the market rate. The six steps, their costs and the obligations that follow are in the guide to employer sponsorship Australia.