TSMIT and the 482 Visa: Where the Old Threshold Still Applies

The Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) is $79,423 for nominations lodged from 1 July 2026, and it now sets the salary floor for the 494 and 187 visas, not the 482. The 482 stopped using TSMIT on 7 December 2024, when the Core Skills Income Threshold and the Specialist Skills Income Threshold took over for new nominations. The CSIT and TSMIT have carried the same amount in each year since. From 1 July 2026, regulation 1.03 of the Migration Regulations 1994 defines TSMIT directly, and its first automatic indexation is on 1 July 2027.

What was TSMIT?

TSMIT was the minimum salary for a 482 nomination under the Temporary Skill Shortage visa, from 18 March 2018 to 6 December 2024. Both the annual market salary rate for the occupation and the worker’s guaranteed annual earnings had to be at least TSMIT when the nomination was lodged. The threshold excluded non-monetary benefits such as accommodation or a car, which had to be paid on top. The Home Affairs salary requirements page applies the same rules to TSMIT today.

What replaced TSMIT for the 482?

From 7 December 2024, two thresholds replaced TSMIT for new 482 nominations, as set out in Home Affairs news item 1272:

1. the CSIT, now $79,423, for the Core Skills stream;
2. the Specialist Skills Income Threshold, now $146,576, for the Specialist Skills stream.

The CSIT also replaced TSMIT for 186 nominations lodged from 7 December 2024 (news item 1273). TSS visa applications lodged before 7 December 2024 were decided under the old law. The rules for a new nomination today, including the market salary rate, are in the 482 minimum salary guide.

Where TSMIT still applies

TSMIT still sets or anchors the salary floor in four places:

1. The 494 visa (Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional)). The Home Affairs salary page says TSMIT is used to assess 494 nominations.
2. The 187 Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme, Temporary Residence Transition stream, which closed in 2019 except for transitional groups. Each employer sponsored visa, including the 494 and 187, is compared with the 482 in a separate guide.
3. Industry labour agreements that name it, according to the Home Affairs industry labour agreements page:
   • On-hire: 482 earnings for a standard 38-hour week at least 20% above TSMIT;
   • Minister of Religion: non-monetary benefits limited to 10 per cent of TSMIT or the CSIT, and a “Reduced TSMIT/CSIT” concession that some organisations are granted;
   • dairy, fishing, horticulture, meat and pork: 90% of TSMIT for 494 visas, in Category 3 regional locations except under the horticulture agreement, which names no location.
4. DAMA salary concessions expressed as “CSIT/TSMIT”. The Northern Territory DAMA allows 85% of the threshold, which is $67,510 from 1 July 2026, or the market rate if higher, according to the NT Government’s DAMA concessions page.

What is TSMIT now?

TSMIT is $79,423 for nominations lodged from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, the same amount as the CSIT this year. Since 1 July 2026 the amount is written into regulation 1.03 of the Migration Regulations 1994, by Schedule 2 of the Home Affairs Legislation Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Regulations 2026. From 1 July 2027 it will be indexed each year under regulation 5.42A, using the same average weekly earnings formula as the CSIT.

The salary checker on the 482 salary requirements page gives the hourly equivalent of an annual amount for the ordinary hours in the contract.

TSMIT history

TSMIT stayed at $53,900 for ten years, from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2023. It was raised to $70,000 on 1 July 2023, a rise the Government’s Migration Strategy of December 2023 listed among its existing commitments. It was then raised to $73,150 on 1 July 2024 (news item 1205), which became the CSIT’s starting amount five months later. It rose to $76,515 on 1 July 2025 and to $79,423 on 1 July 2026, matching the CSIT each time.

A migration lawyer makes the nomination more likely to be approved by confirming which threshold governs it before the salary is offered. That matters because the floor depends on the visa and the agreement: the CSIT for a 482 or 186, TSMIT for a 494, and a set percentage of either under some labour agreements.