482 Visa Work Experience: The One-Year Rule and How to Prove It

A 482 visa needs at least 1 year of relevant full-time work experience, or its part-time equivalent, in the nominated occupation or a related field, gained within the 5 years before the visa application. The rule is the same in the Core Skills and Specialist Skills streams under clauses 482.221 and 482.231 of the Migration Regulations 1994, and only a labour agreement can set a different amount. The periods do not need to be continuous, and the evidence is employer references on letterhead plus a CV covering at least the last 5 years.

Three worked examples, measured against the 1 year minimum (the inputs are illustrations, not rules):

1. Three days a week (0.6 of full time) for 20 months equals 12 months of full-time equivalent work, which meets the minimum.
2. Two separate full-time jobs of 7 months each inside the window add up to 14 months, which meets it; the gap between them does not matter.
3. 18 months of full-time work that ended before the 5 years window opened does not count, however long it was.

How much work experience does a 482 visa need?

A 482 visa needs 1 year of full-time work, or its equivalent, gained within the 5 years before the visa application. The conditions:

• Same in both main streams: clause 482.221(1) sets the rule for Specialist Skills and clause 482.231(1) for Core Skills, in the same words.
• No exemption: the Migration Regulations 1994 give no exemption from the experience rule in those two streams.
• Labour Agreement stream: clause 482.242 applies the same rule or the period the work agreement specifies; the Home Affairs Labour Agreement stream page says “unless otherwise specified in the Labour Agreement”.
• The worker’s criterion: the experience is proved with the visa application, not with the employer’s nomination.

The rule has applied since 7 December 2024, when the Skills in Demand visa started.

What counts as relevant 482 work experience?

Relevant experience is work in the nominated occupation, or in a related field. Home Affairs defines a related field on the Core Skills stream page: the tasks are the same as or closely related to those of the nominated position as ANZSCO describes it, and they are performed at the same skill level.

Study counts in two ways. Experience gained during a Masters or PhD counts for relevant occupations, such as medical and research occupations. A clinical or industry placement, internship or apprenticeship counts too: inside a CRICOS-registered course, the study must be relevant to the nominated occupation; outside one, it must have been at the occupation’s skill level.

The experience criterion is separate from any mandatory 482 skill assessment. Where IMMI 18/039 requires an assessment for the occupation and passport, both must be met.

How do you prove your 482 work experience?

The Core Skills stream page, on its “Step by step” tab, lists the evidence:

1. employment references on each employer’s letterhead, giving the referee’s name, title and contact details, the position held and the dates of service, covering enough time to show the skill level;
2. a CV with full employment and education history, including dates and positions held, for at least the last 5 years;
3. qualification certificates, and any registration or licence the occupation requires;
4. an English translation of any reference not in English, made by a NAATI-accredited translator in Australia or, outside Australia, a translator who adds their name, contact details and language qualifications.

Home Affairs says its list “may include, but is not limited to” these documents, and it can decide on what is attached without asking for more. What a work reference letter for visa purposes must state, and who signs it, is on its own page.

Does the 186 TRT need more experience?

Yes. The 186 Temporary Residence Transition stream needs 2 years in the last 3 of full-time sponsored employment in Australia while holding a 457 or 482, and since 7 December 2024 that time counts across every approved sponsor, not only the nominating employer (Home Affairs TRT stream page; news item 1273). The 186 Direct Entry stream needs 3 years of relevant experience and a positive skills assessment, unless exempt (Home Affairs Direct Entry stream page). The other 186 TRT criteria are on that page.

What happened to the two-year TSS rule?

The Temporary Skill Shortage visa required 2 years of work experience. The Skills in Demand visa, from 7 December 2024, needs “one year less than the TSS” (Home Affairs news item 1272). TSS applications lodged before that date are decided under the old rules. A TSS holder who now applies for a new 482 meets the current 1 year rule.

What other criteria sit beside work experience?

Age is not one of the 482 criteria, although the permanent step has an age rule; the 482 visa age limit page sets out both.

A migration lawyer is more likely to get the experience criterion accepted, because Home Affairs decides on the references attached and is not obliged to ask for more, and part-time periods, related-field tasks and placements each have to be shown against the ANZSCO description of the nominated occupation.