Employer sponsored migration is where most of the real value — and most of the real risk — sits for Australian businesses managing a skills shortage. Getting the pathway wrong doesn’t just cost time; it can mean a refused nomination, a wasted Skilling Australians Fund levy, or a candidate who was never actually eligible for the role in the first place. This section sets out the current employer sponsored visa landscape in full — modelled on how established migration law firms structure their own reference material — and every figure is current as at 15 July 2026. The disclaimer on the cover page applies throughout.
At a glance
| SC# | Name | Type | Duration | PR pathway |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 482 | Skills in Demand | Temporary, employer sponsored | Up to 4 yrs Core Skills / 5 yrs Specialist Skills | Via 186 TRT, after 2 yrs |
| 186 | Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) | Permanent, employer sponsored | Permanent | Is the PR outcome |
| 494 | Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional | Provisional, regional employer sponsored | Up to 5 yrs | Via 191, after 3 yrs regional work |
| 191 | Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) | Permanent, from 494/491 | Permanent | Is the PR outcome |
| 407 | Training | Temporary, occupational training | Up to 2 yrs | None — not a work-visa pathway |
| 400 | Temporary Work (Short Stay Specialist) | Temporary, highly specialised, short-term | Up to 3 months, rarely 6 | None |
| 858 | National Innovation Visa | Permanent or provisional, exceptional talent | Varies by stream | Direct PR for eligible streams |
For reference: subclass 187 (Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme) closed to new applications on 16 November 2019 and was replaced by the 494 visa. It should be removed from the old site — it's not a live option, and referencing it undermines the site's credibility with anyone who checks.
Skills in Demand visa (Subclass 482)
The Skills in Demand visa replaced the Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa on 7 December 2024, and remains the primary route for Australian employers to sponsor overseas workers into genuine skilled vacancies they cannot fill locally. The restructure moved the system away from the old short-term and medium-term occupation-list split, toward a framework built mainly around salary.
| Core Skills stream | Occupation must sit on the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL, 456+ occupations). Minimum salary: $76,515, rising to $79,499 from 1 July 2026. Visa runs up to 4 years. |
|---|---|
| Specialist Skills stream | No occupation list requirement — salary is the filter. Minimum salary: $141,210, rising to $146,717 from 1 July 2026. Runs up to 5 years, with priority processing (median around 7 days). |
| Labour Agreement stream | For employers with a formal Labour Agreement or Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) — covers occupations and salary levels outside the standard streams, common in aged care, disability support, agriculture and regional industries. |
| Work experience | At least 1 year full-time relevant experience in the last 5 years. |
| English | Generally IELTS 5.0 overall, no band below 4.5, or an accepted equivalent. |
| Sponsor requirement | Employer must be an approved Standard Business Sponsor (or Accredited Sponsor for faster processing) and meet the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy obligation. |
| Path to PR | Subclass 186 via the Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream after 2 years of full-time work with the sponsoring employer. |
Salary thresholds are indexed annually on 1 July — confirm the current CSIT/SSIT
Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 186)
The 186 remains Australia’s primary permanent employer sponsored visa — permanent residency on grant, with no points test involved. For many employers, it represents the natural end point of a successful 482 sponsorship: a way to convert a proven temporary hire into a permanent one, without the uncertainty a points-tested pathway introduces. Three streams apply:
| Direct Entry (DE) | For skilled workers without enough time on a 482/457 to use TRT. Needs a positive skills assessment, typically 3 years' relevant experience, and an occupation on the CSOL. |
|---|---|
| Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) | For 482/457 holders who've worked full-time for the nominating employer for at least 2 years. Usually no fresh skills assessment needed — this is the most common route off a 482. |
| Labour Agreement (LA) | For workers nominated under a specific employer or regional labour agreement (including DAMA) where standard eligibility doesn't apply. |
| Salary threshold | Minimum $76,515, rising to $79,499 from 1 July 2026, plus the position must meet the Annual Market Salary Rate. |
| Age limit | Generally under 45 at time of application, with exemptions for academics, government researchers/scientists, and some high-income or regional cases. |
| Employer costs | SAF levy of $3,000 (small business) or $5,000 (larger business) per nomination, plus a $540 nomination fee — legally the employer's cost, never the employee's. |
| Processing (indicative) | Labour Agreement stream is fastest, around 5–9 months. Direct Entry and TRT are currently running longer — often 12–19 months depending on volume and current processing priorities. |
Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional visa (Subclass 494) & Permanent Residence — Skilled Regional (Subclass 191)
The 494 is a 5-year provisional visa for regional employers who cannot fill a genuine skilled vacancy locally, and it plays a specific strategic role: it gives regional businesses — which often face the sharpest labour shortages, with the smallest local candidate pools to draw from — an employer sponsored pathway with a genuine, defined route to permanent residency attached. It replaced the old Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (subclass 187) in November 2019.
| Who it's for | Skilled workers with a genuine job offer from an employer in a designated regional area — outside Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. |
|---|---|
| Requirements | Relevant occupation, formal skills assessment, at least 3 years' full-time relevant experience, Competent English (generally IELTS 6.0 in each band), Labour Market Testing, and approval through a Regional Certifying Body. |
| Salary threshold | Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) — $79,423 from 1 July 2026. |
| Visa conditions | Holders must live, work and study only in designated regional areas for the life of the visa. |
| Path to PR — Subclass 191 | After 3 years holding the 494 (or 491), living and working in a designated regional area, and with 3 years of ATO Notices of Assessment showing income above the relevant threshold, holders can apply for permanent residency via Subclass 191 — no fresh employer nomination required. |
Training visa (Subclass 407)
A temporary visa for genuine workplace-based occupational training or professional development. It’s a narrower tool than the work visas above — not a general work visa, and not a substitute for standard employer sponsored migration — and the Department scrutinises applications that appear to use it as a shortcut around ordinary sponsorship requirements
| Training types | Training for occupational registration or licensing • structured training to build skills in an eligible occupation • training that builds capacity for use overseas. |
|---|---|
| Sponsor | An approved Temporary Activities Sponsor — an Australian organisation, industry body or government agency. |
| Duration | Typically up to 2 years, depending on the length of the approved training program. |
| 2026 change to flag | For applications lodged from 11 March 2026, sponsorship and the training nomination must both be approved before the visa application can be validly lodged — the three stages can no longer go in together, except where the sponsor is a Commonwealth agency. |
| English | Generally functional English — IELTS 4.5 overall, no band below 4.0, or equivalent. |
| Path to PR | None directly. This is a training pathway, not a migration one. |
Temporary Work — Short Stay Specialist visa (Subclass 400)
Reserved for genuinely specialised, non-ongoing work that can’t be sourced from the local labour market — short executive assignments, one-off specialist projects, equipment installation or servicing, or urgent short-term work. Employers sometimes look to this pathway as a faster alternative to standard sponsorship; it isn’t one, and misusing it carries real risk.
| Typical duration | Usually up to 3 months, occasionally up to 6 in limited circumstances. |
|---|---|
| No sponsorship required | Unlike the 482, 186 or 494, this doesn't require the employer to be an approved sponsor — but the work has to genuinely be short-term, specialised and non-ongoing. |
| Not a pathway | Cannot be used to fill an ongoing position or as a stepping stone to a longer employer sponsored visa. Home Affairs checks this closely, and misuse can jeopardise an employer's broader sponsorship standing. |
Temporary Work — Short Stay Specialist visa (Subclass 400)
Where the standard visa settings genuinely don’t fit a business’s circumstances — which happens more often than most employers expect, particularly in aged care, hospitality, agriculture, meat processing and regional industries — a formal labour agreement between the employer (or region) and the Australian Government can open up tailored occupation lists, salary concessions, and age or English concessions unavailable through the standard streams. This is a genuinely underused tool for employers facing a chronic, evidenced shortage that the standard pathways don’t accommodate well
- Company-specific labour agreements — negotiated directly between one employer and the Department, for that business's specific, evidenced skill shortage.
- Industry labour agreements — pre-negotiated templates for sectors with recognised, chronic shortages, including on-hire, meat processing and snow sports, among others.
- Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMA) — regional agreements giving employers in that region access to broader occupation lists and concessions through the 482 and 186 Labour Agreement streams
MYAC Migration’s labour agreement consultation service exists specifically to help employers assess and pursue this pathway where the standard routes fall short.
National Innovation Visa (Subclass 858)
A newer permanent or provisional pathway for people with an internationally recognised reputation for exceptional achievement — professional, business, sport, arts, academic or research — where their presence in Australia would clearly benefit the country.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
That’s why we’ve compiled answers to the most common questions we receive to make your experience as smooth as possible.
Which employer sponsored visa is fastest?
The Specialist Skills stream of the 482 offers the fastest standard processing for eligible high-salary roles — currently a median of around 7 days once lodged. The Labour Agreement stream of the 186 is also
comparatively fast where an agreement is already in place. Direct Entry and TRT streams of the 186 are currently the slowest of the mainstream pathways.
Can an employer sponsor a worker without becoming a Standard Business Sponsor first?
Generally no — sponsorship approval is a prerequisite for the 482, 186, 494 and 407 pathways. Getting sponsorship approval in place before you need to move on a specific hire materially speeds up the overall timeline.
What's the real difference between the 482 and the 186?
The 482 is temporary; the 186 is permanent. Most employers use the 482 first, then transition the employee to a 186 via the TRT stream once the two-year work requirement is met — giving both sides a proving period
before committing to permanent sponsorship.
Considering sponsoring an overseas worker?
Get a clear, current assessment of which visa pathway actually fits your business, before you commit time or budget to the wrong one.
