Australia 482 Skills in Demand Visa:
Employer Sponsorship Is Not Just Finding a Company
482 Skills in Demand 簽證：僱主擔保不是「找到公司就行」
A compliance-first briefing on Australia’s Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482), covering approved sponsors, CSOL occupation fit, salary thresholds, one-year relevant work experience, skills assessment and English requirements.
A compliance-first briefing on Australia’s Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482), covering approved sponsors, CSOL occupation fit, salary thresholds, one-year relevant work experience, skills assessment and English requirements.
The first misunderstanding: sponsorship is a structured employer process
The Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) lets an employer sponsor a suitably skilled worker for a position they cannot fill with a suitably skilled Australian worker. That wording matters: the visa is tied to a real role, an approved sponsor, the nominated occupation and the applicant’s evidence.
A willing company is only the beginning. The proposed employer must be an approved sponsor, or at least have submitted an application to become a Standard Business Sponsor before nominating the worker.
For the Core Skills stream, the nominated occupation must be on the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL). If the occupation fit is weak, the whole file becomes weak.
Salary: AMSR and CSIT are not optional details
Home Affairs salary rules require the employer to determine the Annual Market Salary Rate (AMSR) correctly and not pay the overseas worker less than an Australian worker would be paid for equivalent work.
For Skills in Demand Core Skills stream nominations, the role must meet the Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT). The Home Affairs salary page states AUD76,515 for nominations lodged from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026.
Non-cash benefits such as accommodation or a car do not replace the threshold. Salary evidence is therefore not just a number in an offer letter; it is part of the employer’s compliance file.
Applicant evidence: one year of relevant experience, skills and English
For the Core Skills stream, applicants must generally have at least one year of relevant work experience in the nominated occupation or a related field. Part-time or casual work may count only where it is equivalent to the required full-time period and at the right skill level.
Some occupations require a mandatory skills assessment. Where required, the assessment must be commenced before submitting the visa application or the application may not be valid.
Primary applicants must also meet the relevant English language requirements unless an exemption applies. From the applicant’s perspective, a 482 file is therefore a combined story: role fit, experience evidence, English evidence and sponsor evidence must point in the same direction.
Applicants should prepare passport and visa history, CV, qualification records, employment contracts, reference letters, payslips, tax or social-security records where relevant, English test evidence, and skills-assessment evidence if required.
Employers should prepare sponsor approval evidence, business registration, organisation chart, position description, recruitment or labour-market evidence where applicable, salary benchmarking, employment contract and compliance records.
This article is general public information, not migration or legal advice. Cases involving refusal history, related-party sponsorship, newly formed businesses, unclear salary source or complex visa status should be reviewed by a registered Australian migration agent or qualified lawyer.