Australia enforces regulations to ensure foreign workers receive wages comparable to domestic workers for equivalent roles. To maintain fairness, income thresholds are adjusted annually to reflect changes in average earnings.
Starting July 1, 2025, new wage standards for skilled visa applicants will take effect based on salary indexation. Any foreign worker applying for sponsorship or submitting a nomination on or after this date must meet the applicable income threshold for that year. Employers filing new nominations must adhere to the higher amount between the annual market salary rate and the updated threshold. However, these changes will not affect existing visa holders or nominations lodged before July 1, 2025.
Skilled visa income thresholds will rise by 4.6% in line with changes in the annual Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings. This adjustment ensures that wages for skilled migrants increase proportionally to those of Australian workers, preventing the use of migration to lower labor costs.
For nomination applications under the Core Skills stream of the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) and the Employer Nomination Scheme visa (subclass 186), the Core Skills Income Threshold will increase from AUD73,150 to AUD76,515. Applications lodged between December 7, 2024, and June 30, 2025, must meet the existing threshold of AUD73,150.
For the Specialist Skills stream of the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482), the Specialist Skills Income Threshold will rise from AUD135,000 to AUD141,210. Applications submitted between December 7, 2024, and June 30, 2025, must meet the current threshold of AUD135,000.
The Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold, applicable to the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional visa (subclass 494) and the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (subclass 187), will also increase from AUD73,150 to AUD76,515. The threshold for nomination applications submitted between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025, remains at AUD73,150.
Employers nominating workers for visas under subclasses 482, 494, 186, and 187 must meet specific conditions. If the proposed salary is below AUD250,000 per year, they must ensure the annual market salary rate has been accurately determined, confirm that the foreign worker will not be paid less than an Australian counterpart, and ensure the salary, excluding non-monetary benefits, is at least equal to the relevant income threshold.
