The Skills in Demand (SID) visa (Subclass 482) replaced the former Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa in December 2024. If you've seen older guides referring to "TSS 482" or its Short-term and Medium-term streams, that structure has been superseded — the current Skills in Demand visa is built around a different stream structure targeting specialist, core, and essential skills shortages. The visa still allows an approved Australian employer to sponsor a skilled overseas worker, and the underlying document categories remain broadly similar: employer sponsorship, skills evidence, English language, and health and character.
Employer sponsorship and nomination
- Approved sponsor confirmation from your employer
- Nomination approval letter from the Department confirming your nominated occupation and employer
- Your employment contract or job offer letter from the sponsoring employer
Skills and qualifications evidence
Your nominated occupation needs to be on the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL) for the Core Skills stream, and your employer needs to pay at least the Annual Market Salary Rate (AMSR) for that occupation. You need to demonstrate you have the skills required for the nominated occupation — requirements vary by occupation but typically include:
- Academic qualifications and transcripts
- Employment reference letters covering your relevant experience
- Payslips or bank statements supporting claimed employment
- A formal skills assessment, if required for your stream and occupation — check current requirements for your specific occupation before assuming one is or isn't needed
Unlike the points-tested skilled visas (189, 190, 491), there's no age requirement for the Skills in Demand visa.
English language evidence
- IELTS, PTE Academic, TOEFL iBT, or Cambridge English results, or evidence of an applicable exemption
- English requirements vary by stream — confirm the current minimum for your specific stream and occupation rather than assuming a single threshold applies across all of them
Income thresholds
Nomination for the 482 requires meeting a minimum income threshold, which is indexed annually against Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings (AWOTE). From 1 July 2026, the Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT), which applies to the Core Skills stream, rises to $79,499. The Specialist Skills Income Threshold (SSIT), the higher threshold applying to the Specialist Skills stream, rises to $146,717. These apply to nominations lodged on or after 1 July 2026 — a nomination lodged earlier is assessed against the prior year's threshold even if it's decided afterwards. Check the current figures before accepting a sponsorship offer, since these are reviewed every year.
Identity documents
- Passport bio-data page
- Birth certificate
- Change of name document, if applicable
Health and character
- Health examination through an approved panel physician
- Police clearance certificate(s) from your country of citizenship and any country lived in for 12 months or more in the last 10 years
- Form 80 — Personal Particulars
If you're already in Australia
If you're applying onshore, you'll also need to provide evidence of your current Australian residential address.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Researching requirements under the old TSS 482 stream names instead of the current Skills in Demand structure
- Assuming last year's CSIT or SSIT figure still applies to a nomination lodged after 1 July
- Assuming a permanent-residency pathway applies without confirming your specific stream and occupation qualify for one
- Missing Form 80 as part of the character assessment
- Not confirming your occupation's current skills-assessment requirement before accepting a sponsorship offer
Frequently asked questions
Is the TSS visa still available?
No — the Temporary Skill Shortage (subclass 482) visa was replaced by the Skills in Demand visa (also subclass 482) in December 2024. Existing TSS visa holders aren't affected, but new applications are assessed under the Skills in Demand framework.
Does the Skills in Demand visa lead to permanent residency?
Some pathways to permanent residency (such as the Employer Nomination Scheme, Subclass 186) remain available depending on your stream, occupation, and time with your sponsoring employer. Confirm your specific eligibility with your employer or a registered migration agent rather than assuming a pathway applies by default.
Confirm which stream and occupation you're being sponsored under before you accept an offer — the document requirements, income thresholds, and any permanent-residency pathway all depend on that combination, and it's specific to your case rather than a single fixed rule.