Introduction of Skills in Demand visa (Subclass 482)

Skills in Demand (SID visa) – a new temporary Skills in Demand (subclass 482) visa (SID visa) replaced the existing Temporary Skill Shortage (subclass 482) visa on 7 December 2024. (TSS visa).

• The SID visa has three streams:

1) Specialist Skills stream, for applicants in any ANZSCO occupation with the specialist skills income threshold of $135,000 or more (excluding occupations in ANZSCO Major Groups 3, 7 and 8 which encompasses trade workers, machinery operators and drivers, and labourers). 

• This introduces a new stream not available under the TSS that recognises highly skilled migrants bring significant economic benefits to Australia and enables employers to access these skills quickly through streamlined processing arrangements.

2) Core Skills stream, for applicants with the core skills income threshold of $73,150 (in line with the current Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) for the TSS visa) in a Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL). 

• Certain occupations available under the TSS are not included on the CSOL and will not be eligible for the Core Skills Stream of the SID visa. Some of these occupations may be eligible for the Specialist Skills stream, subject to meeting income requirements, or the Labour Agreement stream of the SID visa. These occupations may also be eligible for other visa pathways including permanent visas.
• IMPORTANT: If you hold a TSS visa, you can change employers if your current job is on the CSOL list or if your nomination meets the income requirements for a Specialist Skills stream visa. If your job is not on the CSOL list or does not qualify for the Specialist Skills stream, you cannot change employers. In this case, you can use the new mobility options to find a job in a different occupation, apply for another visa, or leave Australia.

3) Labour Agreement stream, which carries over existing settings from the TSS visa while further development of the proposed Essential Skills stream takes place.

• The new SID visa reduces the minimum relevant work experience requirement for applicants for the SID visa in all streams from two years (the current requirement for the TSS visa) to one year of full-time employment, or equivalent period of part-time or casual work , within the five years that immediately preceded the date of the visa application. 
• It provides that the Specialist skills income threshold and the core skills income threshold will be indexed annually on 1 July each year

 

The Visa Application Charge (VAC) for the SID: 

• base application charge – $3,115;
• additional application charge for an application who is at least 18 – $3,115;
• additional application charge for an applicant who is less than 18 – $780.
  These figures are aligned with the amounts that currently apply to applicants for the Medium-term stream of the Subclass 482 (Temporary Skill Shortage) visa.