Australia’s long-awaited Skills in Demand (SID) visa officially went live on 7 December 2025, marking the biggest overhaul of employer-sponsored migration since the Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa was introduced in 2018. The new settings create three clearly defined pathways—Core Skills, Specialist Skills and Labour-Agreement (to be re-branded Essential Skills in 2026)—all of which share a uniform four-year validity and a direct pathway to permanent residence through the Employer Nomination Scheme.
Under the Core Skills stream, employers can now sponsor workers in occupations listed on the brand-new Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL), published concurrently with the visa’s commencement. The CSOL consolidates several legacy lists and is designed to respond dynamically to labour-market shortages identified by Jobs and Skills Australia. Applicants must earn at least the Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT), set at AUD 73,150 for 2025-26 and indexed annually. For hard-to-source talent at the top end of the market, the Specialist Skills stream waives occupation lists altogether but requires a salary of AUD 135,000 or more.
![Australia launches Skills in Demand visa, replacing subclass 482]()
In a move widely welcomed by business groups, the minimum work-experience requirement has been cut from two years to just one, provided it was gained within the previous five years. Immigration lawyers say the change will open the door to thousands of mid-career professionals—particularly in engineering, digital technology and health—who were previously locked out despite employer demand. The visa application charge is set at AUD 3,115 for the principal applicant, mirroring the former medium-term TSS stream.
The Department of Home Affairs has confirmed that Hong Kong and British National Overseas passport holders will enjoy a five-year validity, aligning with Australia’s foreign-policy objective of luring talent from the Asian financial hub. Existing TSS visa holders can transition to SID at their next renewal without having to restart the entire sponsorship process, easing administrative burdens on HR teams.
For employers, the immediate benefits include streamlined labour-market testing, faster standard-business-sponsorship approvals and a simplified compliance regime that puts greater onus on government monitoring rather than pre-lodgement red tape. However, migration-agent peak bodies caution that integrity settings have tightened: sponsors will face heavier penalties for under-payment, and the Australian Taxation Office will automatically cross-match payroll data to visa records each quarter. Business councils are urging companies to audit their remuneration frameworks quickly to avoid inadvertent breaches.
Under the Core Skills stream, employers can now sponsor workers in occupations listed on the brand-new Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL), published concurrently with the visa’s commencement. The CSOL consolidates several legacy lists and is designed to respond dynamically to labour-market shortages identified by Jobs and Skills Australia. Applicants must earn at least the Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT), set at AUD 73,150 for 2025-26 and indexed annually. For hard-to-source talent at the top end of the market, the Specialist Skills stream waives occupation lists altogether but requires a salary of AUD 135,000 or more.
In a move widely welcomed by business groups, the minimum work-experience requirement has been cut from two years to just one, provided it was gained within the previous five years. Immigration lawyers say the change will open the door to thousands of mid-career professionals—particularly in engineering, digital technology and health—who were previously locked out despite employer demand. The visa application charge is set at AUD 3,115 for the principal applicant, mirroring the former medium-term TSS stream.
The Department of Home Affairs has confirmed that Hong Kong and British National Overseas passport holders will enjoy a five-year validity, aligning with Australia’s foreign-policy objective of luring talent from the Asian financial hub. Existing TSS visa holders can transition to SID at their next renewal without having to restart the entire sponsorship process, easing administrative burdens on HR teams.
For employers, the immediate benefits include streamlined labour-market testing, faster standard-business-sponsorship approvals and a simplified compliance regime that puts greater onus on government monitoring rather than pre-lodgement red tape. However, migration-agent peak bodies caution that integrity settings have tightened: sponsors will face heavier penalties for under-payment, and the Australian Taxation Office will automatically cross-match payroll data to visa records each quarter. Business councils are urging companies to audit their remuneration frameworks quickly to avoid inadvertent breaches.
