Salary is one of the most closely scrutinised aspects of any 482 nomination, and getting it right requires understanding two separate but related requirements.
The first is the income threshold – the Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT) for the 2025-26 financial year is AUD $76,515 per year. From 1 July 2026, this increases to AUD $79,499.
For the Specialist Skills stream, the threshold is AUD $141,210, rising to AUD $146,717 from mid-2026. These figures exclude superannuation.
The second – and equally important – requirement is the Annual Market Salary Rate (AMSR), this is the salary offered must be comparable to what an Australian worker in the same role, location, and industry would earn. This requirement exists to prevent employers from using visa sponsorship to underpay overseas workers relative to the local market.
In practice, we see the AMSR requirement catch employers who offer exactly the CSIT figure and assume that satisfies the requirement. If the market rate for the occupation in that location is materially higher than the CSIT, the nomination can be questioned even if the threshold is technically met.
We assist our clients in conducting proper salary benchmarking before lodging nominations, using industry salary surveys, comparable job advertisements, and enterprise agreements where relevant. The investment in getting this right at nomination stage avoids compliance issues that can arise during the worker’s employment period.