The Australian skilled visa 2026 will have an important milestone: from 1 July 2026, the Australian Department of Home Affairs will apply the annual adjustment to the minimum income threshold for certain skilled visa subclasses. This is a periodic change that anyone planning to work in Australia should understand clearly.
What is the income threshold adjustment?
Each year, Australia updates the minimum income thresholds that employers must pay when sponsoring foreign workers. The adjustment is based on the Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings (AWOTE) index published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
This year’s adjustment takes effect from 1 July 2026, coinciding with the start of Australia’s new financial year. The official figures are published on the immigration authority’s website before the effective date.
Which Australian skilled visas 2026 are affected
The minimum income threshold mainly applies to employer-sponsored visa subclasses. You should take note if you are following these pathways:
- Skills in Demand (subclass 482) — the skilled work visa;
- Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (subclass 494);
- Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) — the employer-sponsored permanent residence category.
The adjustment applies to nomination applications lodged from the effective date, and does not affect people who already hold a visa or applications lodged before that date.
What about the Skilled Independent 189 subclass?
Unlike the sponsored categories, the Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) is a points-tested, independent category not tied to an employer’s income threshold. Therefore, this change does not directly affect subclass 189 applications.
However, if you are considering a pathway from the 482 work visa toward permanent residence, the minimum salary threshold is still an important factor to monitor.
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Check the official figures directly on the Australian Government’s source before making a decision. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs, the income thresholds are published together with clear effective dates.
You can also cross-check the average income index at the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to understand the basis for the adjustment. The M2W team will update the official figures as soon as the Australian Department of Home Affairs publishes them in full.
Read more: Overview of Australian migration · Australia’s 2025-26 Migration Program: 185,000 Places, Skilled Priority
