Shake-up to Australia's visa program as government raises income thresholds, targets student visas, and tightens skilled migration eligibility
Sweeping changes to visa thresholds and tighter controls on skilled worker and student entries are set to take place on Tuesday as the Albanese government is once again recalibrating Australia's migration settings.
The Department of Home Affairs has confirmed a 4.6 per cent rise to key salary thresholds which determine eligibility for a raft of employer-sponsored skilled visas.
From next financial year, the Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT) and the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) will jump from $73,150 to $76,515.
For more specialised, high-earning roles, the bar will be even higher, with the Specialist Skills Income Threshold (SSIT) lifting from $135,000 to $141,210.
These thresholds apply to newly lodged applications from July 1, and cover some of the most common pathways for foreign workers - including the 482 temporary visa, 186 Employer Nomination Scheme, and the regional-focused 494 visa.
Applications already in the system or existing visa holders won't be affected, but any new sponsor offers must now meet the updated salary requirements, excluding superannuation.
The changes, based on Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings (AWOTE) figures, are being pitched as a way to ensure that migrant workers are being paid fairly in line with Australian wages.
But for businesses already under pressure, the higher benchmarks could translate to budget headaches or hiring delays — especially in industries where salaries sit just above the threshold.
To avoid being stung, businesses are being urged to act fast — submit applications before July, lock in current pay rates, and begin Labour Market Testing immediately to stay compliant.
Missing that window could see employers caught in the post-June rush, with processing backlogs already common at the end of the financial year.
But it's not just the skilled stream under the microscope.
International students are staring down the barrel of another visa fee hike, with the cost for primary applicants likely to increase from $1,600 to $2,000.
While the government hasn't published the change in official documentation yet, the move aligns with the government's wider effort to curb migration numbers.
This would be the second price jump in as many years, following the 2023 surge which more than doubled the application fee.
Education providers have expressed concern that it could deter genuine students while doing little to address the so-called 'visa churn' from non-genuine applicants.
On the humanitarian side, the rules are getting clearer, if not tighter. Applicants under the Special Humanitarian Programme (SHP) and certain refugee streams must continue to lodge online through ImmiAccount and provide both the proposal (Form 681) and application (Form 842) at the same time. The Department has reaffirmed this as a mandatory step.
All of this comes as Labor tries to project control over a migration system that's come under heavy political fire — amid rising rents, housing shortages, and infrastructure stress.
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