Core Skills Income Threshold 2026: $79,423 Floor Explained
The Core Skills Income Threshold 2026 is AUD $79,423 for nominations lodged from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027. Pay the higher of CSIT and the annual market salary rate, with a pass, pause, or stop filter by sector.
The Core Skills Income Threshold 2026 is AUD $79,423 for nominations lodged from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027. Pay the higher of CSIT and the annual market salary rate, with a pass, pause, or stop filter by sector. CrossNation supports recruitment readiness, shortlisting, and migration-partner handoff where legal advice is required.
The Core Skills Income Threshold 2026 is AUD $79,423 in guaranteed annual earnings for Skills in Demand (subclass 482) Core Skills nominations lodged from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027. That figure is a floor, not the salary. You still pay the higher of CSIT and the Annual Market Salary Rate for the same role in the same location.
If a March 2026 forecast of $79,499 is still sitting in your job ad, you are advertising a number the Department of Home Affairs did not publish. Several early-year round-ups projected $79,499 and $146,717. The confirmed 2026-27 settings are $79,423 for CSIT and $146,576 for the Specialist Skills Income Threshold.
You already know an overseas hire needs a salary that looks "enough". The harder question is which shortage roles still work after the floor, and which should never enter a Core Skills shortlist. This article maps what counts as earnings, why the lodgement date matters, and a pass, pause, or stop filter by sector before you request CVs.
CrossNation is a shortage-sector recruitment platform, not a MARA. We do not set nomination salaries and we do not give migration legal advice.
Key Takeaways
- The Core Skills Income Threshold 2026 is $79,423 for nominations lodged 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027. SSIT is $146,576. TSMIT for subclass 494 is also reported at $79,423.
- Pay the higher of CSIT and Annual Market Salary Rate. Super is not counted. Non-guaranteed overtime and bonuses are not counted.
- March 2026 forecasts of $79,499 / $146,717 were wrong. Confirm the live instrument on Home Affairs salary requirements before you lodge.
- Nurses and licensed trades often still clear the floor at a real market rate. Cooks, many Certificate III educators, and most direct-care aged care roles need a different product, or should stop.
- Specialist Skills will not rescue a cook or electrician. ANZSCO Major Groups 3, 7, and 8 are excluded even if you pay SSIT.
Mapping a shortage role against the new floor? CrossNation screens occupation, documents, and commercial fit before interview time is spent. Start with overseas recruitment for Australian employers. Salary settings still sit with you and your migration adviser.
What the Core Skills Income Threshold 2026 actually tests
CSIT is the minimum guaranteed annual earnings a Core Skills nomination must clear at lodgement. BDO describes it as a nomination-stage threshold. If the offered salary is below CSIT, the nomination is not approved, even if someone argues the award is lower.
It is not a recommended pay rate. It is the first gate for anyone who wants to sponsor an overseas worker salary in Australia under Core Skills.
The same dollar also applies to Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) nominations lodged on or after 7 December 2024, according to WIDEN and Work Visa Lawyers. If you are still briefing "TSS 482", the companion explainer on the Skills in Demand visa in 2026 covers the rename. This post owns the $79,423 floor.
Guaranteed earnings, not the package on the flyer
Home Affairs tests guaranteed annual earnings. Employer superannuation sits on top and does not count toward CSIT. A $79,423 salary plus super is the shape of a compliant offer at the floor, not a $79,423 total package that already includes super.
Non-guaranteed overtime, discretionary bonuses, tips, and "up to" commissions do not count. Accommodation and other non-monetary benefits generally sit outside the figure as well. What can count is base salary plus other cash that is actually guaranteed for the year. If the contract is vague, that drafting question belongs with a registered migration professional, not a recruiter.
CSIT, SSIT, and TSMIT 2026 at a glance
| Threshold | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | What it gates |
|---|---|---|---|
| CSIT (Core Skills) | $76,515 | $79,423 | 482 Core Skills, and 186 nominations from 7 Dec 2024 |
| SSIT (Specialist Skills) | $141,210 | $146,576 | 482 Specialist Skills only |
| TSMIT | $76,515 | $79,423 | 494 (and reported for 187 legacy) |
| Example 10% DAMA concession | $68,864 | about $71,481 | Only if that labour agreement allows it |
Work Visa Lawyers puts the CSIT rise at $2,908, or about 3.8%. SSIT rose $5,366, also about 3.8%. Magpie Consultants says it confirmed CSIT 79423 against homeaffairs.gov.au on 15 July 2026.
WIDEN cites a Home Affairs page stamp of 1 July 2026. Always re-check the Department page on the day you lodge.
Third-party Skills in Demand explainer:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ij077EhW2DE" title="Skills in Demand visa explainer (third-party)" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>Why $79,499 forecasts were wrong, and which date sets the floor
Indexation of skilled-visa income thresholds is an annual 1 July event, tied to wage growth. That part of the March 2026 commentary was fair. The dollar was not.
Some forecasts published around March 2026 used $79,499 for CSIT and $146,717 for SSIT. Those figures circulated in job-ad templates and internal HR notes. They were wrong.
The confirmed Core Skills Income Threshold 2026 is $79,423. SSIT is $146,576. Using the forecast in a labour-market testing ad that then straddles 1 July is how nominations pick up avoidable defects.
The nomination lodgement date decides which year's threshold applies. Not the visa lodgement date. Not the start date on the offer. Not the date the candidate accepted.
A nomination lodged on 30 June 2026 is assessed against $76,515. One lodged on 1 July 2026 is assessed against $79,423.
Existing visa holders and nominations already lodged before 1 July 2026 stay on the earlier instrument, according to Work Visa Lawyers. That does not let you pay below market rate, and it does not help a nomination you have not lodged.
Hypothetical: Priya runs a 40-seat pub kitchen in regional Victoria. In June 2026 she had a cook on a $76,800 guaranteed package, which cleared the 2025-26 floor. She delayed lodgement until August while she finished references.
The 2026-27 CSIT is $79,423, so the same package now fails the floor. The venue may also fail the limited-service restaurant caveat for cook and chef nominations. Outcome: pause the overseas cook pipeline, then sort occupation, venue type, and guaranteed earnings with a registered migration professional before anyone else is shortlisted.
The 482 salary requirement is a floor, not the salary
Meeting CSIT 79423 is necessary. It is not sufficient. Sponsors must also meet the Annual Market Salary Rate: what an equivalent Australian worker is paid, or would be paid, for the same full-time work in the same workplace and location.
If your local staff in that role earn $95,000, a nomination at $79,423 fails AMSR even though it clears the threshold. WIDEN is blunt that most salary refusals come from weak AMSR evidence, not from people missing the floor by a few hundred dollars.
The practical rule is simple. Pay the higher of CSIT and AMSR. Then keep paying at least the approved nomination salary for the life of the sponsorship.
BDO treats ongoing pay as a separate compliance duty from the nomination-stage floor. Confusing the two is how employers get a grant and then a breach. Do not invent a "CSIT plus 10%" rule of thumb, and do not copy a SEEK screenshot from another city and call it AMSR.
Get current evidence for the occupation and location. CrossNation will not tell you the number to print on the nomination. We can tell you when a brief is commercially unrealistic. That is a recruitment filter, not a visa assessment.
Shortage roles after the Core Skills Income Threshold 2026: pass, pause, or stop
Law-firm posts stop at the instrument. Employers still have to decide whether to request a shortlist.
This is recruitment planning, not a salary survey. Confirm the live CSOL and AMSR. Source markets CrossNation works (the Philippines, India, Nepal) do not change the Australian floor.
Healthcare: registration is usually slower than CSIT
Registered nurses sit on the Core Skills Occupation List across several ANZSCO codes, including aged care, mental health, and perioperative. In most RN offers, AHPRA / NMBA registration is the slower problem, not the $79,423 floor.
Talk in bands, not fake medians. Where the role is a genuine RN position paid at a real clinical rate, CSIT is often the easier gate. Failure modes are a mismatched title, overtime that is not guaranteed, or needing the person next month while registration is still open.
Regional illustration only, not a wage survey: CrossNation's live jobs often skew to regional Mildura, with allied health listed in schema around AUD $80,000 to $120,000. Many Grade 1 or Grade 2 packages in that band can sit above CSIT. CrossNation checks document readiness. It does not decide AHPRA outcomes.
Direct-care aged care: often ACILA, not standard Core Skills
Aged-care RNs can still sit in a standard Core Skills conversation if salary and registration line up. Personal care assistants, assistants in nursing, and aged or disabled carers usually do not.
Those occupations are why the Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement exists. They sit outside standard skilled settings on both skill level and pay.
Labour agreements can use different salary settings, including concessions. They also carry union MoU and sponsorship-obligation work. That is a migration-partner job.
If your brief is still "standard 482 care workers", you are briefing the wrong product. For the recruitment side of that pipeline, see aged care recruitment Australia.
Childcare: the 3 Day Guarantee did not lift Cert III over CSIT
Child Care Worker (421111) can appear on CSOL. Early childhood teachers sit in a different, usually higher, pay band, with ACECQA assessment beside the visa.
The 3 Day Guarantee started on 5 January 2026. It gives CCS-eligible families a floor of subsidised hours (see education.gov.au). That pulled more demand into rooms that were already short of educators. It did not magically lift Certificate III pay over $79,423.
Hypothetical: Daniel manages a long day care centre in Melbourne's west. After January 2026, rooms filled. He wants a Certificate III educator from Nepal because the occupation is on the list. The guaranteed award-based pay still sits under CSIT.
Outcome: stop a standard Core Skills nomination for that pay band. Look at diploma or ECT roles that can clear CSIT and AMSR, or a DAMA conversation if one actually applies.
Do not brief "sponsor any educator" as if CSOL were a pay waiver. CrossNation's childcare recruitment work splits ECT and diploma roles from concession-only or local-only briefs.
Hospitality: cooks sit closest to the floor
Chef (351311) and Cook (351411) are on CSOL, with caveats. Limited-service restaurants and factory-style production are excluded. A cafe with a microwave and a grill is not a chef nomination waiting to happen.
This is the sector where the July 2026 floor is most visible. Many cook packages that felt possible at $76,515 now need a rewrite. Chefs, paid as chefs, in venues that actually match the caveat language, sit in a better band.
Cooks sit closest to the floor. Regional venues may have a DAMA or subclass 494 conversation that a CBD bistro does not. Padding pay with cash tips or unpaid overtime is how nominations die. If hospitality is the role family, read hospitality recruitment Australia before you brief a cook as if they were a chef.
Construction: licensed trades often clear if the site rate is real
Electrician (General) 341111 and Plumber (General) 334116 are on CSOL. Licensed trades often clear CSIT when the package is a real site rate, not an award minimum plus hoped-for overtime. The slow parts are usually TRA, the state licence, a white card, and labour market testing.
Ready to test a licensed trade against the floor and the licence? See construction trades recruitment Australia. CrossNation can screen tickets and documents. It cannot invent a state licence.
Hypothetical: Mei's civil contractor in regional NSW can pay an electrician a genuine site rate well above $79,423. She asks whether paying SSIT would skip CSOL and speed the visa. Specialist Skills excludes ANZSCO Major Group 3, so a bigger number does not open that stream.
Outcome: pass on salary if AMSR is evidenced. Pause on TRA, state licence, and white card. Recruitment can start. Nomination settings stay with her adviser.
Mining and FIFO: allowances only help if they are guaranteed
Mining engineers and other professionals often sit comfortably above CSIT. Some packages sit above SSIT as well. Operators, diesel fitters, and some camp roles are a different mapping exercise.
FIFO allowances, camp, and roster loadings only help if they count as guaranteed earnings. Confirm that with a migration professional before you sell the package to a candidate.
Industrial trades appear on CrossNation regional lists, including Mildura-area industrial roles. Listing a trade is not evidence that guaranteed earnings clear the floor.
The pass, pause, stop gate
Use this as an internal gate before you request a shortlist. Pass roles can go to interview. Pause roles need a migration-partner view first. Stop roles should not enter an overseas pipeline.
| Filter | Pass | Pause | Stop |
|---|---|---|---|
| Occupation | On current CSOL, duties match ANZSCO | Might fit DAMA or a labour agreement | No list, no agreement, no genuine role |
| Guaranteed pay | Clears CSIT and local AMSR | Clears CSIT but AMSR evidence is weak | Below CSIT with no concession pathway |
| Caveats | None that apply (especially chef/cook) | Need a venue-type or location check | Limited-service or factory-style cook role |
| Licence / registration | Pathway is documented | In progress, timeline is honest | Need the person practising next month and the licence does not exist |
| Local testing | Advertising plan exists | Not started | "Nobody local wants it" with no evidence |
Keep the sequence honest: role family, then stream, then guaranteed earnings, then evidence, then a migration-partner handoff. Do not say "we will pay TSMIT so it will be approved" or "we will add overtime later".
Labour agreements, DAMA, and TSMIT 2026 when Core Skills will not fit
Standard Core Skills has no discretion below $79,423. If the role cannot be paid at or above CSIT and AMSR, the honest next question is whether a labour agreement exists, not whether a recruiter can "make 482 work".
TSMIT for subclass 494 is reported at the same $79,423 for 2026-27. Regional sponsorship is not a cheaper CSIT. Treat TSMIT 2026 as a parallel floor, not a discount.
Some DAMAs allow a salary concession, often described as 10%. Work Visa Lawyers reports that reduced figure at about $71,481 from 1 July 2026. That number is agreement-specific and occupation-specific. Confirm it with an adviser against the actual deed before you brief a candidate.
Industry labour agreements, including the Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement, can set different salary settings again. Do not assume ACILA uses CSIT or the DAMA concession. Read the agreement that would actually apply.
Paying SSIT does not let you sponsor a cook, electrician, plumber, machinery operator, or labourer in Specialist Skills. ANZSCO Major Groups 3, 7, and 8 are excluded regardless of salary.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Core Skills Income Threshold 2026 for a 482 nomination?
AUD $79,423 in guaranteed annual earnings, excluding super, for Core Skills nominations lodged from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027. You must also meet AMSR and pay whichever figure is higher.
Does superannuation count toward the 482 salary requirement?
No. Super is paid on top. Non-guaranteed overtime, discretionary bonuses, and most non-monetary benefits do not count. The test is guaranteed cash earnings for the year.
Were the March 2026 figures of $79,499 and $146,717 official?
No. Those forecasts were wrong. Confirmed 2026-27 figures are CSIT $79,423 and SSIT $146,576, and the nomination lodgement date (not the start date) sets which year applies. Always confirm on the Home Affairs salary-requirements page.
Can I use Specialist Skills for a cook or electrician if I pay SSIT?
No. Specialist Skills excludes ANZSCO Major Groups 3, 7, and 8. They need Core Skills (if listed, caveats clear, salary clears) or a labour agreement.
What is TSMIT 2026 for a 494 visa, and can DAMA go below CSIT 79423?
Sources report TSMIT at $79,423 for 2026-27, the same dollar as CSIT. Confirm on Home Affairs. Some DAMAs allow a concession, often 10%, reported at about $71,481 by Work Visa Lawyers. That is agreement-specific.
CSIT also applies to 186 nominations lodged on or after 7 December 2024.
Will CrossNation tell me the salary to put on the nomination?
No. CrossNation (ABN 73 631 775 810, Victoria VIC 3978) is not a MARA. We can flag whether a shortage role is commercially realistic. Salary, AMSR evidence, and lodgement sit with you and a registered migration professional.
The Core Skills Income Threshold 2026 is $79,423. It is a floor. Roles that were "almost sponsorable" at $76,515 need a new look.
Nurses and licensed trades often still work if the offer is real. Cooks, some educators, and most direct-care aged care roles need the right product, or they need to stop.
Confirm the live instrument before you publish an offer. Separate recruitment, registration, and migration, then hand the salary settings to people who are allowed to interpret them.
Ready to brief a shortage role, not a visa promise? Start on the employer pathway. CrossNation will screen for occupation fit and candidate readiness from markets such as the Philippines, India, and Nepal. Your migration adviser still owns the nomination.
Figures drawn from BDO, Magpie Consultants (confirmed against homeaffairs.gov.au on 15 July 2026), WIDEN, and Work Visa Lawyers. Confirm the live instrument on immi.homeaffairs.gov.au before you lodge. CrossNation does not set nomination salaries and does not give migration legal advice.
Author: CrossNation Editorial Team
Date: 28 August 2026