Changes to Australian migration law and policy affecting employer sponsored visas, newest first. Each update names the instrument or official source it comes from.
Full guide: Employer sponsored All migration updates
Migration South Australia has extended both of the State’s designated area migration agreements by a further four months while a new five-year statewide agreement is negotiated.
Who this affects: Employers recruiting under a South Australian DAMA, and workers whose nomination depends on one. The agreements were due to end on 30 September 2026, and they now run to 31 January 2027 on the same terms.
Three income thresholds moved on 1 July 2026, and the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold is now fixed by the Regulations themselves and indexed each year.
Who this affects: Employers lodging a nomination on or after 1 July 2026: subclass 482 in the Core Skills or Specialist Skills stream, subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme, and subclass 494 Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional. The threshold that applies is the one in force when the nomination is made, so a nomination lodged on 30 June 2026 is assessed against the earlier figure.
A ministerial instrument repealed and replaced the sections that set out how the annual market salary rate is determined, and it reaches nominations that were already lodged and undecided.
Who this affects: Employers with a subclass 482, 186 or 494 nomination lodged before 25 March 2026 that had not been decided by then, as well as every nomination lodged since. A market salary evidence pack assembled under the previous wording may need to be revisited.
Provide us with the occupation, proposed salary, work location, employer and the worker’s current visa status.
