Sponsored income thresholds for 2026–27, and why the Regulations still print the old figure

For a nomination lodged between 1 July 2026 and 30 June 2027 the operative thresholds are:

Threshold	2026–27	2025–26
Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT) subclass 482 Core Skills, and subclass 186 nominations lodged on or after 7 December 2024	$79,423	$76,515
Specialist Skills Income Threshold (SSIT) subclass 482 Specialist Skills	$146,576	$141,210
Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) subclass 494, and subclass 187 RSMS	$79,423	$76,515

Reading the Regulations alone will produce the wrong number

Regulation 1.03 of the Migration Regulations 1994 defines each threshold with a dollar figure, but regulation 5.42A then replaces that figure every 1 July by an average-weekly-earnings formula without rewriting the text of regulation 1.03. Compilation No. 288, in force 1 July 2026, still reads core skills income threshold means $73,150 and specialist skills income threshold means $135,000. Those are the base amounts set in December 2024. The operative figures are the indexed ones in the table above.

Regulation 5.42A(5) requires the Secretary to publish the replacement amount on the Department’s website, and that publication is where the current figure is found. A salary set by quoting the figure printed in the Regulations would sit roughly $6,000 below the threshold the nomination is actually assessed against.

TSMIT has moved into the Regulations

Schedule 2 to the Home Affairs Legislation Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Regulations 2026 inserted a new definition into regulation 1.03, temporary skilled migration income threshold means $79,423, and removed the words in paragraphs 2.72C(15)(d) and (f) that previously let the Minister specify the amount in a separate legislative instrument. TSMIT was also added to the regulation 5.42A indexation list, which until then covered only CSIT and SSIT.

The instrument states that the first indexation day for TSMIT is 1 July 2027, so the $79,423 figure was set directly by regulation for this year. One practical effect is that TSMIT and CSIT are, for 2026–27, the same amount.

The Schedule 2 amendments apply, in the instrument’s own words, in relation to an application for approval of a nomination made on or after 1 July 2026.