Almost every guide to visa sponsorship in Australia still describes a visa that has been renamed, points at a single occupation list that does not exist, and gives the wrong advice about how sponsorship turns into permanent residence. The system itself is straightforward once you see its actual shape. This page sets out what subclass 482 is called now, which of Australia's four occupation lists applies to you, what a sponsor is legally required to pay, and the one rule about permanent residence that most articles get backwards.
The 482 Is Not the TSS Visa Any More
If your research keeps returning the phrase "Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa", you are reading material written before the visa was restructured. The Department of Home Affairs now publishes subclass 482 as the Skills in Demand visa, and it runs in three streams:
- Core Skills stream — the mainstream employer-sponsored route, which uses the Core Skills Occupation List
- Specialist Skills stream — for highly paid specialist roles
- Labour agreement stream — for employers working under a negotiated labour agreement
The Core Skills stream lets you stay up to 4 years, and Hong Kong passport holders may stay up to 5 years. Home Affairs also notes that from 1 July 2026 a lower visa cost applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid application.
The name matters for a practical reason. If an agent, a recruiter or a website is still selling you "TSS visa" advice, they are working from an older version of the rules, and the parts you cannot see may be out of date too.
There Is No Single "Skilled Occupation List"
This is the error that does the most damage, because it sends people to check the wrong list and draw the wrong conclusion about their chances.
Home Affairs publishes a combined skilled occupation list. For each occupation it specifies the ANZSCO code, any caveats, the assessing authority for skills assessments, and — the part that matters — whether the occupation sits on the:
- Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL)
- Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL)
- Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL)
- Regional Occupation List (ROL)
Different visas draw on different lists. The combined list is used by the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186), the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (subclass 187) Temporary Residence Transition stream, Skilled Independent (189) points-tested, Skilled Nominated (190), Training (407), the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) Core Skills stream, Temporary Graduate (485), Skilled Regional (Provisional) (489), Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (491) and Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) (494).
So "is my occupation on the Skilled Occupation List?" is not a question that has an answer. The question is: is my occupation on the list that my visa stream uses? A nurse, a carpenter and an electrician all appear on the Core Skills Occupation List. A taxi driver does not appear on it at all. Same country, same combined list, entirely different answers.
One more warning that most guides skip entirely. The combined list also flags caveats, which exclude the use of an occupation in certain circumstances, and these apply to the ENS Direct Entry stream and to the SID visas. A caveat is how a job that looks eligible on paper fails at nomination — because of the size of the business, the nature of the position, or the salary attached to it. Check the caveat before you accept an offer, not after.
Finally, treat any list you find on a blog as a summary. Home Affairs is explicit that the current list of eligible skilled occupations for a visa programme is in that programme's legislative instrument. That is the authoritative source, and it is the one that changes.
What a Sponsor Must Legally Pay You
Here the standard article is out of date in a way that could cost you money. It says employers must meet the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold. For a subclass 482 nomination, the threshold that applies is the Core Skills Income Threshold.
The structure of the obligation is what you need to understand, because it is a two-part test and most readers only know about one part:
- The income threshold — a floor below which a nomination cannot be approved at all
- The annual market salary rate — what an Australian doing that same job in that same workplace would be paid
The nomination must satisfy both, which in practice means whichever is higher. If Australians in that role are paid well above the threshold, meeting the threshold alone is not enough. This is the provision that stops sponsorship from becoming a route to cheap labour, and it is the one to point at if a prospective employer suggests a "sponsorship discount" on your salary.
These thresholds are indexed, and the departmental salary requirements page carries a current figure that changes. This guide deliberately does not print an amount, because a number copied from an article is exactly how applicants end up relying on a threshold that lapsed on 1 July. Read the current figure off the Home Affairs salary requirements page before you negotiate.
The Permanent Residence Rule Everyone Gets Backwards
Standard advice tells you to check your occupation against the occupation list before pursuing permanent residence. For the main employer-sponsored route, that advice is wrong, and Home Affairs says so directly.
The Temporary Residence Transition streams in the subclass 186 and 187 programmes do not have an occupation list. Occupation eligibility is based on the occupation from your most recently held temporary skilled visa.
Think about what that means for the order of your decisions. The occupation that decides whether you can transition to permanent residence is the one you were sponsored in years earlier. If your occupation later comes off a list, the transition stream is not reading that list — it is reading your visa history. And conversely, taking a sponsored role in an occupation that does not match your long-term intentions locks that occupation into your permanent residence pathway.
The 186 also has a Direct Entry stream, which does use the combined list and is where caveats bite. The two streams behave differently, and knowing which one you are heading for changes what you should check.
The Regional Route Is a Separate Visa, Not a Discount
Subclass 494, the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa, enables regional employers to address identified labour shortages within their region by sponsoring skilled workers where employers cannot source an appropriately skilled Australian worker.
Two things follow that guides tend to blur. First, it is a provisional visa: it is a defined stage with its own conditions, not a lighter version of the 482. Second, the incentive that makes regional employers more willing to sponsor is the same fact that makes the shortage real — they genuinely cannot fill the role locally. That is a strong position for a candidate who actually wants to live regionally, and a poor one for a candidate treating a regional visa as a back door to a capital city.
Where Sponsorship Actually Happens
Sponsorship follows shortage, and shortage is occupation-specific rather than industry-wide. Healthcare is the clearest case: nursing occupations appear extensively on the Core Skills Occupation List. Construction and the licensed trades are well represented — carpenters and electricians both appear. Engineering, information technology, agriculture, hospitality at the chef and management level, and teaching in hard-to-staff subjects all generate nominations.
What does not generate nominations is instructive too. Occupations that Australia has no shortage in do not appear on the list at all, regardless of how many vacancies are advertised. A job being hard to fill locally and an occupation being sponsorable are two different things, and only the second one is decided by the legislative instrument.
How to Approach It
- Find your ANZSCO code first. Everything downstream — list membership, caveats, assessing authority, market salary comparison — is organised by occupation code, not job title
- Check the list your stream uses, then check the caveats attached to your occupation, then confirm both in the legislative instrument
- Start the skills assessment early if your occupation and stream require one; assessing authorities set their own timeframes
- Target approved sponsors. A business that has sponsored before knows the process; one that has not must first be approved as a sponsor, which adds a stage before your visa can even be lodged
- Negotiate against the market rate, not the threshold. The threshold is a floor, and a sponsor cannot lawfully pay you less than an Australian doing the same job
- Decide about regional life honestly before pursuing 494, because the conditions attached to a provisional regional visa are not cosmetic
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the TSS visa still called the TSS visa?
No. Home Affairs publishes subclass 482 as the Skills in Demand visa, with a Core Skills stream, a Specialist Skills stream and a Labour agreement stream. Advice still using the TSS name predates the restructure, which is a reason to check the rest of it.
Which occupation list do I need to be on?
It depends on your visa stream. The combined list flags four: the Core Skills Occupation List, the MLTSSL, the STSOL and the Regional Occupation List. The subclass 482 Core Skills stream uses the CSOL. The authoritative version is the legislative instrument for that visa programme.
How long can I stay on a subclass 482 Core Skills visa?
Up to 4 years. Hong Kong passport holders may stay up to 5 years.
Do I need my occupation on a list to get permanent residence?
Not on the main employer route. The Temporary Residence Transition streams of subclass 186 and 187 have no occupation list; eligibility is based on the occupation from your most recently held temporary skilled visa. The 186 Direct Entry stream does use the combined list.
What salary must a sponsor pay me?
The nomination must meet the Core Skills Income Threshold and the annual market salary rate for the position, so in practice the higher of the two. The threshold is indexed, so check the current amount on the Home Affairs salary requirements page rather than relying on a figure quoted in an article.
Do I always need a skills assessment?
No. The combined list names an assessing authority for each occupation, but whether you need an assessment depends on your visa stream and your occupation. Check the requirement for your specific stream rather than assuming it applies to all sponsored visas.
What is a caveat and why does it matter?
A caveat excludes the use of an occupation in certain circumstances, and caveats apply to the ENS Direct Entry stream and the SID visas. It is how an otherwise eligible occupation fails at nomination, so check it before accepting an offer rather than afterwards.
Is the regional 494 visa easier to get?
It is a different visa, not an easier one. It lets regional employers sponsor skilled workers where they cannot source an appropriately skilled Australian worker in their region, and it is provisional, with conditions attached to where you live and work.
People Also Search For
- Skills in Demand visa 482 occupation list — the Core Skills stream uses the Core Skills Occupation List, confirmed in the legislative instrument
- TSMIT 2026 Australia — the threshold for a 482 nomination is now the Core Skills Income Threshold, indexed and published by Home Affairs
- Companies that sponsor visas in Australia — only businesses approved as sponsors can nominate, which is the first of three separate approvals
- 186 visa Temporary Residence Transition requirements — no occupation list applies; eligibility follows your most recently held temporary skilled visa
- 494 regional sponsored visa Australia — provisional, for regional employers with identified local shortages
- ANZSCO code list Australia — the code, not the job title, decides list membership, caveats and the assessing authority
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