The Australian government has recently announced some important changes to the subclass 400 temporary work (short stay specialist) visa.
As a part of last year’s Migration Strategy announcement, the Australian Department of Home Affairs announced that the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Thresholds, or ‘TSMIT’, would be annually indexed to reflect changes to the annual Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings (AWOTE).

As a part of last year’s Migration Strategy announcement, the Australian Department of Home Affairs announced that the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Thresholds, or ‘TSMIT’, would be annually indexed to reflect changes to the annual Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings (AWOTE). The annual indexing of this income threshold ensures that wages for skilled migrants increase in line with Australian citizen or permanent resident workers, while also protecting Australian workers from wage undercutting.
Following this announcement, the first indexation of skilled visa income thresholds occurred in July 2024, with the Core Skills Income Threshold increasing from $70,000 to $73,150.
From 1 July 2025, the TSMIT will increase again by 4.6% in alignment with AWOTE within the following categories:
- Skills in Demand visa (Core Skills Stream): from $73,150 to $76,515
- Skills in Demand visa (Specialist Skills Stream): from $135,000 to $141,210
- Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa and Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme: from $73,150 to $76,515
New nomination applications lodged after 1 July 2025 will need to offer a minimum annual salary of $76,515 (which is not inclusive of an additional 11.5% of superannuation). If the annual market salary rate for the position is higher than the TSMIT amount, the nomination application should choose the higher amount of the two.
Sponsors and visa-holders should be aware that this change will not apply to any existing visa holders, or any nomination applications that were lodged before 1 July 2025. However, any business sponsor wishing to lodge a new nomination following 1 July 2025 should take these changes into account when determining their salary offerings to any prospective visa applicants.
At Align Law Immigration, we offer our clients the latest information and ongoing support, making sure they have all the tools needed to uphold sponsorship obligations. We stay up-to-date with updates to migration regulations so that our clients can focus on growing their businesses, sourcing skilled employees, and building their lives within Australia.
Contact us at migration@alignlaw.com.au to book in a consultation with our dedicated skilled migration experts today!
Sources
Ethos Migration (29 March 2025) – ‘Salary thresholds increasing for sponsored work visas as of 1 July 2025’ (link)
Department of Home Affairs (06 March 2025) – ‘Nominating a Position’ (link)
Department of Home Affairs (24 Mar 2025) – ‘Annual Indexation of skilled visa income thresholds from 1 July 2025’ (link)
Visa Envoy (2025) – ‘TSMIT (Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold) Raised to $73,150’ (link)

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