The Skills in Demand visa has replaced the TSS 482

On 7 December 2024 the Temporary Skill Shortage visa was rebuilt as the Skills in Demand visa, keeping the subclass number 482 but changing how it works.

The main changes

• Work experience dropped from two years to one year of relevant full-time experience in the last five.
• Three streams replaced the old short-term and medium-term split:
  • Core Skills for occupations on the Core Skills Occupation List, paying at or above the Core Skills Income Threshold. That threshold launched at AUD 73,150 and is indexed every 1 July (around AUD 79,000 by mid-2026).
  • Specialist Skills for higher earners, with no occupation list but a salary floor that launched at AUD 135,000 and is now around AUD 147,000, also indexed.
  • Essential Skills for lower-paid critical roles, announced but not yet in operation.
• Every stream is now a PR pathway. The old Short-Term stream was a dead end for permanent residence; that is gone.
• Time to permanent residence through the 186 Temporary Residence Transition stream dropped from three years to two years with an employer.
• Mobility after a job loss improved: up to 180 consecutive days, and 365 days in total across the visa, to find a new sponsor.

If you already hold a TSS 482

Existing visas continue on their original conditions. The new rules matter at renewal and when you move toward the 186.

Why it matters for graduates

The one-year experience requirement makes the 482 reachable much sooner after a 485. For someone whose occupation is uncompetitive on the points test, a Core Skills 482 followed by the 186 after two years is now a cleaner route than it was, provided the salary clears the threshold.

What did not change

The employer still has to be an approved sponsor, still pays the Skilling Australians Fund levy for each year of the nomination, and the role still has to be a genuine full-time position paying at or above the market rate for that job. The visa is easier to qualify for on experience, not easier to get without an employer willing to sponsor you.