The remuneration clause in a sponsored worker's contract is a migration document. Our migration team reads it before the nomination form. Our commercial practice drafts it with the same care as a restraint clause. The Department reads it too, and it tests the number three ways.
This note walks through each test in the order a case officer applies it. It also shows how we draft the pay clause so the contract, the nomination and the payslips agree.
In short: For nominations lodged from 1 July 2026, the Core Skills Income Threshold is $79,423 and the Specialist Skills Income Threshold is $146,576. The contract must also pay the market rate for the role, and only assured cash earnings count.
Test one: what the contract actually promises
The Department measures salary against the worker's assured annual earnings. That means money the worker is certain to receive each year. Base salary is the core of the figure. A fixed allowance written into the contract and paid every cycle can count too.
Everything conditional sits outside the figure. Superannuation does not count. Neither does a vehicle, housing, a phone or a laptop. Discretionary bonuses, roster-dependent overtime and uncapped commission are all excluded, because none of them is assured.
How we draft the pay clause for a sponsored role
We state one figure as assured annual earnings, exclusive of superannuation. Benefits go in a separate schedule with no dollar value attributed to the salary. Where commission applies, the clause sets a fixed minimum. Where the role is hourly, the contract fixes full-time hours so the annual figure is certain. The same figure then appears in the nomination and on every payslip.
Test two: the annual market salary rate
Clearing the threshold is not enough. The employer must show the worker will earn at least what an equivalent Australian earns for the same work in the same place. This is the annual market salary rate.
The evidence follows a set order. If an Australian already does equivalent work in the business, that person's pay sets the benchmark. Otherwise the employer builds the rate from the award, an enterprise agreement, salary surveys or advertised roles with stated pay. Generic national averages rarely survive questions, because they do not fit the actual role.
Our commercial practice adds a second reason to get this right. A sponsored worker paid below existing staff creates a pay equity problem inside the business. A sponsored worker paid well above them creates a different one. The market rate evidence should read the same way to the Department and to the rest of the team.
Test three: the stream threshold
Each stream carries its own floor, and the higher of the market rate and the floor controls. The figure that applies is the one in force on the day the nomination is lodged.
| Item | Where it applies | 2026-27 figure |
|---|---|---|
| Core Skills Income Threshold | 482 Core Skills stream and 186 nominations | $79,423 |
| Specialist Skills Income Threshold | 482 Specialist Skills stream | $146,576 |
| Nomination charge | Employer, per 482 nomination | $330 |
| Skilling Australians Fund levy | Employer, per year of the nomination | $1,200 (turnover under $10 million) or $1,800 |
| Visa application charge | Main applicant | $4,015 |
Figures verified against Home Affairs visa pricing as at 1 July 2026.
Does the package clear the line?
Pick the description that matches the offer you have drafted.
How does the offer reach the threshold?
Four dates where the salary is tested again
Salary is not a one-off check. We map these dates into every sponsored employment contract we prepare.
- OfferThe contract is signed with one assured annual figure. The advertisement used for labour market testing must show the same pay where the instrument requires it.
- LodgementThe threshold in force on the lodgement day applies. A nomination prepared in June and lodged in July faces the July figure.
- Each 1 JulyBoth thresholds are indexed to average weekly ordinary time earnings. A salary that scraped over the line can sit below it a year later.
- The 186 nominationAfter two years of sponsored work the Core Skills threshold applies again. Our two-year plan for the 482 to 186 transition shows where pay re-enters the file.
What a short salary costs the business
A nomination refused on salary loses the nomination charge of $330. The levy paid at lodgement is refundable only in narrow cases, so we budget as if it is lost. The larger cost is time. If the labour market testing window has closed, the employer advertises again before it can re-lodge. Our guide to labour market testing that holds explains that window.
We see the same pattern in files that reach us after a refusal. The contract said one number, the nomination said another and the payslips said a third. None of the three was wrong on its own. Together they invited a request for information the employer could not answer cleanly.
Where the commercial practice comes in
A sponsored contract is a commercial document with a migration overlay. Pay, hours, position title and duties all feed the nomination. Restraint and termination clauses interact with the worker's mobility rules. Our note on employment contracts for sponsored staff sets out the clauses we draft differently. The commercial practice prepares the contract, and the migration team lodges against it.
If an offer is already out and the numbers look tight, send us the draft before the nomination is lodged. We check the three tests together, because fixing one after lodgement usually disturbs another. Our contact page has the details.
Frequently asked questions
Can a pay rise after lodgement fix a salary that was short?
We do not recommend relying on it. The Department assesses the position as nominated, and a late variation invites questions about the original offer. Fix the contract first, then lodge once with consistent figures.
Does a lower salary during probation cause a problem?
Yes, where the assured annual earnings during probation fall below the threshold. The nominated position must clear the line from the first day. We draft the full salary from commencement and manage probation through the termination clause instead.
Must the contract index the salary each July?
The visa rules do not require an indexation clause. However, the threshold that applies at the 186 stage is the one in force on that later day. A review clause tied to the published threshold protects the permanent pathway without renegotiation.
Can we pay a sponsored worker an hourly rate?
Yes, provided the contract fixes full-time hours so the annual earnings are certain. A casual hourly rate with no fixed hours does not produce assured annual earnings, and the nomination is exposed.
Does the salary in the advertisement need to match the contract?
Yes. Where the instrument requires the advertisement to state pay, a different figure in the contract creates a contradiction the case officer will notice. We draft the advertisement from the signed contract, not the other way around.
General information as at 2 September 2026. Not legal advice. Income thresholds and charges change each July, and every nomination turns on its own facts, so obtain advice before acting.