Last month a client sent us the sponsored employment template it had used since 2023. The title was right and the salary clause was tidy. Nearly every visa reference was out of date. It cited a two-year experience rule, a 60-day job search period and a Workforce Australia posting step. None of that survives. The subclass number stayed at 482 when the Skills in Demand visa replaced the Temporary Skill Shortage visa on 7 December 2024. That is why so many templates look current when they are not.
This note sets out what employers actually had to change, in the budget, the hiring pool, the advertising, the contract and the English clause. It is written for the business, not the applicant.
In short: The subclass 482 visa is now the Skills in Demand visa, with a $79,423 Core Skills threshold and a $146,576 Specialist Skills threshold. Experience fell from two years to one, every stream leads to permanent residence, and Workforce Australia is no longer a required advertising channel.
Five things employers changed
1. The budget
The old single threshold is gone. The Core Skills stream carries a floor of $79,423 for nominations lodged from 1 July 2026, and the Specialist Skills stream carries $146,576. Both are indexed each July, and the market rate test applies on top. The nomination charge is $330 and the Skilling Australians Fund levy is $1,200 or $1,800 for every year of the nomination, paid up front. Our note on the 482 salary tests covers how the pay clause meets the floor.
2. The hiring pool
The work experience requirement is one year in the occupation or a related field, within the last five years. Part-time and casual work count pro rata. Recent graduates with a year of relevant employment are now within reach, where they were not before. Employers who screened out candidates with under two years were applying a rule that no longer exists.
3. The advertising
Workforce Australia is no longer a required channel. Labour market testing now means at least two advertisements with national reach, each open for 28 days, all within the 4 months before lodgement. It applies to the Core Skills and Specialist Skills streams alike, so a high salary does not remove the step. Our guide to labour market testing that holds sets out the platforms that qualify.
4. The contract
Three rule changes reach into the employment contract. A worker whose employment ends now has up to 180 days to find a new sponsor, capped at 365 days across the visa. Time with any approved sponsor counts toward the two years needed for the subclass 186 visa. Every stream leads to that visa, including roles that once sat on the short-term list. Restraint clauses, notice periods and retention arrangements drafted under the old rules assume leverage the employer no longer holds.
5. The English clause
For tests taken on or after 13 September 2025, an applicant who misses one component can re-sit that component alone. Results remain valid for three years from the original test day. Offer letters that require a full re-test, or that fix a start date without reference to the result, need updating.
The dates behind the changes
- 7 December 2024The Skills in Demand visa commences. Core Skills and Specialist Skills replace the short-term and medium-term streams. Experience drops to one year.
- 13 September 2025The new English instrument commences, with single-component re-sits for tests taken from that day.
- 1 July 2026Thresholds index to $79,423 and $146,576. Visa and nomination charges move with them.
- Each 1 JulyIndexation repeats. The threshold in force on the lodgement day is the one that applies.
When was your template last reviewed?
When was the sponsored contract template written?
What did not change
The parts of the old framework that survive
The structure is the same. A business must still hold approval as a sponsor. The position must still be nominated and approved, and the worker must still meet the visa criteria. The sponsor still cannot recover its charges from the worker. Health, character and insurance requirements are unchanged. The visa is still temporary, and its length still follows the period in the approved nomination. The genuine position test is unchanged too, and with a lower experience bar the Department looks harder at whether the role is real.
The contract clauses we rewrote
Our commercial practice went through every sponsored template on our files after December 2024. Four clauses changed in nearly all of them. The restraint clause was shortened and tied to legitimate interests rather than to the visa. The termination clause gained an internal notification trigger, because the Department must be told within a short period when a worker leaves. The salary clause gained a review mechanism keyed to the published threshold. The commencement clause became conditional on grant, with the start date fixed by reference to it.
Our note on employment contracts for sponsored staff sets out each clause. The commercial practice can review an existing template against the current rules without the business re-papering every employee.
Where the reforms sit in 2026-27
The July 2026 changes were mostly figures. The framework from December 2024 remains the one employers must plan around, and the September 2025 English instrument sits inside it. Our summary of what changed in the 2026-27 visa rules lists the figures across every subclass we advise on.
Figures verified against Home Affairs visa pricing as at 1 July 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Do existing sponsored contracts need amending?
Not automatically. A contract signed under the old rules remains a valid contract. However, clauses that assume the old rules can be unenforceable or unhelpful, so we review them at the next variation or renewal.
Does the 180-day rule affect our restraint clause?
Yes. A worker who leaves can lawfully work for other employers while seeking a new sponsor. A restraint that tries to prevent that is unlikely to be enforced and may be read as leverage over the visa. We draft restraints around confidential information and clients instead.
Does our existing sponsorship approval carry over?
Yes. An approval granted under the TSS rules continues for its five-year term. New nominations lodged under it are assessed under the current rules, including the current thresholds.
Do we re-run labour market testing for a renewal nomination?
Yes, unless an exemption applies. Testing attaches to each nomination. A new nomination for the same worker in the same role still needs two national advertisements within the 4-month window.
Did the levy change with the reforms?
The structure did not. The levy remains $1,200 or $1,800 per year of the nomination depending on turnover, paid at lodgement, with refunds only in narrow cases.
General information as at 2 September 2026. Not legal advice. Rules and figures change, and every sponsorship turns on the facts of the business, so obtain advice before acting.