Australia’s employer-sponsorship salary floor rose to AUD 79,423 on 1 July 2026. That number, the Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT), decides whether an employer can sponsor you for a subclass 482 (Core Skills stream) or 186 visa. Of the fields compared here, two clear it at typical starting pay: engineering graduates report a median of AUD 82,500 and computing graduates AUD 80,000 in the 2025 Graduate Outcomes Survey. Computing clears it by less than AUD 600. Nursing (AUD 73,700 to 75,100) sits roughly AUD 4,000 to 6,000 below, and even the all-field median of AUD 77,000 falls short. None of that locks you out. Your 485 work years give you time to close the gap before an employer lodges a nomination.
Australia skilled visa salary threshold 2026: what AUD 79,423 controls
The CSIT is the minimum guaranteed annual salary an employer must state when nominating a worker for the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) Core Skills stream or the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186). It rose from AUD 76,515 to AUD 79,423, a 3.8% increase indexed to Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings (AWOTE), and it adjusts every 1 July. The figure that applies to you is the one in force when your employer lodges the nomination, not when you enrolled.
If you are on a subclass 485 Temporary Graduate visa, the CSIT does not limit your day-to-day work. You can take any job at any salary for the full length of your 485. The threshold only matters when an employer sponsors you, and the new figure applies only to nominations lodged on or after 1 July 2026; people already on sponsored visas are unaffected.
Two related thresholds also rose by 3.8%, according to Visas Update. The Specialist Skills Income Threshold (SSIT) for the 482 Specialist Skills stream is now AUD 146,576, which covers highly paid niche roles rather than typical graduate jobs. The regional 494 and 187 visas use a separate threshold that also sits at AUD 79,423.
Which fields clear the bar, and by how much
The salary figures below come from the 2025 Graduate Outcomes Survey National Report, the government-funded survey of bachelor’s graduates four to six months after finishing, published in June 2026. Keep one limit in mind: the report covers domestic graduates only. International graduates are reported separately, so treat these medians as a benchmark for the roles you will be competing for, not a forecast of your own first offer.
Business is missing from the chart because the 2025 report’s published summary doesn’t break it out. In the 2023 survey, business and management graduates earned a median of AUD 69,200, a little below that year’s all-field median of AUD 71,000. Expect a typical business starting salary to fall below the CSIT too, and judge each offer on its own number.
These are medians, so half of each field’s graduates earn more. Computing clears the line by only about AUD 600, and its median blends every IT role and region: metro software roles often pay more than support, QA or regional IT jobs, so plenty of individual offers will land below AUD 79,423. Getting hired is its own hurdle, too: only 65.3% of computing graduates were in full-time work, one of the lowest rates of any field.
Nursing needs a closer look. The 2025 report gives two figures: AUD 75,100 for graduates from English-speaking backgrounds and AUD 73,700 for recent arrivals from non-English-speaking homes, who were also less likely to be in full-time work (68.2% against 81.6%). Most nursing graduates start in public hospital graduate programmes, where state enterprise agreements set pay, so rates differ by state. Before assuming a shortfall, compare the current graduate registered nurse rate in your target state against AUD 79,423.
If you are heading for a master’s, don’t read the report’s postgraduate coursework median (AUD 104,700) as your likely starting pay. The report notes that those graduates tend to be older and already established in the workforce.
The 485 visa gives you time to cross the line
If your field starts below the threshold, you have time. On a subclass 485 you can work in any role at any salary. The Post-Higher Education Work stream typically runs 2 to 3 years for degree holders, depending on your qualification; confirm the length for your course on the Home Affairs site before you enrol. That stretch is your window to push your salary past AUD 79,423. What must meet the threshold is the salary on the offer letter at the time of nomination, not your current pay.
There is also a route that bypasses the CSIT entirely: the points-tested subclass 189 and 190 visas. They need a positive skills assessment and a score above the invitation cutoff for your occupation, with no employer salary floor. The pass mark is 65 points, but competitive occupations are invited well above it, and cutoffs move from round to round. A state 190 nomination adds five points. Check Home Affairs’ published SkillSelect invitation results for your occupation before you plan around this route.
Budget carefully for the 485 itself, because its cost has risen twice this year. The base charge doubled from AUD 2,300 to AUD 4,600 on 1 March 2026, then rose again to AUD 5,750 on 1 July 2026, a 150% increase in four months. A partner aged 18 or over adds AUD 2,875, and each child under 18 adds AUD 1,450. Confirm the current charge on the Home Affairs site close to your application date.
What your loan EMI looks like against an Australian salary
A benchmark INR 30 lakh education loan at 10.5% p.a. over 10 years gives an EMI of about INR 40,500 a month. At the mid-September 2026 rate of roughly INR 68 to the Australian dollar, that is about AUD 595. The rupee has moved a lot against the Australian dollar over the past year, so use the live rate when you calculate your own.
Under the 2026–27 resident tax rates (the rate on income between AUD 18,201 and 45,000 fell from 16% to 15% on 1 July 2026) plus the 2% Medicare levy, an engineering graduate on AUD 82,500 pays an effective rate of about 20.5%. That leaves roughly AUD 5,465 a month, about INR 3.7 lakh, so the EMI is around 11% of take-home.
On the same settings, the computing median (AUD 80,000) leaves about AUD 5,325 a month, putting the EMI at around 11%. The nursing medians (AUD 73,700 to 75,100) leave about AUD 4,965 to 5,045, where the EMI is roughly 12%. At the 2023 business figure (AUD 69,200), take-home is about AUD 4,710 and the EMI is roughly 13%. All of these assume you are an Australian tax resident for the full year, which is what the ATO’s resident rates require, so check your own status.
The longer trajectory comes from a different dataset, so don’t read it as a continuation of the survey figures. Jobs and Skills Australia’s Higher Education Outcomes Report, which uses ATO income records for both domestic and international graduates, puts engineering graduates at AUD 74,540 in their first year and AUD 106,550 by year five. The equivalent averages across all graduates are AUD 65,527 and AUD 85,918.
That first-year figure of AUD 74,540 is below the CSIT, which matters for timing. Seek a 482 nomination when the salary on your employer’s offer letter reaches AUD 79,423, not simply when you start work.
For nursing and business graduates, match your loan repayment schedule against a realistic salary growth curve before you enrol. Whether the loan runs 7 or 10 years, and how fast your field closes the gap, changes the maths. Getting that structure right before you commit is where specialist loan guidance earns its place.
Your field, your next step
- Engineering: The 2025 median clears the CSIT by about AUD 3,100. Confirm your programme is CRICOS-registered, since 485 eligibility depends on it. When seeking a 482 nomination, check that the offer letter states at least AUD 79,423; the AUD 74,540 first-year tax figure shows the gap is real if an employer offers low.
- IT / Computing: The median (AUD 80,000) clears the CSIT by under AUD 600, so many individual offers will still fall short, and full-time employment in the field is among the lowest of any discipline. Aim for roles and cities where graduate software pay runs higher, and check the number on any offer before counting on a 482 nomination. Treat the employer-sponsored path as your main plan, since competitive occupations need high points on the independent route.
- Nursing: The medians (AUD 73,700 to 75,100) are about AUD 4,300 to 5,700 short, but public hospital graduate pay follows state agreements. Look up your target state’s current graduate registered nurse rate before assuming a shortfall. Check whether your state is offering 190 nominations for nurses, which add five points.
- Business and Accounting: Starting pay is likely to sit below the CSIT, so judge each offer on its own number. A CPA Australia, CA ANZ or IPA skills assessment is mandatory for the 189/190/491 routes as an accountant; confirm current processing times close to when you apply. A state 190 nomination can decide whether you clear the invitation cutoff.
- All students: Budget AUD 5,750 for the 485 base charge, plus AUD 2,875 per adult secondary applicant and AUD 1,450 per child. Confirm the current figure on the Department of Home Affairs site before you apply, and re-check the CSIT each July.
If you are also weighing the UK or Canada: HESA reports a £30,000 median salary for UK graduates in full-time work 15 months after finishing, and 12% of graduates from outside the UK reported being unemployed, against 6% of UK graduates. In Canada, international bachelor’s graduates earned a median of CAD 52,000 three years out, 20.2% below Canadian graduates, and international master’s graduates earned CAD 70,000, 16.6% below. Australia’s starting salaries, engineering and computing especially, hold up well against both.
The number to work back from is AUD 79,423. Check what employers in your target city and role are offering graduates now, in the segment you are actually aiming at, not the field average. If that clears the bar, your path to a 482 nomination is straightforward. If it doesn’t, your 485 period is the asset: use it to reach the threshold before the nomination clock starts.
Sources
- Annual indexation of skilled visa income thresholds from 1 July 2026, Australian Department of Home Affairs
- Salary requirements to nominate a worker, Australian Department of Home Affairs
- Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485): Post-Higher Education Work stream, Australian Department of Home Affairs
- Australia Raises Skilled Visa Salary Thresholds by 3.8% from July 1, 2026: New CSIT, SSIT & TSMIT Rates Explained, Visas Update, 8 July 2026
- 2025 Graduate Outcomes Survey: National Report, Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT), June 2026
- Engineering graduates among Australia’s most employable, national survey finds, Engineers Australia, 3 July 2026
- Graduate Salary in Australia by Degree (Graduate Outcomes Survey 2023 data), University Reviews Australia
- The value of an engineering degree: engineers lead graduate earnings, Engineers Australia (citing Jobs and Skills Australia’s Higher Education Outcomes Report), 7 November 2025
- Australia Doubles Temporary Graduate (485) Visa Fee to AUD 4,600 From 1 March 2026, VisaHQ, 1 March 2026
- Temporary Graduate Visa (Subclass 485) Application Fee Increase, Monash Graduate Association
- Subclass 485 Visa Fee Increased from 1 July 2026: Essential Details for Temporary Graduate Visa Applicants, Emigrate Lawyers
- Tax rates: Australian residents, Australian Taxation Office
- Graduate Outcomes 2023/24: Summary Statistics, Graduate salaries and work locations, HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency, UK), 4 June 2026
- Graduate Outcomes 2023/24: Summary Statistics, Graduate activities and characteristics, HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency, UK), 4 June 2026
- International student graduates’ labour market early outcomes: Results from the National Graduates Survey, Statistics Canada, 5 February 2025
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