TSMIT: Australia’s Skilled Migration Income Threshold

If you are planning to apply for a skilled visa in Australia, you need to understand the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold. In simple terms, it is the minimum salary that employers must pay overseas workers on certain skilled visas. If your offered salary falls below this threshold, your visa application will be refused. In this article, you will learn what TSMIT is, how it differs from CSIT, which visas it applies to, and how it affects workers and employers across different industries.

TSMIT: Australia’s Skilled Migration Income Threshold

Overview and Purpose

TSMIT stands for Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold. It is the minimum annual salary that an Australian employer must offer to a temporary skilled overseas worker. The main purpose of TSMIT is to protect workers by ensuring migrants are not exploited through below-market wages, and to prevent employers from hiring overseas workers simply because they can be paid less than Australians. According to the Department of Home Affairs, TSMIT is used as a key requirement when assessing skilled visa applications.

TSMIT is reviewed regularly and can increase over time. Applicants and employers should always check the most current figure on the official Australian government website before submitting a visa application, as using an outdated number can lead to refusal.

TSMIT vs. CSIT: Key Differences

While TSMIT is the most well-known income threshold in Australia’s skilled migration system, there is another measure called CSIT — the Consolidated Sponsored Income Threshold. CSIT applies to permanent employer-sponsored visas, such as the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) visa (subclass 186). Understanding which threshold applies to your visa type is essential before you apply.

TSMIT sets a minimum floor for annual earnings on temporary skilled visas, while CSIT is used to confirm that a permanent skilled worker will be paid at or above a comparable market salary. In practice, CSIT is often aligned with TSMIT, but they serve different functions in the visa process. The table below summarises the key differences.

One important note: even if CSIT and TSMIT are currently the same dollar amount, they are separate legal concepts. Employers and applicants must satisfy both thresholds separately depending on the visa type being applied for.

Which Visas Does TSMIT Apply To?

TSMIT applies to several key visa subclasses in Australia’s employer-sponsored skilled migration program. The most common visa that uses TSMIT is the Skills in Demand (SID) visa, also known as subclass 482 (formerly known as the Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa, which was replaced by the SID visa on 7 December 2024), which allows Australian employers to bring in skilled workers from overseas to fill positions that cannot be filled locally. TSMIT also applies to the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (SESR) visa (subclass 494), designed for workers willing to live and work in regional Australia. Some transition streams for permanent residency — such as moving from a subclass 482 to a subclass 186 — also require that the salary meets TSMIT or CSIT at the time of application.

It is worth noting that TSMIT applies to guaranteed annual earnings, which includes base salary and may include certain allowances. However, commission, bonuses, and overtime are generally not counted. Employers and applicants should seek advice from a registered migration agent to make sure the salary package is structured correctly.

Current Threshold Amount

The New TSMIT From July 1, 2025: $76,515

According to the Department of Home Affairs, starting from July 1, 2025, the new TSMIT is AUD $76,515 per year, up from the previous amount of AUD $73,150 in place since July 1, 2024. The rise means employers who sponsor skilled overseas workers must now offer a higher minimum salary to meet visa requirements. If your employment contract was written before this date, your employer may need to update your salary offer to reflect the new threshold before your visa can be approved.

Both new visa applicants and existing visa holders who are renewing or transitioning to another visa should be aware of this updated amount. Submitting an application with a salary below $76,515 will result in refusal, so it is critical to verify the current rate before lodging.

How TSMIT Is Calculated: The AWOTE Indexation Mechanism

TSMIT is not set arbitrarily — it is calculated using a method called AWOTE indexation. AWOTE stands for Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings, a national wage measure published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). When AWOTE rises, TSMIT is adjusted upward to keep pace with general wage increases across Australia.

The Department of Home Affairs reviews the most recent AWOTE data each year and applies a formula to set the new TSMIT level, with any changes taking effect on July 1. This means TSMIT is not fixed permanently — it will likely continue to rise as Australian wages grow. Employers planning long-term sponsorship arrangements should build this into their salary planning, and visa applicants should not assume that a salary meeting TSMIT today will still meet it at the time of a future renewal.

How It Affects Skilled Workers and Visa Applicants

Checking Your Occupation and Meeting the Salary Requirement

Before you apply for a skilled visa, you need to confirm two things: that your occupation is on an eligible skilled occupation list, and that the salary your employer is offering meets or exceeds the current TSMIT of AUD $76,515. Even if your occupation is listed, your application will be refused if the salary falls short.

For subclass 482, the relevant list is now the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL) (which consolidated the former Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL) and Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL) under the new Skills in Demand visa framework). Each occupation may also have an associated Annual Market Salary Rate (AMSR) — explained in the next section — that could be higher than TSMIT. Only your guaranteed annual base salary counts toward meeting TSMIT. Superannuation, bonuses, commissions, and expense reimbursements are not counted.

TSMIT and AMSR: Which One Applies?

When checking whether your salary is sufficient, you may come across two different figures: TSMIT and AMSR. AMSR stands for Annual Market Salary Rate, which is the typical market salary for a specific occupation in Australia. While TSMIT is a universal minimum that applies to all eligible skilled visas, AMSR is occupation-specific and reflects what Australian workers are actually paid for the same role.

The rule is straightforward: your nominated salary must meet whichever figure is higher — TSMIT or the AMSR for your occupation. This rule exists to prevent employers from underpaying skilled migrants in high-paying fields by using TSMIT as a lower benchmark. Always confirm the AMSR for your specific occupation using the official tools on the Department of Home Affairs website before finalising your salary offer.

For many professional and specialist occupations — such as engineers, IT specialists, and medical professionals — the AMSR will often be higher than TSMIT.

Preparation Checklist Before You Apply

Getting your salary and occupation details right before lodging your visa application can save a great deal of time and stress. The steps below cover the most important things to confirm before you apply for a TSMIT-related skilled visa.

• Confirm your occupation is on the eligible skilled occupation list for your visa type.
• Check the current TSMIT on the Department of Home Affairs website (as of July 1, 2025: AUD $76,515).
• Look up the AMSR for your specific occupation and identify which is higher — TSMIT or AMSR.
• Review your employment contract to confirm your guaranteed annual base salary meets the required threshold.
• Confirm that excluded components (bonuses, commissions, superannuation, expense reimbursements) are not being counted toward the threshold.
• If you are renewing or transitioning to a new visa, verify that your current salary still meets the latest TSMIT at the time of lodgement.
• Seek advice from a registered migration agent if you are unsure about how your salary package is structured.

Connection to Regional Migration

Subclass 494 and Regional Sponsorship Opportunities

The subclass 494 visa — formally called the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa — is designed for skilled workers willing to live and work in regional Australia, meaning locations outside major cities like Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. The Australian government actively encourages skilled migrants to settle in these areas to support local economies and fill workforce gaps. Like the subclass 482, the subclass 494 requires the nominated salary to meet TSMIT, and the sponsoring employer must be located in a designated regional area.

One practical advantage of the subclass 494 pathway is that it can lead to permanent residency through the subclass 191 visa. For workers open to regional living, the 494 can be an attractive route, especially in fields where regional demand is high such as construction, healthcare, and agriculture-related trades. Importantly, TSMIT still applies in full — workers and employers in regional areas must ensure the offered salary is at least AUD $76,515 per year regardless of local wage norms.

The 191 Visa Permanent Residency Pathway

The subclass 191 visa — officially called the Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa — is the permanent residency pathway available to workers who hold a subclass 494 visa. To be eligible, applicants must have held a subclass 494 for at least three years, worked in the nominated occupation in the regional area, and met the income requirement for each of those three years. That income requirement is set at or above TSMIT, meaning a worker cannot meet the qualifying period by being paid below TSMIT at any point.

The subclass 191 is a compelling option for skilled workers committed to regional Australia in the long term. Because the income requirement is directly tied to TSMIT for all three years of the 494 visa, any salary shortfall — even in just one year — may affect eligibility for this permanent residency pathway.

Industry-by-Industry Impact: Hospitality, Aged Care, Construction, and More

Why Low-Margin Sectors Are Hit Hardest

TSMIT has a particularly strong impact on industries where profit margins are thin and wages have traditionally been lower. Sectors such as hospitality, aged care, and food service have historically employed many overseas workers in roles paid below or just around what TSMIT now requires. When TSMIT rises, these industries face a direct financial challenge: they must either raise salaries to comply or reduce their reliance on employer-sponsored workers.

In hospitality, roles like cooks and restaurant managers are often sponsored under the subclass 482 visa. While head chefs in major city restaurants may already earn above TSMIT, many regional or smaller establishments struggle to justify paying AUD $76,515 for positions that have traditionally commanded lower wages. Aged care faces a similar challenge — the sector depends heavily on overseas workers, but funding constraints can make it difficult for providers to meet the rising threshold. Construction, on the other hand, is generally less affected, as tradesperson and engineering salaries in that sector often already sit well above the threshold. As noted by Mapien, the increased superannuation guarantee to 12% from July 2025 further compounds costs for employers in low-margin sectors.

Case Studies: How Employers Are Adapting

Faced with rising TSMIT requirements, employers across different sectors have developed various strategies to stay compliant while continuing to access overseas talent. A regional aged care provider, for instance, may restructure a sponsored worker’s role to include additional responsibilities — such as team leadership or training duties — that justify a higher salary. This approach requires careful documentation, as the nominated occupation must still match the worker’s actual duties for visa purposes.

In the hospitality sector, some restaurant groups have moved away from sponsoring individual chefs and instead invested in training programs for local workers. Others have consolidated roles — for example, combining the duties of a sous chef and kitchen manager into a single senior position — to create a higher-salaried role that meets TSMIT and justifies the cost of sponsorship. In construction, where TSMIT compliance is generally less of a burden, employers have focused on using the sponsorship system for highly specialised roles that are genuinely difficult to fill locally, such as tunnel engineers or facade specialists.

Why Does the Australian Government Keep Raising the TSMIT?

Protecting Migrant Workers From Underpayment

The most direct reason the Australian government raises TSMIT regularly is to protect overseas workers from being underpaid. Without a rising minimum salary threshold, some employers could offer wages that are technically legal but far below what Australian workers in the same role would expect. This kind of wage exploitation is a serious concern in industries with high migrant labour participation, such as hospitality, food processing, and parts of the care sector.

Australia’s migration system is built on the principle that overseas workers should not be used to undercut local labour markets. If a sponsored worker is paid significantly less than the going rate, it creates an unfair advantage for the employer and can gradually push down wages for all workers in that occupation. Government immigration compliance audits have found cases where workers were paid below their nominated salary or had wages clawed back through illegal deductions. As the Australian Government announced when initiating the 2023 reform, the TSMIT had been frozen for a decade, with around 90% of all full-time jobs in Australia paying more than the outdated threshold. Raising TSMIT creates a higher legal floor that makes such underpayment harder to conceal and easier to identify during compliance checks.

Aligning Sponsored Salaries With Domestic Wage Growth

A second key reason for raising TSMIT is to keep sponsored worker salaries in step with broader wage growth across the Australian economy. If TSMIT were fixed at a single amount for many years, inflation would erode its real value over time. The AWOTE indexation mechanism directly addresses this concern by anchoring TSMIT to national wage data, ensuring the minimum salary for sponsored workers rises alongside what Australian employees are actually earning.

From a policy perspective, aligning TSMIT with domestic wage growth also supports the broader goal of wage equality. When migrant workers are paid at or above the market rate for their occupation, it removes the financial incentive for employers to prefer overseas workers over local candidates purely on cost grounds. The table below illustrates how successive TSMIT increases have tracked against general wage trends in Australia.

TSMIT Concessions and DAMA: When a Lower Threshold Applies

How Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMA) Reduce the TSMIT

For most skilled visa applications, the standard TSMIT applies without exception. However, there is one important pathway that allows employers in certain regions to sponsor overseas workers at a salary below the standard TSMIT: the Designated Area Migration Agreement, or DAMA. A DAMA is a formal agreement negotiated between the Australian federal government and a regional authority — such as a state government, territory government, or local council — that gives employers in that area access to a broader range of occupations and, in some cases, reduced salary and skills requirements.

Under a DAMA, employers in the designated region can apply for concessions, including a lower income threshold than the national TSMIT. This is designed to address workforce shortages in regional and remote areas where it may be genuinely difficult to attract skilled workers at the standard salary level. DAMA concessions are not automatic: the employer must be an approved DAMA sponsor, the occupation must be listed in the specific DAMA, and the worker must still be paid at least the concessional threshold set within the agreement. The concessional TSMIT under a DAMA is not a fixed national figure — it varies depending on the specific agreement, the occupation, and the region.

English Language, Age, and Work Experience Concessions Explained

Beyond the income concession, DAMAs can also provide concessions related to English language ability, age, and prior work experience. An English language concession means that a worker may be accepted with a lower score on a recognised English test such as IELTS than would normally be required. This is particularly relevant in manual or trade-based occupations where English communication needs may be more limited. An age concession allows workers who are older than the standard eligible age for certain visa subclasses to still apply under the DAMA framework, while work experience concessions can reduce the number of years of relevant experience required.

State-by-State Concession Overview (SA, WA Pilbara, and More)

Australia currently has several active DAMAs, each negotiated with a different regional authority and covering a specific geographic area. Workers and employers should always check the specific DAMA that applies to their location, as concessions differ between agreements and do not transfer between regions.

South Australia operates one of the broader DAMAs in the country, covering a wide range of occupations across both metropolitan Adelaide and regional SA, with concessions available on income, English language, age, and work experience. The Pilbara region in Western Australia has its own DAMA reflecting the unique labour market demands of one of Australia’s most resource-intensive and remote regions, covering a targeted range of trade and technical occupations. Notably, salaries in mining-related roles in the Pilbara often already exceed TSMIT regardless of any concession.

FAQ

Q. Does TSMIT Include Superannuation?

A. No, TSMIT does not include superannuation. Superannuation — Australia’s compulsory retirement savings system, where employers contribute a percentage of a worker’s earnings into a retirement fund — is paid on top of the salary, not counted as part of it. When checking whether your offered salary meets TSMIT, look at your base annual salary only. The current TSMIT of AUD $76,515 must be met by your guaranteed base pay alone.

Q. Are Existing Visa Holders Affected by the New TSMIT?

A. Yes, existing visa holders can be affected — particularly when renewing a visa or transitioning to a new visa subclass. If you are applying to renew your subclass 482 or move to a permanent residency pathway such as the subclass 186, the salary offered at the time of the new application must meet the TSMIT in effect at that point. If your current salary was set when the threshold was lower, your employer may need to increase it before your next application is lodged.

Q. Will the TSMIT Increase Again in 2026?

A. Based on the AWOTE indexation mechanism, TSMIT is expected to rise to AUD $79,499 from July 1, 2026, pending formal confirmation from the Department of Home Affairs. TSMIT has increased every year since the major 2023 reform. Employers and applicants should monitor announcements from the Department of Home Affairs each year, particularly around May and June, as updates typically take effect from July 1.

Conclusion

TSMIT is one of the most important numbers in Australia’s skilled migration system. As of July 1, 2025, the threshold stands at AUD $76,515 per year and will likely continue to rise. Whether you are a visa applicant, a sponsored worker, or an employer, understanding TSMIT and planning around it is essential for a successful visa outcome. For the most current and authoritative information, always refer to the Department of Home Affairs website.