Skills in Demand
This temporary visa lets an employer sponsor a suitably skilled worker to fill a position they can’t find a suitably skilled Australian to fill.
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At a glance
- Base application charge
- A$4,015
- Checked with the Department on 22 October 2026
- Primary applicant only. The Department publishes five further charges per row.
- 90% decided within
- 10 months
- Slowest of 5 streams - see below
- Age limit
- No limit
- English
- Competent English for Medium-term stream (IELTS 5.0 overall, 4.5 each band for Short-term)
Processing times
How long the Department took to decide recently finalised applications. Each figure is a percentile, not an average or a promise.
| Stream | 50% decided within | 90% decided within |
|---|---|---|
| Core Skills | 4 months | 10 months |
| Labour Agreement | 5 months | 9 months |
| Nomination | 64 days | 9 months |
| Specialist Skills | 37 days | 78 days |
| Sponsorship | 11 days | 57 days |
Captured from the Department of Home Affairs on 16 October 2026. The Department does not state a reporting period for this source. Check the Department's tool for the figure as it stands today.
Streams
Each stream has its own eligibility, duration and charge. Read them alongside the Department's page before lodging.
| Stream | Duration | Base fee |
|---|---|---|
Core Skills Stream This visa enables employers to address labour shortages by bringing in skilled workers where they can't source an appropriately skilled Australian worker. | 4 years | A$4,015 Primary applicant |
Labour agreement stream This visa is for skilled workers nominated by employers who have a Labour Agreement. It lets you live and work in Australia temporarily. Labour agreements are developed between the Australian Government (represented by the Department) and employers. | 4 years | A$4,015 Primary applicant |
Subsequent entrant This visa is for family members of subclass 457 and subclass 482 visa holders who wish to join the primary subclass 457 or subclass 482 visa holder in Australia. They are applying separately for their SID visa. | Varies | Not published No published charge DHA lists this as a subclass 482 stream (card 482-72) but publishes no row for it. A subsequent entrant pays the charge for the stream they are joining - all three priced 482 streams were A$4,015 on 2026-08-14 - so no single figure belongs to this row. |
Specialist Skills stream This visa enables employers to address labour shortages by bringing in skilled workers where they can't source an appropriately skilled Australian worker. | 4 years | A$4,015 Primary applicant |
As published by the Department of Home Affairs on 22 October 2026
Data verified from immi.homeaffairs.gov.au. Charges and processing times are published by the Department of Home Affairs and change from time to time. Each figure on this page carries its own capture date - the page has no single “as at”, because the charge and the processing times are captured separately.
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