Australia Work Visa 2026: Every Option, Cost and Timeline

Without an employer, the Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) gives you permanent residence from grant, but you need at least 65 points and an invitation. If you are 18 to 30 with an eligible passport, a working holiday visa costs AUD 840 and lets you work in Australia for 12 months.

Australian work visas compared

Fees are the base applicant charge on each Home Affairs visa page in November 2026. Partners and children add their own charges, and the estimator on those pages does not include the second instalment or other costs.

How to get a work visa for Australia

Start with the question that decides everything: does an Australian employer want to hire you? If yes, the employer applies to be a sponsor, nominates your position, and then you lodge the visa. If not, you go the points route: check your score, lodge an expression of interest, and wait to be invited. The Australia points calculator shows where you land against the 65-point floor before you pay for anything. Indian graduates should also run the MATES checker, which covers a separate ballot visa.

Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482)

The 482 replaced the Temporary Skill Shortage visa in December 2024. It lets an employer sponsor a skilled worker for a job it cannot fill locally, for up to 4 years (5 for Hong Kong passport holders), per the 482 page. It has three streams for workers:

• Core Skills: your occupation is on the Core Skills Occupation List and the salary meets the Core Skills Income Threshold, AUD 79,423 for nominations lodged from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027.
• Specialist Skills: your occupation sits in ANZSCO major groups 1, 2, 4, 5 or 6 and the salary meets the Specialist Skills Income Threshold, AUD 146,576 for the same period.
• Labour Agreement: your employer has a labour agreement with the Australian government, which sets its own terms.

The thresholds are a floor, not the target. The salary requirements page also says the pay cannot be lower than what an equivalent Australian worker earns, and both figures are indexed every 1 July.

Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186)

The 186 is the permanent employer visa, from AUD 6,140 per the 186 page. The Direct Entry stream needs an occupation on the eligible list and at least Competent English. The Temporary Residence Transition stream is the step up from a 482: you usually need at least two years of full-time sponsored work, and your current employer nominates you. Nominations lodged since 7 December 2024 also have to meet the Core Skills Income Threshold.

Skilled Independent 189, Nominated 190 and Regional 491

These are the points-tested visas, and none of them needs a job offer. The 189 is invitation only, and you must be under 45 to be invited. The 190 adds state or territory nomination and is permanent too. The 491 is a 5-year regional visa sponsored by a state or an eligible family member, with a route to permanent residence after 3 years in a regional area. Our 189 guide walks through the points test, and the 189 vs 482 comparison helps if you are choosing between waiting for an invitation and finding a sponsor.

Working holiday visas: 417 and 462

Which one you get depends on your passport. The 417 and the 462 together cover more than 40 partner countries, per the Working Holiday Maker program page. Three months of specified work on your first visa opens a second one, and six months on the second opens a third, each AUD 1,000. UK passport holders who apply on or after 1 July 2024 can get a second or third 417 without the specified work, per the 417 page. Chinese, Indian and Vietnamese passport holders must win a pre-application ballot before they can apply for a first 462, per the 462 page. The 417 guide and the 417 vs 462 comparison go deeper.

Australia work visa processing time

For the 482, 186 and 189, Home Affairs gives no fixed processing time. It points you to its processing time guide and works through applications in priority order. In November 2026 the 482 page showed priority sectors such as construction, healthcare and teaching at applications lodged in June 2026, while most applicants outside Australia were at October 2025. The 186 page showed offshore applications from July or November 2024, and the 189 page December 2025. Being in Australia when you lodge, or working in a priority sector, moves you up the queue.

Which one fits you

Employer ready to sponsor: 482, then 186. Strong points score and no employer: 189, or 190 and 491 if a state picks you. Under 31 with a partner passport: a working holiday visa first, then look for a sponsor while you are there. Indian citizens can see every route listed for their passport on the India to Australia page.

Frequently asked questions

official sources: SID 482 · immi.homeaffairs.gov.au·SC 189 · immi.homeaffairs.gov.au·SC 189 success-rate data · immi.homeaffairs.gov.au·SC 190 · immi.homeaffairs.gov.au·491 · immi.homeaffairs.gov.au·WHM 417 · immi.homeaffairs.gov.au·462 · immi.homeaffairs.gov.au