What does the 482 (Skills in Demand) visa cost? Government charges, SAF levy, skills and English test fees, and who pays. Registered agents in Brisbane. Call us.
The 482 visa, now called the Skills in Demand visa, has costs on two sides: the employer’s side and the worker’s side. The employer usually pays for the sponsorship and nomination stage, including the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy, which is charged per year of the visa and is the biggest single sponsor cost. The worker (the applicant) pays the visa application charge for themselves and any family members included, plus the cost of health checks, police certificates, English testing where required, and any skills assessment. On top of the government charges, most people budget for professional fees if a registered migration agent prepares the case. There is no single sticker price, because the total depends on how many years the visa is for, how many people are on it, and which stream applies.
Below we break the costs into the pieces that actually make up the bill, explain who legally has to pay which part, and show where the numbers move.
If you’ve been searching “482 visa cost”, note that the subclass 482 has been rebuilt as the Skills in Demand (SID) visa, replacing the old Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) arrangement. The subclass number is the same in most places, but the streams and some rules changed. The cost structure below reflects the current employer-sponsored model. Because the settings have moved recently, treat any figure you see online as a guide only and confirm the current charge before you rely on it.
An employer-sponsored 482 case has three linked applications, and costs sit across all three:
1. Sponsorship. The business becomes an approved standard business sponsor. There’s a government charge for this, and it’s usually a one-off that covers several years. 2. Nomination. The business nominates a specific position and worker. This stage carries the SAF levy, charged per year of the nominated visa period. This is where most of the employer’s spend lands. 3. Visa application. The worker applies for the visa itself. The visa application charge is paid here, with a lower additional charge for each family member included.
As the person being sponsored, plan for:
insert current subclass 482 visa application charge and additional applicant charges from Home Affairs at publish date.
By law, the employer must cover the sponsorship and nomination costs, including the SAF levy, and cannot pass those on to the worker. Sponsor costs include:
insert current SAF levy amounts (per year, by business turnover) from Home Affairs at publish date.
This is a common and important question. The rules are clear that certain costs sit with the sponsor and must not be recovered from the worker. In particular, the SAF levy and the sponsorship and nomination charges are the employer’s responsibility. It is unlawful for an employer to ask the worker to pay these, or to pay them back. The worker generally covers their own visa application charge and personal costs such as medicals, police checks and English tests, unless the employer agrees to help. If an employer asks you to reimburse the nomination or levy costs, that’s a red flag worth raising with a registered agent.
If you extend or lodge a further 482, the government charges and the SAF levy generally apply again for the new period, so a renewal is not free. Many workers on a 482 are really aiming for permanent residency through the employer nomination (subclass 186) pathway, which has its own charges. If PR is your goal, it’s usually cheaper over time to plan the pathway from the start rather than paying for repeated temporary visas. We map that out on our Employer Nomination (ENS) service page.
We’re a registered migration practice in Brisbane, led by a registered migration agent (MARN 1794201). We work with both sides of a sponsorship, so we can give the employer a clear breakdown of the sponsor charges and SAF levy, and give the worker a clear figure for their own application and family. We make sure costs sit with the right party under the law, and we build a plan that looks past the first visa toward permanent residency where that’s the goal. You get real numbers for your situation instead of a guess off a forum.
There’s no single price. The total is the visa application charge for the worker and family, plus the employer’s sponsorship and nomination charges and the SAF levy, plus health, police, English and skills costs. We give you an itemised estimate for your case at consultation.
The employer must pay the sponsorship and nomination charges and the SAF levy, and cannot lawfully pass these to the worker. The worker usually pays their own visa application charge and personal costs like medicals and English tests.
The Skilling Australians Fund levy is a government charge paid by the sponsoring employer, calculated per year of the visa and by business size. It’s the biggest single employer cost and cannot be charged back to the worker.
Yes. Because the SAF levy is charged per year, a longer nominated period increases the employer’s up-front cost. The worker’s visa application charge is generally the same regardless of length.
Each included family member pays an additional visa application charge, at a lower rate than the main applicant, plus their own medical and police check costs. insert current additional applicant charges at publish date.
Yes. A further or extended 482 generally attracts the visa application charge again, and the employer pays the SAF levy again for the new period. A renewal is not free.
Often. Where your occupation and stream require an English test (such as IELTS or PTE) or a skills assessment, those are separate costs you pay to the testing or assessing body, not to Home Affairs.
No. It’s unlawful for a sponsor to recover the SAF levy or sponsorship and nomination costs from the worker. If you’re asked to, get advice from a registered agent.
No. Professional fees are separate and depend on how complex the case is. We quote these up front so there are no surprises.
Many workers move from a 482 to the employer nomination (186) permanent visa, which has its own separate charges. Planning the pathway early is usually more cost-effective than paying for repeated temporary visas.
The worker’s charge is paid when the visa application is lodged. The sponsorship and nomination charges are paid by the employer at their stages, which usually come first or alongside.
Whether you’re the employer or the worker, we’ll give you an itemised estimate and make sure the costs sit where the law puts them. See our Employer Sponsored / TSS service page, or call BYD Education & Immigration Consultants on 0434 893 901 to book a consultation.
