Before you start

A job offer from an employer holding or applying for Standard Business Sponsorship
Your occupation on the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL)
At least one year of relevant experience in that occupation or a closely related one
A skills assessment, where your occupation and nationality require one
Minimum English proficiency, unless exempt

Step-by-step

1
Employer obtains sponsorship approval
Nothing can be lodged for you until the employer is an approved sponsor. Queensland's resources and construction employers sponsor routinely and move fast; a first-time sponsor adds weeks.
Via employerWho: Your employerSeveral weeks for a first-time sponsor
2
Employer lodges the nomination
The nomination locks in your occupation, salary and work location. Your salary must clear both the Annual Market Salary Rate for the role in Brisbane and the Core Skills Income Threshold, which rose to AUD 79,423 on 1 July 2026. The Skilling Australians Fund levy is paid at this stage.
Via employerWho: Your employer
3
Sit an English test, unless you are exempt
IELTS, PTE Academic, TOEFL iBT, Cambridge C1 Advanced and OET are accepted. Read the exemptions page before booking — several passports and some occupations remove the requirement entirely.
In personWho: YouBook 1–3 weeks ahead≈AUD 400–460 per sitting
4
Complete health examinations and police certificates
Medicals go through a panel physician in your current country. Police certificates are required for every country you lived in 12 months or more over the last decade, and are consistently the slowest step.
In personWho: You and any family included in the application2 weeks to 3 months by country
5
Lodge through ImmiAccount and pay the charge
Create an ImmiAccount, attach documents and pay the visa application charge plus an additional applicant charge for each family member.
OnlineWho: YouUse the official Visa Pricing Estimator — charges are indexed each 1 July
6
Arrive and verify your status through VEVO
No card, no registration, no in-person step. Generate a VEVO check whenever an employer, agent or bank wants written proof of your status and work rights.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport valid for the intended stay
Employer nomination reference
Evidence of at least one year of relevant work experience
Skills assessment, where required
English test results, unless exempt
Panel physician health examination results
Police certificates for every country lived in 12+ months in the last 10 years

Things most newcomers don’t know

Brisbane is excluded from designated regional Australia, but the Gold and Sunshine Coasts are not.

Only Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane sit outside regional Australia. An hour south at Southport or an hour north at Maroochydore, the same job attracts 15 extra points for a regional nomination on the subclass 491, plus access to state nomination streams that are closed to Brisbane addresses. That is a genuinely different permanent residence timeline for the sake of a commute decision.

Source: Home Affairs — designated regional areas

The salary floor moved to AUD 79,423 on 1 July 2026.

The Core Skills Income Threshold is indexed annually against average weekly earnings, up from AUD 76,515. An offer agreed in May against the old number can fall below the line by the time the nomination is lodged in July. Ask for the figure in writing and check it against the current threshold before signing.

Source: Home Affairs — nomination salary requirements

Business and Skilled Migration Queensland is a separate application to a separate government.

BSMQ nominates candidates for the 190 and 491 against its own occupation lists, its own quotas and its own opening and closing dates, often prioritising health, education and construction for the 2032 pipeline. Holding a 482 with a Brisbane employer gives you no automatic standing — it is a parallel process with its own registration of interest.

Source: Business and Skilled Migration Queensland

Your right to remain follows the sponsor, not the job title or the city.

You may work only for the sponsoring employer or an associated entity, and if the role ends a limited window applies to find a new sponsor and lodge a fresh nomination. In a resources-cycle economy like Queensland's, where projects end abruptly, negotiate the redundancy scenario before you accept.

Source: Home Affairs — subclass 482 visa conditions

Common mistakes to avoid

Taking a Brisbane role without checking whether the same employer's Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast office would have unlocked 15 regional points.
Assuming the old TSS occupation lists still apply — the CSOL replaced them and occupations moved.
Booking an English test before checking whether your passport or occupation exempts you.
Treating the Core Skills Income Threshold as the only salary test when the Annual Market Salary Rate applies as well.
Waiting for the nomination before starting overseas police certificates, which usually take longer than the visa decision.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.