The Annual Market
Salary Rate
Every employer-sponsored nomination has to clear four separate salary tests, and a nomination can fail on any one of them while passing the other three. Here is how the rate is determined, what counts toward it, and the report we build to evidence it.
What the annual market salary rate is
The definition sits in regulation 1.03 of the Migration Regulations and is worth reading closely: the annual market salary rate is the earnings an Australian citizen or permanent resident earns, or would earn, for performing equivalent work on a full-time basis for a year in the same workplace at the same location.
Three constraints are doing the work there. The comparator must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident — a temporary visa holder doing the identical job cannot set the rate. The work must be equivalent, not merely similar. And it is the same workplace at the same location, not the national average for the occupation.
“Or would earn” is the whole of the difficulty. Most businesses have nobody to compare the nominee to. The rate then has to be constructed from outside evidence rather than read off a payslip, and that construction is what the report is for.
Four tests, not one
This is the part that is almost always compressed into “pay at least the threshold”, and it is why nominations fail on salary while paying generously.
| Test | What must be true |
|---|---|
| 1. The rate is determined properly | The market rate is worked out by the method the legislative instrument prescribes |
| 2. The rate clears the threshold | The market rate itself, excluding non-monetary benefits, is at or above the income threshold |
| 3. The offer meets the rate | The nominee’s earnings are not less than the market rate |
| 4. The offer clears the threshold | The nominee’s earnings, excluding non-monetary benefits, are at or above the income threshold |
Test 2 is the one nobody expects. The market rate itself has to clear the income threshold — independently of what you are offering. If the genuine market rate for the role sits below the threshold, paying the nominee well above it does not cure the problem. That is a structural answer about the occupation, not a generosity problem, and it needs to be identified before the nomination is lodged rather than after.
Where there is an equivalent worker
An equivalent worker is an Australian citizen or permanent resident, in the same workplace, at the same location, performing equivalent work. All three conditions, together.
Two people who look like comparators often are not. A temporary visa holder is excluded by definition. And the Department states plainly that an Australian worker who is more or less experienced and does similar work at a different pay grade is not an equivalent worker — so the senior person doing the same job cannot be used to lift the rate, and the junior cannot be used to lower it.
Where an equivalent worker exists and an award or enterprise agreement covers them, the rate may be taken from that instrument, or set by reference to what that worker is actually paid — provided it is not less than the instrument amount.
Where there is no equivalent worker
This is the ordinary case for a small business, and the rate is then built from evidence. Where an award or agreement covers the occupation, it anchors the floor. Where none does, the rate is constructed entirely from market information.
Fair Work instruments The applicable modern award, enterprise agreement or state industrial instrument, with the classification level that actually fits the role.
Jobs and Skills Australia Occupation and industry profiles — named expressly in the instrument and on the Department’s own page.
Advertised salaries Job advertisements from a national recruitment website or national print media, in English, stating the salary.
Remuneration surveys From a reputable organisation — with a warning attached, below.
Union or employer association advice Written advice on the rate for the occupation.
Generic survey data on its own can sink a nomination. The Department says it in terms: if you provide only generic market salary data or surveys, it may refuse the nomination. The rate has to be reasoned to this role in this business at this location — and where the evidence gives a range, the specific figure chosen has to be explained rather than landed on.
The methodology changed in March 2026
On 25 March 2026 the instrument that prescribes how the rate is determined was amended, and sections 7 and 8 — the whole method — were repealed and replaced.
The practical effect is a real shift. Under the old method, where an industrial instrument applied, the market rate was the amount in that instrument; evidence of actual pay was only a fallback where no instrument applied. Under the current method the determiner may choose between the instrument amount and a figure built from employment documents or market information, provided the result is not less than the instrument amount.
In other words the rate can now be set above an award or enterprise agreement minimum on evidence of what the work actually pays, rather than being anchored to the floor. For occupations where the award rate sits well below the real market — and below the income threshold — that matters a great deal.
It reached back. Unusually, the amendment applies both to nominations lodged after it commenced and to nominations already lodged but not yet decided. Most changes of this kind bite only on new lodgements.
What counts as earnings
“Earnings” is defined, and the definition excludes a good deal of what employers count as the package. The governing idea is that an amount that cannot be determined in advance is not earnings.
| Item | Counts as earnings | Counts toward the income threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Base salary and wages | Yes | Yes |
| Amounts paid on the worker’s behalf or as directed | Yes | Yes |
| Non-monetary benefits — accommodation, a car | Yes, at agreed value | No |
| Compulsory superannuation | No | No |
| Commissions, bonuses, incentive payments | No | No |
| Overtime that is not guaranteed | No | No |
| Overtime that is guaranteed | Yes | Yes |
| Reimbursements | No | No |
Non-monetary benefits sit on the wrong side of the line. Accommodation and a vehicle count toward the market rate comparison, but are stripped out of the income threshold test. The Department puts it bluntly: such benefits must be paid in addition to the threshold. A package that reaches the threshold only by including a car does not reach the threshold.
Which income threshold applies
The market rate has to be read against the right threshold, and they are not interchangeable. These are the figures for nominations lodged between 1 July 2026 and 30 June 2027, indexed each July and fixed at the date the nomination is lodged.
| Nomination | Threshold | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Subclass 482 Core Skills | Core Skills Income Threshold | A$79,423 |
| Subclass 482 Specialist Skills | Specialist Skills Income Threshold | A$146,576 |
| Subclass 186 — both streams | Core Skills Income Threshold | A$79,423 |
| Subclass 494 | Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold | A$79,423 |
A nomination lodged before 1 July keeps the old figure. The threshold is tested at lodgement, so indexation does not reach back into a nomination already lodged, and it does not affect existing visa holders.
The A$250,000 line
There is one clean exemption. Where the nominee’s annual earnings will be at least A$250,000, the entire salary framework switches off — not merely the market rate limb. No rate determination, no threshold test, none of the four tests above.
It is worth knowing precisely because it is so often described as a market salary exemption. It is broader than that, and the same figure separately opens an alternative route to labour market testing, which is a different provision entirely.
What the report contains
The occupation and the role Duties mapped to the ANZSCO unit group the nomination relies on, because the rate is for the work, not the title.
The equivalent worker position Whether one exists, and if so the employment documents that establish what they are paid.
The applicable industrial instrument The award or agreement and the classification level that genuinely fits, with the reasoning for that level.
Comparable advertised roles Current advertisements for equivalent work, captured and dated, with salary stated.
Published labour market data Jobs and Skills Australia and other sources, cited inline and footnoted.
The rate, reasoned An annual market salary range and a recommended figure, with the specific figure explained rather than asserted.
The threshold comparison The rate and the proposed earnings each set against the applicable threshold, with non-monetary benefits identified and excluded.
A findings table Against each of the four tests, and a conclusion.
Timing and price
An AMSR report is A$500 incl GST, 10 to 12 working days as standard, with faster options priced on the form. Ordered with a Genuine Position report the pair is A$1,100; with labour market testing as well, the package rate applies automatically.
What we need is the position description, the proposed salary and package, the location, and whether anyone in the business already does equivalent work. The rest comes from the form.
General information, current at October 2026. This page explains the requirement and how we document it. Zeolla Solutions prepares migration documentation, research and reports — we are not a law practice and this is not immigration advice.
Market Salary Rate (AMSR) Report
Complete the form and you receive a case reference immediately. Nothing is payable until we confirm scope and price in writing.
Common questions
What is the annual market salary rate?
It is what an Australian citizen or permanent resident earns, or would earn, for performing equivalent work full-time for a year in the same workplace at the same location. It is a workplace-specific figure, not the national average for the occupation, and the comparator must be an Australian or permanent resident — a temporary visa holder in the same role cannot set it.
Is it enough to pay above the income threshold?
No. There are four separate tests. The rate must be determined properly; the rate itself must clear the threshold; the offer must meet the rate; and the offer must clear the threshold. A nomination can pay well above the threshold and still fail, most often because the market rate for that occupation sits below it.
What if nobody in the business does the same job?
That is the normal case, and the rate is then built from evidence rather than from a payslip — the applicable award or agreement, Jobs and Skills Australia data, comparable advertised roles with salaries stated, and reputable remuneration surveys. The Department warns that generic survey data on its own may lead to refusal, so the figure has to be reasoned to the specific role.
Does superannuation count toward the threshold?
No. Compulsory superannuation is expressly excluded from earnings, as are commissions, bonuses, incentive payments and overtime that is not guaranteed — because none can be determined in advance. Guaranteed overtime does count.
Do accommodation or a car count?
They count toward the market rate comparison at their agreed value, but they are excluded from the income threshold test. Those benefits have to be paid on top of the threshold, not counted within it.
What are the current income thresholds?
For nominations lodged between 1 July 2026 and 30 June 2027: Core Skills A$79,423, applying to 482 Core Skills and to both Subclass 186 streams; Specialist Skills A$146,576; and the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold A$79,423 for Subclass 494. They index each July and are fixed at the date the nomination is lodged.
Is there a salary at which the requirement disappears?
Yes — at annual earnings of A$250,000 or more the whole salary framework switches off, including the income thresholds, not just the market rate. The same figure also opens an alternative route to labour market testing, which is a separate provision.
Did the rules change recently?
Yes. On 25 March 2026 the method for determining the rate was repealed and replaced. Where an award or agreement applies, the rate may now be set above the instrument minimum on evidence of what the work actually pays, rather than being anchored to that minimum. Unusually, the change applied to nominations already lodged but not yet decided.
Can you work from a salary we have already decided?
We can tell you whether the evidence supports it, which is the useful answer. If it does, the report evidences it. If it does not, you find out before lodgement rather than in a refusal, and there is usually time to adjust.
Often ordered with this
Genuine Position (GP) Report
The position, the business, the organisational structure and the tasks mapped to the ANZSCO unit group, with the findings table against the Department considerations.
Labour Market Test (LMT) Report
Advertising evidence, applicant-by-applicant assessment against the occupation, screenshots of every advertisement and every response, and the compliance table the delegate looks for.
FromMigration Report Package (LMT + GP + AMSR)
All three reports for one nomination, written together so the position, the salary and the testing evidence tell a single consistent story.
FromEvery Service, Every Price
All seventeen services with their prices and intake forms sit on one page.