Australia has quietly rewritten most of its PR system between late 2024 and early 2026. The old Temporary Skill Shortage visa is gone, the Global Talent visa is gone, the points test is under review, and both the income floors and state allocations have shifted. None of it is catastrophic for Singaporean applicants, but anyone working off a 2023 plan is probably wrong about something.
If you want the baseline settings before layering these updates, our Australia PR requirements for 2026 covers the core framework; what follows is what has moved.
Permanent migration program held at 185,000 for 2025-26
The government confirmed in mid-2025 that the 2025-26 permanent migration program stays at 185,000 places, unchanged from the previous year. Inside that ceiling, the Skill stream gets 132,200 places (about 71 percent), Family gets 52,500, and Special Eligibility gets 300.
The composition matters more than the headline. Employer-sponsored places sit at around 44,000. The combined state-and-territory-nominated allocation (Subclass 190 plus 491) is 33,000 on paper, though actual state nomination releases for 2025-26 landed at 20,350 places as of the November 2025 allocation round. Subclass 189 Skilled Independent has been cut to roughly 16,900 places, which is the reason the 189 invitation rounds have become substantially harder to win at 85 points.
The new Talent and Innovation category gets 4,300 places, absorbing the old Global Talent numbers plus the new National Innovation visa stream.
The 482 is now the Skills in Demand visa
As of 7 December 2024, the Temporary Skill Shortage visa (old Subclass 482) was replaced by the Skills in Demand visa, which kept the same subclass number but changed almost everything else. Three streams replace the old Short-term and Medium-term structure: Core Skills, Specialist Skills, and Labour Agreement.
What actually changed for applicants
The required work experience dropped from two years to one year of full-time relevant experience in the last five years. The post-employment grace period, the window you have to find a new sponsor after your job ends, went from 60 days to 180 days in a single stretch, up to 365 cumulative days. Pathway to PR via the Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 186) now opens after two years of sponsored work with any eligible sponsor, not two years with the same one.
For Singaporeans already on the old 482 or considering a move through an Australian employer, the one-year experience rule is the biggest unlock. It brings early-career specialists into the frame who would have been locked out under the old settings.
Income thresholds rose on 1 July 2025
The salary floors for sponsored visas went up on 1 July 2025 and apply to nominations lodged from that date.
The Core Skills Income Threshold moved from AUD 73,150 to AUD 76,515. This is the floor for Core Skills stream 482 nominations and for ENS Subclass 186 nominations.
The Specialist Skills Income Threshold moved from AUD 135,000 to AUD 141,210. This applies to Specialist Skills stream 482 nominations, which is the faster-processed track for higher-paid roles.
Both thresholds are base salary only. Superannuation, bonuses, and allowances do not count. The separate Annual Market Salary Rate test still applies on top, so if equivalent Australian workers in the same role are paid above the threshold, your offered salary has to match theirs, not just clear the minimum.
Global Talent visa closed, replaced by the National Innovation visa
The Subclass 858 Global Talent visa stopped accepting new applications on 7 December 2024. The same subclass number now delivers the National Innovation visa, which is pitched at people with an internationally recognised record of exceptional and outstanding achievement in a priority field.
The priority fields are narrower than the old Global Talent list. Tier One covers Critical Technologies, Health Industries, and Renewables and Low Emission Technologies. Seat allocation is around 4,000 places a year, and you cannot apply cold; the Department has to invite you after reviewing an Expression of Interest.
For Singaporeans who were eyeing the old Global Talent pathway because the points-tested route looked slow, the National Innovation route is a much higher bar. Most applicants who would have qualified for the old GTV will now need to go through Skilled Independent, Employer Nomination, or a state nomination instead.
Not sure whether your current plan still fits the post-2024 rules? A short review with our registered consultants flags which of these changes affect your file and what to adjust.
ANZSCO is being replaced by OSCA
The Australian Bureau of Statistics retired the ANZSCO occupation classification on 6 December 2024 and replaced it with OSCA, the Occupation Standard Classification for Australia. The 2025 Core Skills Occupation List is benchmarked against OSCA 2024 rather than the old ANZSCO 2022 or 2013 versions.
Practically, most occupations map across cleanly and the current CSOL covers 456 roles. The catch is that some job titles, duties, and ANZSCO codes have shifted enough to affect skills assessments. If you pulled your ANZSCO code from a 2023 search and haven’t checked it against OSCA, do that before you lodge anything. Assessors read the OSCA description now, and a mismatch between your evidence and the current description is the most common reason for a refused or downgraded assessment.
What the 2025-26 invitation rounds actually show
The first 189 round of the 2025-26 program year in November 2025 issued around 10,000 invitations for Subclass 189 and 300 for Subclass 491. That was larger than many expected and pulled in cut-offs across the board.
Construction trades (carpenters, electricians, plumbers, bricklayers) received invitations at the 65-point floor. Healthcare and teaching roles pulled in at around 80 points. Engineering and most professional roles hit at 85 to 90. ICT, accounting, and other high-volume occupations still needed 95 or more, which is consistent with prior rounds.
The split is wider than the headline numbers suggest. A Singaporean software engineer at 85 points in 2026 is still effectively stalled on the 189, while a registered nurse or plumber at 80 points gets invited in the next round. Occupation choice, where legitimately defensible, matters more than it did under the pre-2023 system.
State nomination places dropped in 2025-26
The November 2025 state and territory allocation handed out 20,350 nomination places against the 33,000 planning level. The breakdown:
NSW received 3,600 places (2,100 for 190, 1,500 for 491). Victoria got 3,400 (2,700 for 190, 700 for 491). Queensland got 2,600 (1,850 for 190, 750 for 491). South Australia got 2,250 (1,350 for 190, 900 for 491).
Two things follow from this. State nomination is scarcer than the planning level suggests, so relying on a 190 invitation as a backup to a weak 189 profile is riskier in 2026 than it was in 2024. And the 491 is more generous than the 190 in most states, so a Singaporean willing to commit to regional Australia for the three years needed to progress to Subclass 191 has a meaningfully better shot.
Visa application charges increased on 1 July 2025
Visa Application Charges across almost every subclass rose on 1 July 2025, with most going up around 3 percent in line with CPI. Student Subclass 500 took a larger jump of around 25 percent, which does not affect PR applicants directly but shows where the government is willing to move prices faster.
For PR specifically, check the current VAC on the Department of Home Affairs fee schedule at the moment you lodge, not whatever number you saved six months ago. The fee that applies is the one in force on the day of payment, regardless of when the application was prepared.
What to watch for in 2026
The points test is under review, with a proposed EOI floor of 70 points instead of 65, and adjustments to how age, English, and partner points are weighted. Nothing has been legislated. Expect an announcement during the 2026 federal budget cycle or shortly after.
The CSOL is reviewed annually, so the 2026 update is due. Health, education, construction, and regional trades are expected to stay central; some niche ICT and finance codes may see tighter quotas. If your occupation sits outside the obvious priority sectors, verify it on the current list before you pay for a skills assessment.
Want to know which of these changes apply to your situation? Our consultants track the policy updates in real time and can map them against your age, occupation, and timeline.