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Pathway

Australia Regional Employer-Sponsored Visa

Australia Residency
Pathway overview

At a glance

Subclass 494 lets an approved employer sponsor you for skilled work in a designated regional area of Australia for up to five years. You and included family must meet the regional conditions. Permanent residence may be possible after three qualifying years through a separate Subclass 191 application.

Job offer required?
Yes, with an approved employer in a designated regional area
Requirements
Under 45, three years of relevant experience, English, and a skills assessment, unless exempt
2026–27 minimum income
AUD 79,423, plus the market-salary rule; agreement terms may vary

Summary

The Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa (Subclass 494) lets an approved employer in designated regional Australia sponsor a skilled worker for up to 5 years. It has an Employer Sponsored stream and a Labor Agreement stream.

“Provisional” means this is a temporary regional visa with a possible later route to permanent residence. After holding it for at least 3 years, a holder who has met the visa conditions may be able to apply for permanent residence through Subclass 191.

For migration purposes, "regional" includes much of Australia outside Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, but the official list of postcodes decides which areas qualify. Both the position and the visa holder's residence, work and study must meet the applicable regional conditions.

Applying for employer-sponsored regional work
  1. Check the job, location, and your qualifications Use the official postcode and occupation lists.
  2. Have the employer prepare the nomination Check sponsorship, recruitment evidence, salary, and regional advice.
  3. Apply and keep meeting the regional conditions Keep employment, address, tax, and notification records for any later residence application.

Working for a regional employer does not by itself meet every rule about where you must live and work.

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Eligibility

In the Employer Sponsored stream, the main applicant usually must:

The employer must operate in a designated regional area, demonstrate a genuine position and meet labor-market, market-salary and sponsorship requirements. A regional certifying body generally assesses the annual market salary rate for the position.

For nominations lodged from 1 July 2026 through 30 June 2027, the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold used for Subclass 494 is AUD 79,423. The worker must also receive at least the annual market salary rate. Thresholds are indexed and labor agreements can allow different requirements in specified cases, so check the nomination-date rule.

The Labor Agreement stream follows the agreement's occupation, age, English, skills and salary terms. It is not available simply because the ordinary Employer Sponsored criteria are difficult.

What This Route Allows

The visa permits the holder and eligible accompanying family to live, work and study in designated regional areas for 5 years and travel while the visa is valid.

After at least 3 years, an eligible holder may apply for Subclass 191 permanent residence. Current 191 rules require three Australian Taxation Office (ATO) notices of assessment, the official results of processing tax returns, but do not impose a minimum income amount.

What This Route Is Not

Subclass 494 is not unrestricted work permission. The main holder must begin work within the required 90-day period and generally work only in the nominated occupation for the nominating employer or associated entity, unless an exemption applies.

It is not automatically permanent after 3 years. The holder must make a separate Subclass 191 application and show that visa conditions were met, provide tax assessments, and meet health and character requirements.

"Regional" is not a casual description. A postcode outside a capital city's center may still need checking, and remote work for a regional employer does not necessarily satisfy where the holder must live and work.

Next Steps

  1. Check the job location against the official designated-regional postcode list.
  2. Confirm the occupation, assessing authority, 3 years of experience, age and English requirements.
  3. Have the employer establish sponsorship status, labor-market testing, regional-certifying-body advice and annual market salary rate.
  4. Use the AUD 79,423 threshold only for nominations in the 2026–27 period; check the updated amount for nominations submitted later.
  5. Make sure the nomination and visa evidence use consistent duties, occupation code, salary, location and employment terms.
  6. After approval, retain address, employment, tax and notification records from day one for a future 191 application.

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