‘An ongoing need’ for regular skills list reviews

In light of the growing cost of hiring skilled migrant workers, BDO has explored the impact of increased salary thresholds on employer-sponsored migration after the release of a Jobs and Skills Australia report.

It is becoming increasingly unclear whether sponsorship remains commercially viable at a required salary level, BDO said in an insights piece. With the national minimum wage jumping by 6 per cent and award wages up 4.75 per cent from Tuesday (4 June), BDO said that for employers, the question is no longer simply whether a role is eligible for sponsorship.

“We are seeing organisations reassess recruitment strategies, workforce planning, and talent pipelines as migration costs continue to rise and salary thresholds become a more significant factor in hiring decisions,” BDO said.

According to its May 2026 report, 2025 Skills in Demand, Jobs and Skills Australia found that “the transition from the previous Skilled Migration Occupation Lists to the Core Skills Occupations List (CSOL) has resulted in some minor changes in the occupation composition of the employer-sponsored temporary skilled visa intake”.

The report reveals that while the salary threshold increasingly remains a central policy lever, CSOL will soon need a regular review as labour market conditions change, labour agreements remain an increasingly important workforce solution for many sectors, and the cost and complexity of participation continues to increase, despite access to skilled migration remaining available, according to BDO.

“The report … notes that the CSOL includes significantly more occupations than are currently assessed as being in national shortage, reflecting a policy objective of preventing future shortages rather than simply responding to existing ones,” BDO said.

Further, the firm noted the rise in labour agreements and the increase in visa grants under these agreements, which it said reflect their growing importance for sector labour shortages.

“This trend is unsurprising given that labour agreements remain one of the few mechanisms available for occupations not on the CSOL, for occupations excluded from the Specialist Skills Stream, or for occupations where concessions to standard migration requirements may be available,” the report said.

“While data is limited at this early stage, to date, the employer-sponsored temporary Skills in Demand visa program appears to be meeting the principles and objectives outlined in the Migration Strategy.”

BDO said the report depicts the new employer-sponsored migration as “largely positive”.

“[It] suggests that the program is successfully directing migration towards higher-skilled, higher-paid occupations, while maintaining flexibility for employers through the core skills, specialist skills, and labour agreement streams,” it said.

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Carlos Tse

Carlos Tse is a graduate journalist writing for Accountants Daily, HR Leader, Lawyers Weekly.