Last updated: 3 July 2026. Information, not legal advice (see the note at the end).
The single most-shared claim about Australia’s 1 July migration changes, that the skilled points test was overhauled, is wrong. The points test wasn’t touched. What changed on 1 July is real but far narrower, and telling the two apart is the difference between a sound decision and an expensive one.
Here’s the picture, sorted into what’s now law, what’s genuinely coming, and what’s still only a proposal.
What actually changed on 1 July 2026
One confirmed change took effect, and it’s annual housekeeping rather than a revolution.
The Department of Home Affairs indexed the minimum salary thresholds for employer-sponsored skilled visas, as it does most years. The Core Skills Income Threshold rose from AUD $76,515 to AUD $79,499, and the Specialist Skills Income Threshold rose from AUD $141,210 to AUD $146,717. Both apply to nomination applications lodged on or after 1 July 2026, including the Skills in Demand visa (Subclass 482) and regional employer-sponsored programs. Nominations lodged before 1 July are assessed under the old figures, and employers must pay the relevant threshold or the market salary rate, whichever is higher.
In practice: if you’re sponsored, the salary floor for your role ticked up. If your employer already pays above it, this changes nothing for you.
That’s the 1 July change. The bigger shifts landed earlier in the year, or they haven’t landed at all.
The changes that already happened in 2026
These are in force and matter to a lot of Indian graduates and students:
- Shorter post-study work rights. Under the Migration Strategy, the pandemic-era two-year extension on the Temporary Graduate visa (Subclass 485) has ended. A master’s graduate in a metropolitan area now generally gets a two-year post-study visa rather than four, unless their qualification sits on the relevant skills-shortage list.
- A higher fee. The base application charge for a primary Subclass 485 applicant rose to AUD $4,600 from 1 March 2026, with a concession retained only for eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste applicants. A refusal now costs considerably more than it used to.
- Tighter student settings. The Genuine Student requirement has replaced the Genuine Temporary Entrant test, English and financial-evidence checks are stricter, and the 48-hours-per-fortnight work cap that was reintroduced in July 2023 still applies. The international student planning level for 2026 rose to 295,000 places, up from 270,000 in 2025, so intake is being managed more tightly rather than cut outright.
If a forward tells you these “just changed on 1 July,” it’s months out of date.
The points test: confirmed in direction, not in law
This is where nearly all the noise is coming from, and where it pays to know exactly what has and hasn’t happened.
What the Government has confirmed. In the 2026-27 Federal Budget, it announced its intention to “optimise” the permanent skilled migration points test toward younger, more highly qualified, higher-skilled migrants with stronger English. The Budget also set a clear onshore preference. Of the 185,000 permanent Migration Program places for 2026-27, roughly 129,590 went to onshore applicants against 55,110 offshore, and it committed $85.2 million to faster skills assessments and occupational licensing. About 70 per cent of the program remains skilled-stream.
What hasn’t happened. As of early July 2026, no new points grid has been legislated. The specifics doing the rounds all trace back to the Department’s 2024 discussion paper and the commentary on it: that the Expression of Interest floor jumps from 65 to 70, that salary earns points, that partner and regional-study credits get reweighted, that you’ll need a triple-digit score. They are proposals, not rules. Nothing changes until draft legislation is introduced and passed.
So the intent is real, the mechanics are not, and until they are, the current test still governs your application. That one line is the most useful thing in this article.
What it means for you
Students and 485 holders. You’re better placed than the mood suggests. The permanent program has been tilted deliberately toward people already onshore, which is you. Use the time: build Australian experience in your field, lock in your English score, and choose your next move on evidence.
EOI holders. Your score is assessed under the current rules until any reform becomes law. If you already meet the threshold, there’s a strong case for lodging now and holding your queue position rather than waiting on a grid that doesn’t yet exist. You can update the EOI later.
Employers sponsoring workers. Confirm that nominated salaries clear the new Core Skills or Specialist Skills threshold (or the market rate, whichever is higher) for anything lodged from 1 July. Earlier lodgements stand under the old figures.
Offshore applicants. The onshore preference makes offshore places genuinely more competitive. Routes that get you into the Australian workforce, whether employer-sponsored or state and regional nomination, deserve a hard look.
What to do now
- Get your skills assessment done. It underpins almost every skilled pathway, it takes weeks, and current criteria apply while you wait.
- Lift your English score. Superior English has been the biggest single differentiator under the existing test and is the least likely thing to lose value under any reform. It’s also the lever most within your control.
- Lodge your EOI if you already qualify. Queue position has value, so secure it under today’s rules.
- Weigh state and regional nomination. Subclass 190 and 491 add points beyond the federal test and partly insulate you from reform uncertainty.
- Go to the source before you act. Anyone quoting a precise future points grid today is guessing.
The reset is real, but it’s narrower and slower than the volume of commentary implies. Australia still wants skilled Indians, who are now its largest migrant community, with around 971,000 Indian-born residents on Australian Bureau of Statistics figures. The pathway hasn’t closed. It’s asking more of the people who use it, and favouring those who move early and keep their paperwork clean.
How to use this
This is general information for the Indian diaspora, not immigration or legal advice. Rules change often and apply differently to every set of circumstances. Before acting, confirm the current position with the Department of Home Affairs (immi.homeaffairs.gov.au) or a registered migration agent (check registration with the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority).
Figures were accurate at the time of publication. Because migration settings are indexed and amended regularly, always confirm current thresholds and dates on the Department of Home Affairs website before acting.
