Australia's 2025–26 Permanent Migration Program: What Employers Need To Know

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Certainty in Change: What Australia's 2025-26 Permanent Migration Program Means for Employers

Imagine you run a business in healthcare, infrastructure, or tech, and your phone won't stop ringing-not with customers, but asking whether you can find enough skilled workers. Competition is fierce domestically. The candidate with the perfect skills you need doesn't exist locally. You've tried training; you've tried hiring. But you may need to look abroad.

That's where Australia's 2025-26 Permanent Migration Program (PMP) comes in. This year's framework doesn't bring seismic shifts-but it brings much-needed stability. For employer-sponsors, that stability is gold. Here's what you need to know, the implications for your workforce strategy, and what you should do now to stay ahead.

Key Facts in a Nutshell

Feature	What Was Announced / Confirmed	Why It Matters
Total Permanent Migration Cap	185,000 places for 2025-26, unchanged from 2024-25.	Employers gain predictability. No sudden drop in permanent visa places means planning can proceed with a degree of certainty.
Skilled Stream Share	~132,200 places, ~71% of total.	The greatest part of the program is aimed at filling labour market gaps. For employers, this means permanent visa pathways will continue to be heavily weighted toward skilled migration.
Employer-Sponsored Allocation	44,000 placesunder the Skilled stream for employer-sponsored visas.	More slots for employers to bring in overseas skilled workers permanently (e.g., through the Employer Nomination Scheme subclass 186 etc.). Good news if your labour needs aren't being met locally.
Other Key Streams	"Skilled Independent: ~16,900 places. "Regional & State/Territory Nominated: ~33,000 places each. "Family Stream: ~52,500 places. "National Innovation covers what used to be the Global Talent & Distinguished Talent visas.	The balance of these streams means employer-sponsored migration is one part of many, so in sectors where you rely principally on employer sponsorship, it remains competitive. Also, state/territory nomination remains an important lever.
Income / Salary Thresholds and Eligibility Shifts	From 1 July 2025, certain salaries are increased (Core Skills, Specialist Skills, etc.) for employer-sponsored visas. Regional pathways (e.g. via DAMAs) continue to offer some concessions in particular geographies.	Employers need to ensure any overseas hire satisfies updated salary floors, otherwise sponsorship applications may fail. Regional employers may find regional nomination or labour agreement pathways more viable.

Source: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/what-we-do/migration-program-planning-levels

What This Means for Employers

Stability in policy is helpful-but doesn't remove the challenges. Here are what the implications look like on the ground:

Competition remains intense. With only 44,000 places via employer sponsorship out of ~132,200 skilled visas, there will be many business applicants vying for the same slots. This is especially true in high-demand fields.
Wage expectations rising. Increased salary thresholds ensure roles are genuine, but also mean higher cost of sponsorship. Employers must budget not just for the sponsorship fees, but also for salaries that meet the new floors.
Regional routes offer opportunity (and complexity). If you're in a regional area, DAMAs and state/territory nomination pathways may offer concessions (in salary, English, age etc.). But these often come with additional obligations and sometimes longer processing or stricter criteria.
Skill-mapping & nomination strategy are crucial. Because the Skilled Independent stream is relatively smaller, and many employer-sponsored or state-nominated pathways require particular skills/occupations, employers need to clearly map out what skills are in demand, and what visa/nominations options apply.
Compliance & forward planning are not optional. Given tighter thresholds and increased scrutiny, sponsors must ensure they are ready with documentation, that roles are genuine, and that candidate eligibility (qualifications, English, employment history) is solid.

Actionable Takeaways

Here are steps your business should be taking now to make the most of the 2025-26 Migration Program.

Audit your workforce gaps vs priority occupations. Identify which roles are hard to fill locally. Check whether those roles are on current occupation lists, or eligible under DAMA or state-nomination schemes.
Review salary bands for sponsored roles. Make sure the remuneration you are offering meets the new minimums (core & specialist skills) and that your job ads / contracts reflect that.
Engage with state/territory nomination pathways early. For your industries or region, see what state nomination or DAMA options are available. Sometimes you can secure a nomination before lodging the visa to improve success chances.
Build internal capability in managing sponsorship. Ensure HR / legal / operations teams are up to date with new obligations, documentation requirements, processing times. Having good systems helps avoid delays, refusals, or compliance risk.
Consider partnering with migration specialists. Navigating this landscape is non-trivial. Specialists can help ensure sponsorship obligations are met, assist with role design to fit visa requirements, and support candidate eligibility evaluation.
Plan for "conversion" or retention. If you bring someone in via a temporary visa (e.g. subclass 482), consider what your plan is for retaining them-moving to 186 etc.-if that is applicable. Ensuring your pathways are visible can be a retention plus.

Risks and What to Watch

While this year gives more certainty, risk remains:

Occupation list changes: as labour market data evolves, occupations in demand may shift; those outside priority areas may find it harder.
Processing delays / backlog: even with stable numbers, visa processing can have bottlenecks.
Housing, cost of living, infrastructure pressures can feed into broader political debate-policy changes could emerge, especially near election cycles.
Temporary visa reforms: changes to student, graduate or temporary skilled visas may shift the funnel of people who later qualify for permanency.

Final Word

For employer-sponsors, the 2025-26 Migration Program sends a very clear message: the government is keeping the skilled migration pathway open, visible, but placing emphasis on quality, fairness, and regional as well as national need.

It's not a year for radical strategy change-but it is a year to get your sponsorship house in order. If you act proactively-mapping your most critical roles, budgeting correctly for salaries, leveraging state/territory options-you can secure the overseas talent your business depends on.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.