Labour Market Testing for Employer Sponsors: 2026 Requirements
Labour market testing in Australia is the step where a sponsoring employer advertises a role and shows the Department of Home Affairs that they genuinely tried to fill it with an Australian first. It sits inside the nomination stage of a Skills in Demand (Subclass 482) or Subclass 494 application, not the visa stage. In most cases you must advertise the nominated position for at least 28 continuous days, on nationally-reaching recruitment platforms, and keep clean evidence of it. Get any part of that wrong and the nomination can be refused, which stalls the whole application even when your worker is a perfect fit.
This guide is for Australian employers and their HR teams preparing to sponsor a skilled worker in 2026. It covers what labour market testing is, the advertising rules in plain terms, how testing connects to the Skills in Demand streams and the income thresholds, which sponsors and streams are exempt, and the errors that most often lead to a refusal. Where a figure changes regularly, we point you to the official page rather than quote a number that may already be out of date.
What is labour market testing?
Labour market testing (LMT) is a requirement that a sponsor advertise the position they want to fill, so the Department can be satisfied that a suitably qualified Australian citizen or permanent resident is not readily available to do the job. It is a policy check on the labour market, not a test of your worker.
The logic is simple. The employer-sponsored program exists to fill genuine skill shortages, not to bypass local hiring. So before the Department approves a nomination, it generally wants to see that the role was genuinely offered to the Australian market and that testing did not turn up a suitable local candidate. The rule is set out on the Department’s labour market testing page, which is the page to check for current specifics before you advertise.
Two things trip employers up here. First, LMT is assessed at the nomination stage. If the testing is defective, the nomination fails, and the worker’s visa cannot proceed on that nomination. Second, LMT is not a one-off box to tick at the start of your hiring. The timing has to line up with when you lodge, which we come back to below.
The advertising rules in plain terms
Here is the part employers actually need to get right. In most cases, to satisfy labour market testing you must advertise the nominated position and meet each of these conditions.
- Duration. The position must be advertised for a period of at least 28 days, and those days generally need to be continuous rather than pieced together across separate short runs.
- Where you advertise. The advertising must appear on platforms that reach a national audience of potential applicants. In practice sponsors usually place more than one advertisement, and typically at least two, so the role is genuinely visible across the market.
- What the ad must say. Each advertisement must include the title of the position (or a description of it), the name of the sponsor or the recruitment agency advertising on the sponsor’s behalf, and the annual salary. Where the earnings fall below a specified amount, a salary range is acceptable instead of a single figure.
- When you advertise. The advertising must have taken place within the relevant period before you lodge the nomination. That window is defined by the Department, and testing done too early can fall outside it just as easily as testing done too late.
We are deliberately not stating the exact length of that pre-lodgement window, or the exact salary figure below which a salary range is allowed, because both are set by the Department and reviewed from time to time. For the current numbers, read the official labour market testing requirements and confirm them before you place your ads. Guessing here is how good hires end up delayed by months.
A practical point on evidence. Keep dated screenshots, the platform name, the live URL, the full ad text, and the start and end dates for every advertisement. If the Department later asks how you tested the market, you want to hand over a clean file rather than reconstruct it from memory.
How LMT connects to the Skills in Demand streams
Labour market testing does not sit on its own. It works alongside the salary rules that decide which Skills in Demand stream your nomination belongs in, and those two things interact.
The Skills in Demand visa (the Subclass 482, which replaced the old Temporary Skill Shortage visa on 7 December 2024) runs across three streams. Two are relevant to most employers right now: the Specialist Skills stream and the Core Skills stream. Each has a salary floor, and the floor partly determines what obligations apply to your nomination. You can read our fuller walk-through in the Skills in Demand visa guide for 2026.
The Core Skills stream is anchored to the Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT). From 1 July 2026, the CSIT is $79,499, up from $76,515 during 2025-26. The threshold that applies is the one in force when the nomination is lodged, so a nomination lodged before 1 July 2026 is assessed on the earlier figure even if it is decided later. The Department publishes both the CSIT and the other salary rules on its salary requirements page. If you want the detail on how that number is set and why it moves, our post on the Core Skills Income Threshold for 2026 covers it.
Why does this matter for labour market testing? Because the stream you fall into affects whether LMT applies at all, which brings us to exemptions.
Which sponsors and streams are exempt from LMT
Not every nomination requires labour market testing. Some are exempt, and knowing whether you qualify can save four weeks of advertising you did not need to run.
The clearest example is the Specialist Skills stream, which is exempt from labour market testing. That stream sits above the Specialist Skills Income Threshold, which is $146,717 from 1 July 2026, and roles paid at that level are treated as high-skill positions where separate market testing is not required. Because the exemption tracks the salary level, getting the stream classification right is what secures the exemption.
The other common category is certain intra-corporate transfers under international trade agreements. Australia is party to trade agreements that can exempt some transfers of employees within the same corporate group from labour market testing. Whether a particular transfer qualifies depends on the specific agreement, the nationality of the worker, and the nature of the role, so this is not a blanket exemption to assume without checking.
A few points of caution. An exemption removes the advertising obligation, but it does not remove the rest of the nomination requirements, including the salary rules and the genuine position requirement. And an exemption you claim incorrectly is worse than doing the testing, because it can lead straight to a refusal. If you think an exemption applies, confirm it against the labour market testing page before you rely on it. Our employer sponsorship service exists partly to sort exactly these classification questions before a nomination is lodged.
The mistakes that cause nomination refusal
Most labour market testing refusals are not close calls. They are avoidable slips in the mechanics of the advertising, and they show up in patterns.
Here are the ones that come up most often, in roughly the order we see them.
- The ad ran too short. Anything under the required 28 continuous days generally fails. Two separate two-week runs are not the same as one 28-day run, and a role pulled down early to fill the seat can undercut the whole test.
- The wrong platforms were used. Advertising on a channel that does not reach a national audience, a small local noticeboard, or an internal-only listing, may not satisfy the requirement even if the ad ran for long enough.
- The advertisement was missing required content. Leaving out the salary, the position title or description, or the name of the sponsor or recruiter, can invalidate an otherwise fine advertisement.
- The timing was off. Testing done before the relevant pre-lodgement window opens, or so long before lodgement that it falls outside the window, can be treated as no valid testing at all.
- Weak or missing evidence. Even correct testing fails on paper if the sponsor cannot produce dated proof of what ran, where, and for how long when the Department asks.
Each of these is fixable before you lodge and expensive to fix afterwards. A refused nomination does not simply pause the process. It can force you to re-advertise, re-lodge, and in some cases leave your candidate in an awkward position while the file is rebuilt. If a Skills in Demand nomination has already been refused, our note on visa refusals and review at the Administrative Review Tribunal sets out what options may remain.
Frequently asked questions
How long must a position be advertised for labour market testing?
Generally at least 28 days, and those days usually need to be continuous rather than split across separate shorter runs. The advertising must also fall within a defined period before you lodge the nomination. Check the current window on the Department’s labour market testing page before you begin.
What must the job advertisement include?
Each advertisement must include the position title or a description of the role, the name of the sponsor or the recruitment agency advertising on its behalf, and the annual salary. Where the earnings are below a specified amount, a salary range is acceptable instead of a single figure. Missing any of these can invalidate the advertisement.
Which sponsors or streams are exempt from LMT?
Some nominations are exempt, most commonly those in the Specialist Skills stream and certain intra-corporate transfers under international trade agreements. Exemptions are specific and conditional, so confirm that yours applies before relying on it rather than assuming it does.
Does the Specialist Skills stream need labour market testing?
No. The Specialist Skills stream is exempt from labour market testing. That stream sits above the Specialist Skills Income Threshold, which is $146,717 from 1 July 2026, and getting the stream classification right is what secures the exemption.
What happens if LMT is done incorrectly?
Labour market testing is assessed at the nomination stage, so defective testing can lead to the nomination being refused. That stalls the worker’s visa even when the person is well suited to the role, and it can mean re-advertising and re-lodging. Because the fix is far cheaper before lodgement than after, it is worth getting a second set of eyes on the testing first.
A realistic next step
If you are preparing to sponsor a worker in 2026, the realistic next step is to confirm two things before you advertise anything. First, which stream the role falls into, because that decides whether labour market testing applies at all and which salary threshold you are working to. Second, the current advertising window and salary-range rules on the Department’s page, so your ads run for the right length, on the right platforms, at the right time, with the right content. Then keep dated evidence of every advertisement as you go.
If you would like a review of a nomination before you lodge, you can book a consultation with our migration lawyers and we will assess the testing, the stream, and the evidence on file.
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About the author: Tina Nematian is the Principal Lawyer at One Planet Migration Law. She is admitted as an Australian Legal Practitioner and is a Registered Migration Agent, and has guided clients through partner, skilled, employer-sponsored, student, and humanitarian visa applications across Australia.
Visa fees, thresholds and processing times in this article were current as of 3 July 2026. Always check immi.gov.au before lodging.
This article is general information only and does not constitute legal or migration advice. Visa rules change frequently and outcomes depend on individual circumstances. Speak with a registered migration lawyer or agent before making any application.
