Australia made several visa changes from 1 July 2026, mostly affecting skilled salary thresholds, visa application charges, and Working Holiday Maker visas. If you are planning a move, already sponsored, or watching your costs from Hungary or elsewhere, this is the plain-English version.

Bottom line up front: most of this is indexation and fee movement, not a sudden rewrite of the whole system. The skilled salary floors went up for new nominations lodged from 1 July 2026, visa application charges increased, and some Working Holiday Maker settings changed, so the right question is not whether Australia changed everything, but whether your visa type, timing, and budget are affected. Home Affairs explains the skilled threshold indexation here, and you should always check your exact current visa charge in the official visa pricing estimator.

The skilled visa salary floors went up

From 1 July 2026, Australia increased skilled visa income thresholds by 3.8%, indexed to Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings, often called AWOTE. In plain English, these thresholds are the minimum salary floors an employer must nominate for certain employer-sponsored skilled visas. They are not an extra government fee paid by you. Home Affairs says the thresholds are indexed each year so migrant wages keep pace with Australian wages.

The Core Skills Income Threshold moved from AUD 76,515 to AUD 79,423. This affects the Core Skills stream of the Skills in Demand visa, subclass 482, and the Employer Nomination Scheme, subclass 186.

The Specialist Skills Income Threshold moved from AUD 141,210 to AUD 146,576. This affects the Specialist Skills stream of the Skills in Demand visa, subclass 482.

The Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold moved from AUD 76,515 to AUD 79,423. This affects the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional visa, subclass 494, and the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme, subclass 187. The official threshold notice sets out these figures and the visa types affected.

Does this affect you if you already have a visa?

Usually, the key issue is timing.

These new skilled income thresholds apply to new nomination applications lodged from 1 July 2026. They do not apply to existing visa holders, and they do not apply to nominations lodged before 1 July 2026. That timing point is stated in the Home Affairs threshold update.

So if you already hold a sponsored skilled visa, this change does not automatically cancel your visa or change your approved nomination. If your employer is about to lodge a new nomination, or you are changing employer, stream, or pathway, then the new salary floor may matter very much.

Your future deserves honesty, not guesswork. The date of lodgement, the visa stream, the nominated role, and the salary package all need to be checked together.

Visa application charges also rose

Visa application charges rose from 1 July 2026, with increases of roughly 25% across many subclasses. As two guide examples, the main applicant charge for the Skills in Demand visa, subclass 482, rose from about AUD 3,210 to about AUD 4,015, and the Employer Nomination Scheme, subclass 186, rose from about AUD 4,910 to about AUD 6,140.

Please treat those as examples, not a quote for your own case. Visa charges can depend on the visa, applicant type, family members, and timing, and they are reviewed and changed from time to time. Before you budget, pay, or panic, check the Home Affairs visa pricing estimator.

This is the part that often catches people by surprise. Not because it is legally complicated, but because it affects cash flow. A few hundred dollars here, a family member there, and suddenly the budget feels different.

No jargon. No false promises. Check the fee before you lodge.

Working Holiday Maker changes from 1 July 2026

The Working Holiday Maker program includes the Working Holiday visa, subclass 417, and the Work and Holiday visa, subclass 462. From 1 July 2026, the first visa application charge is AUD 840, up from AUD 670, and the second and third Working Holiday visa charges are AUD 1,000 each. The Home Affairs Working Holiday visa page sets out the current charge and visa settings.

One point worth getting right, because it is often reported as a change and is not. Your age is assessed when you lodge, not when a decision is made, and that has long been the case. Home Affairs says plainly that it can still grant the visa if you applied at 30, or 35 where that applies, and turned 31 or 36 before the decision (Home Affairs, Working Holiday visa, subclass 417). So the birthday that matters is the one on your lodgement date. Do not leave it to the last possible week regardless.

For the Working Holiday visa, subclass 417, applicants are generally aged 18 to 30, or up to 35 for some countries. From 1 July 2026, Cyprus, Finland, Germany, and the Republic of Korea gained age-35 eligibility for the 417. This is useful for people from those countries, but it is not a general age increase for everyone. Check the current country and age settings on the official 417 page.

Bigger changes to the same program were announced on 17 September 2026, including a ballot for second and third year visas with far fewer places than this year. I have written those up separately.

A note for Hungarian passport holders

This is important if you are Hungarian and reading Australian visa news in English.

Hungarian passport holders use the Work and Holiday visa, subclass 462, not the Working Holiday visa, subclass 417. So yes, the higher Working Holiday Maker fees are relevant to Hungarian applicants on the 462 pathway. But the age-35 extension mentioned above is a 417 change, and it does not add Hungary to that age-35 group.

In plain English: do not read a headline about Germany, Finland, Cyprus, or Korea and assume the same rule applies to a Hungarian passport. Across the Tasman, small subclass differences can change the whole answer.

If you are close to the age limit, the safest practical step is to map out your timing before you spend money. Application timing matters.

What I would actually do

If you are on an employer-sponsored skilled pathway, I would first check whether your nomination was lodged before or after 1 July 2026. Then I would check the visa stream and salary floor. Only after that would I worry about the rest.

If you are budgeting for a skilled visa, I would add the new application charge to your spreadsheet and check it again on the official estimator just before payment. Fees are one of those things people remember from an old blog, an old screenshot, or a friend’s application. That can be expensive.

If you are looking at a Working Holiday Maker visa, I would check three things early: your passport country, your age on the day you lodge, and the current fee. Short list. Big difference.

And if you are Hungarian, I would be especially careful not to mix up the 417 and 462. They sound similar. They are not the same visa.

If you want me to look at your specific situation, send me a few details and I will tell you plainly whether I can help, before any money changes hands.

Sources