Annual Market Salary Rate changes from 25 March 2026
From 25 March 2026, the new AMSR rules give sponsors more flexibility in how they determine the Annual Market Salary Rate for nominated positions. The change applies to nominations linked to subclasses 482, 494 and 186, and it applies not only to new nominations lodged on or after commencement, but also to nominations already lodged and still undecided at that date.
In simple terms, the new rules recognise that an industrial instrument will not always tell the full salary story. Where there is an equivalent Australian worker doing the same work in the same workplace and location, the AMSR can now be worked out either from the relevant industrial instrument or by reference to relevant employment documents, provided the outcome is not lower than the industrial instrument result. Where there is no equivalent Australian worker, the AMSR can be worked out from relevant information about what an equivalent Australian worker would earn.
This is helpful, but it does not reduce the evidence burden. Home Affairs still requires employers nominating workers for subclasses 482, 494 and 186 to satisfy salary requirements, including the market salary requirement where relevant. The new instrument changes the methodology, not the obligation to pay properly.
For employers, this means documentation becomes even more important. If you rely on payroll records, contracts, remuneration policies, position descriptions or external market information, those materials need to be consistent, credible and capable of showing how the nominated salary was reached. Flexibility is useful, but it usually brings closer scrutiny.
