Australia
Canberra · Australia and New Zealand
A points-tested skilled migration system with a genuine route to permanent residence without a job offer, high salaries and high living costs. Uniquely among major destinations it has no visa-free entry: everyone needs a visa or an electronic authority.
- Commonwealth
- OECD
- G20
- Capital
- Canberra
- Currency
- AUD $
- Language
- English
- Population
- 27.2M
- Long-stay routes
- 3
- Route to permanent residence
- Yes
- Unemployment
- 4.2%
- Drives on the
- Left
Australian dollar
2024 estimate
Soonest, 2 years
2025, indicative
+61
Entry and short stays
What your passport allows before any long-stay permission is involved.
Reading your passport selection…
Can I live here?
Every long-stay route this country publishes, checked against what you tell us. The checking happens in your browser.
About you
Stored in this browser only. Never sent anywhere.
Before tax, in the currency you earn.
Reading your answers…
Nothing here is an approval, and nothing here is advice. Only the authority deciding your application can tell you the answer, and it will weigh things this tool does not model.
Long-stay routes
Stored as structured records, so the same data drives the checks above, the comparison view and the checklists.
Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189)
Permanent residencePermanent residence without a job offer or sponsor, awarded by invitation from a points-ranked pool. A skills assessment in an occupation on the relevant list is the gateway.
- Income needed
- Not stated
- Leads to settlement
- No
Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482)
EmploymentThe employer-sponsored temporary route that replaced the Temporary Skill Shortage visa in December 2024. It has three streams with different salary thresholds, and most lead to permanent residence.
- Income needed
- A$73,150 a year
- Leads to settlement
- After 2 years
Working Holiday visa (subclass 417 / 462)
Working holidayTwelve months of work and travel for young people from participating countries, extendable to two or three years through specified regional work.
- Income needed
- Not stated
- Leads to settlement
- No
Cost of living
An estimate you can shape. It is not survey data and it is not a quote.
| Category | Monthly range |
|---|---|
| Housing | A$1,700 – A$3,000 |
| Food | A$550 – A$900 |
| Utilities | A$180 – A$350 |
| Internet | A$70 – A$110 |
| Transport | A$150 – A$400 |
| Healthcare | A$0 – A$250 |
| Everything else | A$350 – A$750 |
| Total | A$3,000 – A$5,760 |
| Suggested monthly buffer | A$6,912 |
Modelled from a baseline for one adult and scaled, not sampled from households. Figures are shown as ranges because that is the honest shape of the data.
Worth knowing. Modelled estimate. Temporary visa holders are generally outside Medicare unless their country has a reciprocal agreement, which pushes the healthcare line up.
Housing
Foreign buyers need Foreign Investment Review Board approval and are generally restricted to new dwellings. A temporary ban on foreign purchases of established dwellings applies from April 2025 to March 2027. States levy additional foreign-buyer duties and land tax surcharges.
What landlords usually ask for
- Rental application with references and proof of income
- Rental history — difficult for new arrivals
- Bond lodged with a state authority, usually four weeks rent
Domain (opens in a new tab)realestate.com.au (opens in a new tab)
Worth knowing. Purchase restrictions are substantial — confirm current FIRB rules before committing.
Healthcare
Medicare provides subsidised care to citizens and permanent residents, funded by a levy. Private health insurance is widely held and is effectively compulsory for higher earners through the surcharge system.
- If you live there
- Permanent residents access Medicare. Temporary visa holders generally do not, unless their country has a reciprocal healthcare agreement, and most temporary visas require adequate private cover.
- If you are visiting
- Visitors pay in full unless covered by a reciprocal agreement. Travel insurance is essential.
Tax
- Tax residency threshold
- 183 days
- Taxes worldwide income
- Yes, for residents
- Income tax range
- 16% – 45%
- VAT or sales tax
- 10%
Residency is decided by a set of tests covering domicile, the 183-day rule and where you ordinarily reside. Non-residents pay tax from the first dollar with no tax-free threshold.
Remote workers. Australia has no remote-worker visa. Visitor visas do not permit work for an Australian business, and remote work for a foreign employer is not addressed in the visitor conditions.
Social insurance. A Medicare levy applies to residents, with a surcharge for higher earners without private hospital cover. Employers pay compulsory superannuation on top of salary.
Capital gains. Gains are included in income, with a discount for assets held more than twelve months by residents.
Worth knowing. Orientation only. The absence of a tax-free threshold for non-residents materially changes the calculation for short stays.
Work and the labour market
Conditions in the labour market, which is a different claim from how many jobs are open right now. This product does not pretend to know the second from static data.
- Unemployment
- 4.2%
- Youth unemployment
- 9%
- Average earnings
- A$8,200 / mo
- Minimum wage
- A$4,000 / mo
Worth knowing. The minimum wage figure is a full-time equivalent of the national minimum hourly rate; most workers are covered by higher award rates.
Sectors
- Healthcare and social assistancegrowingThe largest employing industry and a persistent source of shortage occupations.
- Mining and resourcesstableHigh pay, concentrated in Western Australia and Queensland, often on fly-in fly-out rosters.
- Construction and tradesgrowingSustained shortages across most states.
Cities
A country-wide average hides a lot. Where we have city data, use it instead.
Sydney
The largest city and financial centre, with some of the least affordable housing in the world relative to income.
One adult, monthly: A$4,000 – A$5,800
Melbourne
Comparable in size to Sydney with somewhat lower housing costs, a large university sector and a notably variable climate.
One adult, monthly: A$3,500 – A$5,000
Sources
Every claim on this page traces to one of these. If something here matters to a decision you are making, read it there.
Authorities for Australia
- Visa finder, eligibility and application charges (opens in a new tab)Department of Home Affairs · National immigration authority