Before you start gathering documents or filling out forms, you need to know what you’re actually going to spend. The cost of Australia work visa applications can range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand, depending on the visa subclass, whether a sponsor is involved, and how many family members you include on your application.
It’s not just the base application fee, either. Sponsorship obligations, skills assessments, health checks, English language tests, and police clearances all add to the total. Miss one of these in your budget, and you could find yourself scrambling for funds mid-process, or worse, delaying your application entirely.
At Simon Mander Consulting, we’ve spent over 22 years helping skilled workers, families, and businesses navigate Australian immigration. We’ve seen firsthand how unexpected costs catch applicants off guard, and that’s exactly why we put this guide together. Below, you’ll find a clear breakdown of official government fees, sponsorship charges, and the extra costs most applicants forget to plan for, so you can budget with confidence from day one.
Why Australia work visa costs vary
The cost of Australia work visa applications doesn’t follow a single price list. It’s built from multiple layers, each driven by factors specific to your situation. Your visa subclass, your family size, your employer’s annual turnover, and whether you need third-party assessments all push the total in different directions. Understanding why costs vary helps you build a realistic budget rather than getting caught off guard at each stage of the process.
The visa subclass you choose
Not all Australian work visas carry the same application fee. A Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa (subclass 482) targets workers filling short-term or medium-term skill gaps, while the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) visa (subclass 186) is a permanent visa and carries a higher base fee to reflect that. The Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) and Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) fall under the General Skilled Migration program and are priced differently again. Each subclass exists to solve a specific migration problem, and the Department of Home Affairs sets its pricing accordingly.
Within a subclass, the stream you apply through can also affect your overall costs. The TSS visa has a Short-Term stream and a Medium-Term stream, and while the base application fee is the same for both, the stream determines whether your sponsor must pay the Skilling Australians Fund levy and for how long. That distinction alone can shift the total cost significantly.
Whether a sponsor is involved
Employer-sponsored visas add a cost layer that points-tested applicants never face. Before a business can nominate you, they must hold Standard Business Sponsorship (SBS) approval, which carries its own fee. On top of that, sponsors must pay the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF) levy, a mandatory training contribution tied to the company’s annual turnover and the duration of your visa.
For permanent employer-sponsored visas, the SAF levy can reach tens of thousands of dollars, and it must be paid in full before your application can move forward.
Employers and applicants sometimes negotiate informally about who absorbs which charge, but Australian law restricts sponsors from passing certain fees onto workers. Knowing who is legally responsible for each cost protects you from being asked to cover charges that should sit with your employer.
How many people are on your application
If you’re including a partner or dependent children, the fees increase for each person added. Secondary applicants above a certain age attract a charge that can approach the primary applicant fee, while younger dependents typically attract a reduced rate. A worker migrating with a partner and two teenage children could be looking at roughly double or triple the base application fee compared to a single applicant.
Each person on your application also needs their own health examination and police clearance. Those charges sit outside the government application fee entirely, so a larger family unit means proportionally higher ancillary costs before you’ve even submitted your forms.
Where you are in the world when you apply
Your location at the time of lodgement affects which health panel physician you must use and what fees they charge. Applicants in some countries pay higher examination costs than those in others, purely due to local clinic pricing. Your location can also determine whether you need a specific English language test, with some visa streams requiring results from approved testing providers that charge varying fees depending on the country.
Official visa application fees by visa type
The Department of Home Affairs sets the official application fees for all Australian work visas, and these fees update annually on July 1. What you pay depends on the visa subclass, your primary or secondary applicant status, and the ages of any dependents you include. Knowing the base figures before you apply lets you build an accurate starting budget and avoid surprises once your application is lodged.
Fees listed here are approximate figures based on current Department of Home Affairs schedules. Always confirm the exact amount at immi.homeaffairs.gov.au before you lodge, as charges adjust each financial year.
Temporary Skill Shortage visa (subclass 482)
The TSS visa (subclass 482) is the most common employer-sponsored work visa in Australia, and it comes with a base application fee that applies regardless of whether you apply under the Short-Term or Medium-Term stream. The table below shows the approximate current charges per applicant.
| Applicant type | Approximate fee (AUD) |
|---|---|
| Primary applicant | $3,115 |
| Secondary applicant aged 18 or over | $3,115 |
| Secondary applicant under 18 | $780 |
A worker applying with a partner and one teenage child would be looking at approximately AUD 7,010 in base government fees alone, before a single ancillary cost is added.
Employer Nomination Scheme visa (subclass 186)
The ENS visa (subclass 186) grants permanent residence, and the fee reflects that. The primary applicant charge sits at approximately AUD 4,770, with secondary applicants aged 18 or over paying around AUD 2,385 and dependents under 18 attracting roughly AUD 1,190. These figures make the cost of Australia work visa significantly higher for permanent pathways than for temporary ones, especially when you factor in a full family unit.
Points-tested skilled migration (subclass 189 and 190)
For applicants going through the points-tested General Skilled Migration program, the subclass 189 and subclass 190 both carry a primary applicant fee of approximately AUD 4,640. Secondary applicants aged 18 or over pay around AUD 2,320, and dependents under 18 attract roughly AUD 1,160. Unlike employer-sponsored visas, these pathways have no sponsorship levy attached, so the government fee is the dominant cost at application stage.
Employer sponsorship costs and who pays
When your visa is employer-sponsored, the cost of Australia work visa processing doesn’t fall entirely on you. Your employer carries several mandatory charges that must be paid before the Department of Home Affairs will even consider your nomination. Understanding which party pays which fee protects you from being asked to cover costs that are legally your employer’s responsibility.
Standard Business Sponsorship fee
Before your employer can nominate you for any sponsored visa, they must hold Standard Business Sponsorship (SBS) approval. If they don’t already have it, they need to apply and pay the associated fee. Currently, the SBS application fee sits at approximately AUD 420, and this sits entirely with the employer. It’s a one-time cost per approval period, so businesses that sponsor multiple workers spread it across hires. If your prospective employer hasn’t started this process, factor the timeline into your planning, as SBS approval can take several weeks.
The Skilling Australians Fund levy
The SAF levy is the largest single cost an employer faces in a sponsored visa application. The Department of Home Affairs calculates it based on the employer’s annual turnover and the visa duration being requested. Small businesses with a turnover under AUD 10 million pay AUD 1,200 per year of visa sponsorship, while larger businesses pay AUD 1,800 per year.
For a permanent ENS visa (subclass 186), the SAF levy is a single lump sum: AUD 3,000 for small businesses and AUD 5,000 for larger ones, payable in full at nomination stage.
For a Medium-Term TSS visa granted for four years, a large employer would pay AUD 7,200 in SAF levy alone, on top of their nomination and sponsorship fees. These figures are substantial, which is why some employers factor them into salary negotiation discussions with candidates.
What employers can and cannot pass on to you
Australian migration law is clear: sponsors cannot recover the SAF levy or the nomination application charge from the worker they sponsor. Attempting to do so is a breach of sponsorship obligations and can result in sanctions against the employer. Your employer can legitimately ask you to cover your own visa application fee and any personal costs like health checks, but anything tied to the sponsorship and nomination process sits with them.
Extra costs to budget for
The official visa application fee is only part of what you’ll actually spend. The full cost of Australia work visa preparation includes several mandatory third-party expenses that sit completely outside the Department of Home Affairs fee schedule. None of these are optional, and together they can add AUD 2,000 or more to your total, depending on your occupation and where you’re applying from.
Skills assessment fees
Most Australian work visas require you to prove your qualifications and work experience meet Australian standards, and that verification runs through a designated assessing authority specific to your occupation. Engineers go through Engineers Australia, nurses through the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council, and accountants through CPA Australia or similar bodies, each with their own fee structure.
Skills assessment fees typically range from AUD 500 to AUD 1,000, depending on the authority and the type of assessment required. If your qualifications come from outside Australia, some authorities charge additional fees for overseas document verification. Build this cost into your budget early, as assessment outcomes can take several months and you cannot lodge a points-tested visa without one.
If you’re applying under an employer-sponsored pathway, your employer may not require a formal skills assessment in all cases, but always confirm this with a registered migration agent before assuming it’s not needed.
Health examinations and police clearances
Every applicant, including dependents, must complete a health examination through an approved panel physician. The cost varies by country and clinic, but a standard adult examination typically runs between AUD 300 and AUD 500. Chest X-rays, which are required for many applicants, add an extra charge on top of the base consultation fee.
Police clearances are required from every country where you’ve lived for 12 months or more over the past 10 years. Costs vary widely by country, and some governments charge the equivalent of AUD 50 to AUD 200 per certificate. If you’ve lived in multiple countries, those charges compound quickly.
English language testing
Several Australian work visa streams require a valid English language test result from an approved provider such as IELTS, PTE Academic, or TOEFL iBT. Test fees generally sit between AUD 300 and AUD 400, and if you need to resit to hit the required score band, that cost repeats. Book your test early to avoid delays in your overall timeline.
How to estimate your total work visa budget
Pulling together an accurate total budget before you lodge saves you from funding shortfalls and timeline delays. The cost of Australia work visa applications isn’t a fixed number you can look up in one place. It’s the sum of your government application fee, any sponsorship-related charges your employer covers, and every mandatory third-party expense attached to your occupation and personal circumstances.
Build your cost list in layers
Start with the official application fee for your specific visa subclass and add a line for each person you’re including on the application. Then add the third-party costs below based on your situation.
| Cost category | Who pays | Approximate range (AUD) |
|---|---|---|
| Visa application fee (primary) | Applicant | $3,115 to $4,770 |
| Visa application fee (secondary, 18+) | Applicant | $780 to $3,115 |
| SAF levy (TSS, 2 years, large employer) | Employer | $3,600 |
| Skills assessment | Applicant | $500 to $1,000 |
| Health examination (per person) | Applicant | $300 to $500 |
| Police clearance (per country) | Applicant | $50 to $200 |
| English language test | Applicant | $300 to $400 |
Treat each line as a minimum estimate. If you need to resit a language test or get additional police clearances, those costs repeat.
Account for your family and occupation
Your family size and your occupation are the two variables that push individual budgets furthest apart. A single applicant in an occupation with a straightforward skills assessment will sit toward the lower end of the range. A worker migrating with a partner and two adult children in a highly regulated profession like nursing or engineering will face a significantly higher total, with health examinations and police clearances multiplying for every person on the application.
Run the numbers for your exact household before you start any paperwork. Knowing your full budget upfront also strengthens your case when negotiating employment terms with a potential sponsor, since some employers factor migration costs into their offer discussions.
Leave room for unexpected charges
Build a contingency buffer of at least AUD 500 to AUD 1,000 on top of your calculated total. Translation of documents, additional medical testing flagged by the examining physician, and re-submissions all carry costs that aren’t visible at the start of your application. Planning for the unexpected means a single added requirement won’t derail your entire process.
Next steps
You now have a clear picture of what the cost of Australia work visa applications actually involves, from the official government fees by subclass to the sponsorship levies your employer must cover and the third-party expenses that stack up on top. Armed with this breakdown, you can build a realistic budget before you start any paperwork, rather than discovering gaps mid-application.
Your next move is to map your specific situation against these figures. Identify your visa subclass, list every person you’re including on the application, confirm whether a skills assessment applies to your occupation, and add the ancillary costs for health checks, police clearances, and any language testing you need. That gives you a working total you can plan around.
If you want a precise assessment of your costs and eligibility rather than estimates, speak with a registered migration agent at Simon Mander Consulting who can review your full circumstances and walk you through the exact steps for your case.