Over 45 and Want Employer-Sponsored PR? The Subclass 186 High-Income Exemption
The subclass 186 visa usually needs you to be under 45. A high-income exemption can change that, and from 1 July 2026 the Fair Work threshold it turns on is $190,100.
Most people assume that turning 45 quietly closes the door on employer-sponsored permanent residence. For the subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme visa, that is the general rule: you usually need to be under 45 at the time you apply. What far fewer people know is that there is a high-income exemption, and from 1 July 2026 the salary figure it turns on rose to $190,100.
This rule affects skilled professionals more than almost any other requirement in the employer-sponsored pathway. A person spends years building a career in Australia, often on a subclass 482 visa, meets every requirement their employer sets, and then reaches 45 just as permanent residence comes into view. If that describes your situation, or you can see it coming, read on before ruling out the 186.
The age rule, and why it matters
The subclass 186 visa generally requires applicants to be under 45 years of age at the time of application. The age requirement applies regardless of skill level or employer support. For a lot of experienced people, that is exactly the problem: the years it takes to become genuinely valuable to an Australian employer are the same years that push you towards the age cap.
The good news is that the age requirement is not absolute. There are exemptions, and one of them is built for precisely this situation.
The high-income exemption
In the Temporary Residence Transition stream of the 186, an applicant who has been working for their nominating employer on a subclass 482 visa (formerly the 457 and TSS) can be exempt from the under-45 requirement if they earned at least the Fair Work High Income Threshold for each year of the relevant work period.
That threshold is set by the Fair Work Commission, and it moves every year. As at 1 July 2026 it is $190,100, per the Fair Work Commission high income threshold. Because it steps up each 1 July, the figure you had to clear depends on which years count for your application, not just the current one. Confirm the exact period that applies to you, and the figure for each of those years, against the Department of Home Affairs Temporary Residence Transition stream page.
The detail that decides these cases
Actual earnings are what matter, and they generally have to clear the threshold for each relevant year, not merely on average across the period. A single year in which earnings fell below the threshold can be the difference between qualifying and not.
How your remuneration is structured, and how it is evidenced, is what determines whether the exemption holds up. Base salary, guaranteed amounts, and the way bonuses or allowances are treated are not details to leave to chance when the whole exemption rests on them. This is worth getting right on paper well before you lodge, not reconstructing afterwards.
Other ways over the age line
The high-income exemption is not the only one. Narrower exemptions exist for certain applicants, including some academics, medical practitioners, and people nominated under a labour agreement that allows for an older worker. None of these is a catch-all, and each has its own conditions. The point is simply this: being over 45 does not automatically end the conversation, and it is worth a proper look before you assume you are out.
Plan it before 45, not after
If permanent residence is the goal and you can see 45 approaching, treat the exemption as something to plan towards rather than discover too late. That means thinking about your 482 employment, your salary, and your timing together, with the exemption in mind, while you still have room to shape them. Planning your salary structure and work period against the threshold well in advance gives you the best chance of meeting it.
If you are weighing up an employer-sponsored pathway and the age rule is on your mind, our team can look at your work history and salary and tell you clearly whether the exemption is available to you. Start with our employer-sponsored visa services or read about the subclass 482 Skills in Demand visa that so often leads into it, then get in touch and we will map it out with you.