The request for further information listed three lines. The contract said 38 hours a week; the nomination form said full time and gave no hours. The contract salary was the 2024 figure; the form used the 2026 figure. The position title in the contract did not match the nominated occupation. None of the three was fatal on its own. Together they told the case officer the position had not been thought through. We settled all three by redrafting the contract and answering the letter. The lesson is the order of work. A decision-ready 186 nomination starts with a contract that already says what the form will say.
In short: The 186 visa charge is $6,140, the nomination charge is $540 and the Skilling Australians Fund levy is $3,000 or $5,000. A nomination is decided on the employment contract behind it, so we draft the contract first and complete the form from it.
What the case officer reads in the contract
The nomination form asks for facts. The contract is where the officer checks them. Six points carry the assessment.
- The occupation and the duties, which must fit the nominated ANZSCO code.
- The salary, at or above $79,423 and at the market rate for the role.
- The hours, which must be full time and stated.
- The term, which must be ongoing and available for at least two years.
- The employing entity, which must be the sponsor or an associated entity.
- The start date, which for a 482 holder is usually the date of grant.
Our commercial practice drafts or varies the contract before the migration team opens the form. The clauses that matter are set out in our guide to contracts for sponsored staff. The result is a nomination with no internal contradictions, which is most of what decision-ready means.
Which stream is the nomination in?
Has the worker held a 482 with you for two years in the nominated occupation?
Six weeks to a decision-ready file
- Week 1Contract review. Salary tested against $79,423 and the market rate, entity checked, duties matched to the occupation.
- Week 2Business evidence. Financial statements, organisational chart, registrations and the sponsor's compliance record on the 482.
- Week 3Position paper. Why the role is genuine, why it is ongoing, why it is full time, written as a submission.
- Week 4Worker's file. Two years of payslips and duties evidence, English result, health examination, police certificates.
- Week 5Charges. Levy of $3,000 or $5,000 and nomination charge of $540 paid, forms cross-checked line by line against the contract.
- Week 6Lodgement. Nomination and visa lodged together, with the $6,140 visa charge paid.
Lodging the two halves together matters. The visa cannot be decided before the nomination, and a visa lodged months later restarts the effective wait. It also removes the six month window after nomination approval as a risk. The worker's dates are covered in the two year plan.
What it costs in 2026-27
The employer pays the $540 and the levy and cannot recover either from the worker. The visa charges can be paid by either side. Health examinations, police certificates and English testing sit on top.
Four patterns behind refusals
Salary drift is the first. A package that cleared the threshold at the 482 stage sits below $79,423 now, and nobody has re-tested it. The second is a position description that reads like an advertisement. The Department wants duties and reporting lines, not adjectives. The third is the wrong entity. The group restructured, the payslips come from a new company, and the nomination names the old one. The fourth is age. The worker is 44, the nomination is not ready, and the line of 45 arrives before lodgement.
Each pattern is visible in the contract weeks before it is visible in a refusal. That is why the contract review comes first. It is also why we re-test the salary on the day of lodgement, not on the day the file opened.
Who prepares the file
Sam Kanjo prepares 186 nominations with the commercial team, so the contract and the form are drafted by the same people. Deepika Khurana takes over if a nomination is refused and a Tribunal application follows. Both are on the team page. If your worker is in the second year of a 482, we can map the file before anything is lodged. The same applies to a permanent hire from overseas under the Direct Entry stream.
Figures verified against Home Affairs visa pricing as at 1 July 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Can the permanent contract be conditional on the visa being granted?
Yes. For a worker already on a 482, the permanent role is usually a new contract or a written variation. Either can take effect on grant. The terms must still be fixed in the document.
Does the nominated position have to be full time?
Yes. The position must be full time and available for at least two years from the nomination. A part time or fixed short term role does not meet the criterion.
We paid the levy for the 482. Does it apply again for the 186?
Yes. The 186 nomination carries its own one off levy of $3,000 for a business with turnover under $10 million, or $5,000 otherwise. The 482 levy is not credited against it.
What salary goes in the nomination?
The annual market salary rate for the role, which must be at least $79,423. The figure must match the contract and the payslips, and it should be re-tested against the threshold in force at lodgement.
Our worker is 44. Is there time?
Age is tested on the day the visa application is lodged, so the birthday is the deadline for the whole file. Exemptions exist but are narrow. We prepare the nomination and visa together and lodge with margin.
General information as at 2 September 2026. Not legal advice. Nomination criteria and charges change, and your position depends on your facts. Speak to a lawyer before relying on any of it.