Australia Subclass 186 TRT Age Exemptions: The Under-45 Rule and Who May Qualify

For the Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) stream of Australia’s subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme visa, applicants are generally required to be under 45 when they apply. The Department of Home Affairs lists specific exemptions. A nomination, a current subclass 482 visa or a high salary by itself does not remove the age requirement. Identify the precise exemption and prepare evidence for each part of it.

Several exemptions depend on the nominated role

The official list includes specified academics nominated by an Australian university, and scientists, researchers or technical specialists nominated by an Australian scientific government agency or university in specified roles. It also includes medical practitioners who meet the regional work and nomination conditions. These categories depend on the nominating organisation, role, skill level or regional location as well as the applicant’s background. A similar job title alone is not enough to establish that an exemption applies.

The high-income exemption has a work-period test too

One exemption is available to certain subclass 457 or 482 holders who completed at least two years of eligible sponsored employment during the three years immediately before applying and whose earnings in each year of that period were at least the Fair Work High Income Threshold applicable for that year. This is not simply a current-salary test, and it is not based only on the average across two years. Check the qualifying employment dates and the earnings year by year.

Keep evidence that identifies the relevant period and each year’s earnings, such as employment records, payslips and tax or PAYG documents. Compare those dates with the sponsored work relied on for the exemption. The monetary threshold changes over time, so confirm the applicable official amount for each relevant year rather than copying a figure from an older article.

A separate transitional rule relates to some former 457 holders

A transitional arrangement may apply to certain people who held a subclass 457 visa on 18 April 2017, or had applied for one by that date and were later granted it. For those who meet the arrangement, the age requirement may be assessed against an under-50 limit. This is a narrow historical visa-status rule, not a general age concession for current subclass 482 holders. Preserve the original visa and application records before relying on it.

Check the rule against the planned application date

Record the intended lodgement date and the applicant’s date of birth, then assess the general age rule at the relevant time. If relying on an exemption, name the exact category and list its requirements: the nominator, nominated role, work location, qualifying sponsored period and income evidence, where applicable. Keep employer statements, nomination records, contracts, leave history and payroll evidence in a dated schedule so that each claim can be traced.

An age exemption addresses only one part of the visa criteria. Skills, eligible employment, employer nomination and all other applicable requirements still need to be met, and no exemption guarantees a visa grant. See Premiervisa Group’s subclass 186 service information and check the current Department requirements against the applicant’s own records.