IT jobs in Australia for Indians: graduate ballot or employer sponsorship, which route is yours?

Visa guide · 2026-10-18 · 10 min read

An Indian woman software engineer and male colleague review a monitor beside a laptop in a bright office.

IT jobs in Australia for Indians usually come through one of two doors: the MATES ballot, if you are a recent graduate from a top-ranked Indian institution, or employer sponsorship on the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482), if you already have work experience. MATES gives you up to 2 years of open work rights but has strict age, degree and field rules. Sponsorship needs an employer willing to nominate you, a salary above a set threshold and at least 1 year of relevant experience.

Where Indian IT professionals stand in Australia

India-born workers are already a large professional community in Australia. In the 2021 Census, Professionals were the biggest occupation group among India-born workers, at 31.9%.

So the market knows Indian engineers and analysts well, but no visa is easier because of it: every pathway is assessed on your own qualification, evidence and nomination.

The India-Australia trade agreement (ECTA) does not change that. DFAT says its mobility outcomes do not include a waiver of labour market testing, and current sponsorship requirements remain.

Route 1: MATES for recent ICT and AI graduates

The MATES stream of the Temporary Work (International Relations) visa, subclass 403, is built for early career Indian professionals. You enter a ballot, and only selected people can apply. The visa costs from AUD470.00, and once granted you can do any kind of work and study in Australia, so you are not tied to one employer.

The rules are narrow:

A valid Indian passport, and an age of 18 to 30 years old (inclusive).
A bachelor degree or higher from a Top 100 institution on the NIRF India Rankings Overall 2024 List, obtained within two years of the start of the ballot registration period.
A qualification that relates to renewable energy, mining, engineering, information communications technology, artificial intelligence, financial technology or agricultural technology.
An IELTS result with an overall band score of at least 6.0 and at least 5 in each component.

Australia allocates up to 3,000 places for primary applicants per program year, with a ballot registration fee of AUD25. For a recent B.Tech in computer science from a qualifying institution, MATES can be a quick way to add Australian experience to your CV; for someone who graduated several years ago, sponsorship is the realistic route. Our MATES eligibility guide for Indian graduates walks through the ballot rules in more detail.

If MATES is your route, our step-by-step guide to Mates ballot registration sets out the dates, the AUD25 fee and the documents to start early.

Route 2: Employer sponsorship on the Skills in Demand visa

The Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) is a temporary visa that lets an employer sponsor a suitably skilled worker to fill a position they cannot fill with a suitably skilled Australian. For experienced developers and IT managers, this is the main door. It lets you work for your sponsor for up to 4 years.

Two streams matter most for IT roles:

Core Skills stream: your occupation must be on the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL), and you must be paid the Annual Market Salary Rate (AMSR) for the occupation and no less than the Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT).
Specialist Skills stream: your occupation must be an ANZSCO occupation in Major Groups 1, 2, 4, 5 or 6, and your salary must meet the Specialist Skills Income Threshold (SSIT).

Both streams require at least 1 year of relevant work experience in the nominated occupation or a related field, gained within the last 5 years. Part-time or casual work must add up to at least 12 months full-time. Keep appointment letters, payslips and relieving letters from every employer.

Two rules protect you. The employer must pay all costs of becoming a sponsor and nominating you, and cannot pass them to you. And applicants must not have asked for, offered, received or provided a benefit in return for sponsorship in the past 3 years. If anyone in Bengaluru, Hyderabad or Pune asks you to "buy" a sponsored IT job, walk away. Our planning guide to the subclass 482 visa covers the conditions in full, and the official Core Skills stream page is the place to confirm them.

The salary floors in rupees

The thresholds below apply to nomination applications lodged on and between 1 July 2026 and 30 June 2027. Thresholds are indexed every year from 1 July, so check the official salary requirements page before you negotiate an offer.

Threshold	Amount	Rough rupee comparison	Who it affects
Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT)	AUD79,423 a year	About INR 5,345,000	Core Skills stream: most developer, analyst and support roles
Specialist Skills Income Threshold (SSIT)	AUD146,576 a year	About INR 9,865,000	Specialist Skills stream: senior and highly paid roles
Annual Market Salary Rate (AMSR)	What Australians in the same role are paid	Not a fixed figure	Both streams: you cannot be paid less than local colleagues

The rupee figures are a rough comparison only, using the Reserve Bank of Australia rate of 67.30 rupees per Australian dollar published on 08 Oct 2026. Rates change daily, and living costs in Sydney are not those of Chennai, so compare budgets, not headline numbers.

Skills assessment: check the authority, do not assume

Many Indian IT professionals search for an ACS skills assessment as if it were one fixed step for every IT job. It is better to start from your exact occupation. The combined list of eligible skilled occupations shows whether an occupation is on the CSOL or other lists, and names its skills assessing authority.

For the 482 visa, some primary applicants must have a mandatory skills assessment, by Trades Recognition Australia or VETASSESS depending on the occupation, and it must be started before the visa application is lodged, or the application is not valid. The rule is occupation-specific, so confirm it for your own occupation. Points-tested permanent visas (subclass 189 and 190) need a suitable skills assessment for the nominated occupation by the time you are invited.

English results for IT sponsorship

For the 482 Core Skills and Specialist Skills streams (tests taken on or after 13 September 2025), the IELTS Academic or General Training minimum is 5.0 in each of listening, reading, writing and speaking. The PTE Academic minimum is Listening 33, Reading 36, Writing 29 and Speaking 24. The test must be taken within 3 years before you apply, and Home Affairs does not accept tests delivered entirely online at home.

Applicants are exempt if they completed at least 5 years of full-time study in a secondary or higher institution where most classes were in English. Keep transcripts and a medium-of-instruction letter ready if you rely on this.

How to plan your move, step by step

Pin down your occupation. Match the title to your actual duties (assessors read duties, not designations) and note its list and assessing authority.
Pick your route. Aged 18 to 30 with a recent ICT, AI or fintech degree from a NIRF Top 100 institution? Watch for the MATES ballot. Otherwise, target employers who sponsor on the 482.
Build your evidence pack. Degree certificates, transcripts, reference letters with duties and dates, payslips and tax records covering at least 1 year of recent experience.
Sit an accepted English test early at a test centre, unless you clearly qualify for an exemption.
Rewrite your CV for Australian employers. Lead with outcomes and the stack you used. A tool such as Build AI CV can help you turn project lists into clear achievement lines.
Apply to sponsoring roles, starting with the live IT and technology jobs in Australia and New Zealand on MigrateJobs, and check that each offer meets the CSIT or SSIT.
Get your Police Clearance Certificate through Passport Seva when it is requested, at a Passport Seva Kendra within your Passport Office's jurisdiction.
Lodge only after your employer's nomination is in place, and once in Australia, start work within 90 days of entering the country.

Thinking longer term: permanent residence and New Zealand

A 482 visa is temporary, but your employer may later be able to sponsor you for permanent residence through the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186). The Temporary Residence Transition stream is for 482 holders who have usually worked for at least 2 years full time in eligible sponsored employment, and applicants must usually be under 45.

If you study in Australia first, DFAT says that under ECTA post-study work is maintained for former Indian students: up to two years after a bachelor degree and up to three years after a masters.

New Zealand is a sensible second market. The Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) is for people with a job offer from an accredited employer, and applicants must show 2 years or more of relevant experience, or a qualification at level 4 or higher on the NZQCF, in the same field as the job. See our guide to New Zealand's AEWV. Wherever you go, build skills that are harder to automate; our article on AI-driven redundancies and Indian IT careers in Australia looks at where IT roles are changing fastest.

Common mistakes Indian IT applicants make

Registering for MATES with a degree that does not qualify. A degree from outside the NIRF Top 100 Overall 2024 List does not meet the rules, however strong the CV.
Accepting an offer below the threshold. A Core Skills offer under AUD79,423, or below the market rate for the role, cannot support a valid nomination.
Paying for sponsorship. Paying anyone for a sponsored job can make you ineligible for the 482, and the employer cannot pass its sponsorship costs on to you.
Thin reference letters. A designation and dates alone do not prove at least 1 year of relevant experience.
Taking an at-home English test. Tests delivered entirely online at home are not accepted for Australian visas.
Trusting anyone who promises a visa. The Department of Home Affairs is the only Australian Government provider of visas; for professional help, use a registered migration agent listed with OMARA.

Frequently asked questions

Can an Indian software engineer get a job in Australia with visa sponsorship?

Yes, if an Australian employer nominates you for a 482 visa. Your occupation must fit the Core Skills or Specialist Skills stream, your salary must meet the threshold and the market rate, and you need at least 1 year of relevant recent experience.

Do I need an ACS skills assessment for an IT job in Australia?

It depends on your occupation and your visa. Check the combined list of eligible skilled occupations for your occupation's assessing authority. Some 482 applicants need a mandatory assessment, and the points-tested 189 and 190 visas always need one.

Is MATES open to IT graduates?

Yes, information communications technology and artificial intelligence are among the accepted fields. You must also be 18 to 30, hold a degree from a NIRF Top 100 Overall 2024 institution obtained within the required window, and be selected in the ballot.

What is the minimum salary for a sponsored IT job in Australia?

For Core Skills nominations lodged between 1 July 2026 and 30 June 2027, the CSIT is AUD79,423 a year, and you must also be paid the market rate for the role. The Specialist Skills threshold for the same period is AUD146,576.

Does the India-Australia trade agreement make IT visas easier?

No. DFAT says ECTA's mobility outcomes do not waive labour market testing, and current sponsorship requirements remain.

Key takeaways

MATES suits young ICT and AI graduates from NIRF Top 100 institutions; experienced professionals usually need 482 sponsorship.
A sponsored IT offer must meet the market rate and the CSIT (AUD79,423) or the SSIT (AUD146,576).
Check your occupation's list and assessing authority on the official occupation list before you pay for an assessment.
Document at least 1 year of recent experience with duty-based reference letters.
Never pay for sponsorship, and treat any promise of a visa as a scam.

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