Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa

In deciding whether an overseas bachelor or doctoral qualification is of a recognised standard, the Minister must consider the assessing authority’s recognition at invitation, recognition by a body specified in an instrument, the length of study and any other relevant matter.

For the points test an Australian bachelor's degree must require at least three years of full-time study (or the part-time equivalent).

A specialist educational qualification means a masters degree by research or a doctoral degree from an Australian institution that included at least two academic years of study in a specified field.

The Australian study requirement needs one or more degrees, diplomas or trade qualifications from registered courses completed in at least 16 calendar months and 2 academic years, taught entirely in English, while holding a visa that allowed study in Australia.

A designated regional area means either a designated city or major regional centre or a regional centre or other regional area, each defined by postcode in a ministerial instrument.

The only body specified for community language points is NAATI, and the credential must be paraprofessional accreditation or above, certified provisional or above, or a NAATI community language credential.

State and territory nominated visas are assessed against each jurisdiction's own criteria, so nomination requirements vary by state.

In the Regulations, a designated regional area means either a designated city or major regional centre, or a regional centre or other regional area.

For the points test, being employed means working in an occupation for pay for at least 20 hours a week.

These three visas use ANZSCO 2013-based lists (MLTSSL, STSOL, ROL); the Core Skills Occupation List and ANZSCO 2022 apply to the 186 and 482 programs, not to the 189, 190 or 491.

The 491 is for people nominated by a state or territory, or sponsored by an eligible family member, to live and work in regional Australia.

A nomination allocation is the number of new primary applicants a state or territory may nominate in a program year and does not set the number of visas granted.

LIN 19/051 section 10AA(2) fixes the assessing authority for split occupations: VETASSESS for a non-medical physicist and ACPSEM for a medical physicist, TRA for a trades vocational education teacher and VETASSESS for a non-trades one, and ACS for an information and organisation professional (nec) who is a data scientist.

For visa applications made after the May 2022 amendment, LIN 19/051 section 15 also accepts certain earlier assessing authorities when the skills assessment was applied for before 6 May 2022, such as the Australian Institute of Management for several manager occupations and the Australian Institute of Medical Scientists for medical laboratory occupations.

Under section 8(2) of LIN 19/051 the occupation 'dancer or choreographer' does not count as a skilled occupation when the position the person is to work in is an exotic dancer.

Re-checked in October 2026: the assessing authority VETASSESS states that assessments for most occupations are based on ANZSCO 2013 as referenced in the legislation, and only the Core Skills stream of the 482 and the Direct Entry stream of the 186 align with ANZSCO 2022 and the CSOL.

Under regulation 2.26B only a body approved by the Skills Assessment Minister for the occupation and countries can be specified by the Immigration Minister as the relevant assessing authority, and the approval can carry conditions that the two ministers agree.

ACS counts as skilled employment for points only the relevant work done after the Skill Level Requirement Met Date shown in the outcome letter, and the experience used to satisfy the suitability criteria is not counted, for example 2 of 4 post-degree years leaving 2 years.

VETASSESS counts only paid work of at least 20 hours a week at the occupation's skill level and excludes the qualifying period used to meet the assessment criteria from the years it advises for points, with Group B needing five years and Groups C, D and F three years of earlier relevant work plus one highly relevant year.

Each state and territory receives a yearly nomination allocation, and each jurisdiction assesses applicants against criteria of its own, so requirements differ between the eight programs.

NSW 491 nomination has three pathways: Pathway 1 for people already working for a regional NSW employer, Pathway 2 by invitation from Investment NSW, and Pathway 3 for recent graduates of a regional NSW institution.

WA nominates through a General stream using WASMOL Schedule 1 or 2 and a Graduate stream for WA graduates using the Graduate occupation list, each available for both the 190 and 491.

In its work-experience rules WA treats an occupation sharing the first four digits of the nominated ANZSCO code as closely related, and its FAQ also accepts occupations on a career-advancement pathway or recognised by the skills assessing authority.

A Subclass 491 primary applicant must either be nominated by a state or territory agency (nomination not withdrawn) or be sponsored by an eligible relative who lives in a designated regional area.

At the time of invitation the applicant must hold a suitable skills assessment from the relevant assessing authority for the nominated skilled occupation, and the assessment must not have been made for a Subclass 485 visa.

The applicant must nominate the skilled occupation named in the invitation, and that occupation must have been on the Minister's list at the time of invitation.

At the time of invitation the applicant must hold a suitable skills assessment for the nominated occupation from the relevant assessing authority, and the assessment must not be an assessment made for a Subclass 485 visa.

If the skills assessment relied on a qualification gained in Australia while on a student visa, that qualification must have come from a registered (CRICOS) course.

For the 491 visa the applicant must either be nominated by a State or Territory agency (nomination not withdrawn) or declare that an eligible relative aged 18 or over, who is an Australian citizen or permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, sponsors them.

A sponsor for the 491 visa must be at least 18, be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, and usually live in a designated regional area.

A 491 applicant must declare that they and any family members applying with them genuinely intend to live, work and study in a designated regional area.

An applicant may be inside or outside Australia when the visa is granted, but not in immigration clearance, and the second instalment of the charge must be paid before grant where it applies.

An applicant lodging in Australia must hold a substantive visa or a Bridging A, B or C visa at the time of applying.

Condition 8579 requires a 491 holder in Australia to live, work and study only in an area that was a designated regional area when the visa was granted.

A secondary applicant outside Australia at grant may be given condition 8515, which bars marrying or entering a de facto relationship before first entering Australia, and first entry must happen by the date the Minister sets.

To become a permanent resident from a skilled regional provisional visa, the holder must show they have lived and worked in regional Australia while holding it.

For a 191 the applicant must give tax assessment notices for 3 relevant income years showing taxable income of at least the amount the Minister sets.

A 191 applicant must have substantially complied with the conditions of the regional provisional visa, and must have complied with condition 8579 unless they belong to a class exempted by instrument.

For the WA General stream WASMOL Schedule 1 an invitee needs at least one year of Australian or one year of overseas work in the nominated or a closely related occupation in the last 10 years, at 20+ hours a week after qualifying, and the two cannot be added together.

The WA Graduate stream requires a Certificate III or higher qualification from an accredited WA institution and at least 87 weeks of full-time, on-campus study in WA, with no more than 25 percent online study and no credit from outside WA.

SA's Skilled Employment stream needs South Australian residence and full-time work (at least 30 hours a week) for the last 12 months in the same ANZSCO sub-major group as the nominated occupation, plus age under 45, Competent English and 65 points including nomination points.

SA's Outer Regional Skilled Employment stream needs nine months of living and working in Outer Regional South Australia with a current full-time role of at least 30 hours a week, in addition to the same age, English and 65-point requirements.

SA's Graduates stream needs a CRICOS course of at least 46 weeks with at least 75 percent completed in SA and a year of SA residence during study, then 6 months of SA residence and 6 months of full-time work after the course.

An offshore applicant for SA nomination needs at least three years of skilled work in the nominated or a closely related occupation in the last five years (one year in the last three years for 15 listed construction and trade occupations) and has 14 days to apply once selected.

ACS accepts employment that is consistently paid for at least 20 hours a week, started after age 18 and performed at the skill level of the nominated ANZSCO occupation, and it needs a signed employment reference letter on company letterhead for each employer, or invoices with bank statements or tax records for self-employment.

A person already nominated by NSW cannot be nominated by NSW again for any skilled visa, because each nomination uses one of the limited places NSW is allocated.

Time spent in NSW on a tourist visa does not count toward the NSW residency requirement; the candidate must live in NSW on a visa that allows living and working there.

If a candidate moves between NSW and offshore, the continuous residency period resets and the full three- or six-month requirement has to be met again.

NSW 491 Pathway 1 requires six months of continuous work in designated regional NSW, in the nominated or a closely related occupation, with the same regional employer and at least the TSMIT/CSIT salary.

Pathway 1 has no residency requirement but needs at least six months at 20 or more hours a week in the nominated occupation from an established business premises in regional NSW, and any 491-eligible occupation qualifies without the regional list.

For NSW 491 Pathway 2 an invited candidate must work in NSW in the nominated occupation, or have lived continuously in NSW (or offshore) for at least three months.

NSW 491 Pathway 3 requires a bachelor, master or PhD from an institution in designated regional NSW, related to the nominated occupation, completed within the two years before applying and supporting the regional-study points claim.

An onshore Queensland candidate must have lived and worked in Queensland for the past 9 months for the 190, or in regional Queensland for the past 6 months for the 491, doing work after finishing the qualification, at 20 or more hours a week, in a job with the same first three ANZSCO digits as the nominated occupation.

Queensland nominees must commit to keep living and working in Queensland until at least 2 years after a 190 grant, or in regional Queensland until at least 3 years after a 491 grant.

Queensland does not accept work in takeaway or fast-food businesses as qualifying experience for chefs and cooks.

An offshore candidate for Queensland needs at least one year of skilled employment in the nominated or a closely related occupation, declared in the EOI, and must still be employed in it when invited and nominated.

The Queensland building and construction pathway needs only three months of living and working in Queensland immediately before the ROI, in an occupation sharing the first three ANZSCO digits, for 20 or more hours a week.

The Queensland graduate pathway requires a bachelor, master or PhD finished 100 percent in Queensland after 1 July 2021, and the degree need not relate to the nominated occupation.

Queensland no longer requires applicants to show a minimum amount of settlement funds, though it publishes cost-of-living guidance.

Queensland’s 491 small business owner pathway was limited to businesses bought or started before 19 September 2025 and required either buying an existing business outside South East Queensland for at least AUD 100,000 and employing an Australian resident, or running a profitable start-up for two years with AUD 200,000 turnover (the two-year rule is waived for businesses started 1 May to 19 September 2025); ROIs are closed for 2025-26.

For WA General stream WASMOL Schedule 1 (subclass 190 and 491), invitees need at least one year of Australian or one year of overseas work in the nominated or closely related occupation within the last ten years, and the two cannot be combined; the overview table shows no such requirement for Schedule 2 or the Graduate stream.

WA does not require an employment contract from 491 applicants or from people invited through a WA building and construction occupation.

The WA Graduate stream needs two academic years of full-time, on-campus study at an accredited WA institution, which Migration Services measures as at least 87 weeks of full-time study, plus a WA qualification at higher-education level or a VET Certificate III or above.

To claim the priority for WA residents a candidate must have lived in WA continuously for at least three months before the invitation and still live there when applying.

After a WA nomination and visa grant the nominee must live and work in WA for two years, and those not yet in WA must move there within three months of the visa.

Passport holders from the UK, Canada, New Zealand, the USA and Ireland do not have to sit an English test for WA nomination, but BN(O) passports are not accepted as proof of English.

The SA Skilled Employment stream needs 12 months living in SA and 12 months of full-time work of at least 30 hours a week in a job in the same ANZSCO sub-major group, plus under 45, a positive skills assessment and 65 points including nomination points.

The SA Outer Regional Skilled Employment stream needs nine months of living and working in Outer Regional South Australia with a current full-time role of at least 30 hours a week.

The SA Graduates stream needs a CRICOS course of at least 46 weeks with at least 75 percent completed in SA and a year of SA residence during study, plus six months of SA residence and full-time work of 30 hours a week after finishing.

An offshore SA candidate needs three years of skilled work in the last five years, while the 15 construction and trade occupations listed on SA’s offshore page need only one year in the last three.

Overseas skilled employment earns 5 points for at least 36 months in the 10 years before invitation, in the nominated occupation or a closely related skilled occupation.

Overseas skilled employment earns 10 points for at least 60 months within the 10 years before invitation.

Overseas skilled employment earns 15 points for at least 96 months (8 years) within the 10 years before invitation.

Australian skilled employment earns 5 points for at least 12 months in the 10 years before invitation, in the nominated or a closely related occupation.

Australian skilled employment earns 10 points for at least 36 months within the 10 years before invitation.

Australian skilled employment earns 15 points for at least 60 months within the 10 years before invitation.

Australian skilled employment earns 20 points for at least 96 months (8 years) within the 10 years before invitation.

Overseas and Australian employment points are combined and capped: if together they exceed 20 points, only 20 points are given for employment experience in total.

A professional year earns 5 points if completed in Australia in the nominated or a closely related occupation, over at least 12 months, within the 48 months before invitation.

A doctorate from an Australian institution, or an overseas doctorate of a recognised standard, earns 20 points.

At least a bachelor degree from an Australian institution, or an overseas bachelor-level qualification of a recognised standard, earns 15 points.

An Australian diploma or an Australian trade qualification earns 10 points.

Any other qualification or award that the assessing authority for the nominated occupation recognises as suitable for that occupation earns 10 points.

A specialist educational qualification (an Australian research masters or doctorate in a specified field) earns 10 points.

Meeting the Australian study requirement earns 5 points.

Studying in a designated regional area adds 5 points when the Australian study requirement is met and the campus is in a designated regional area.

A credentialled community language qualification earns 5 points.

A partner who is also an applicant for the same subclass and is not an Australian citizen or permanent resident gives 10 points when the partner was under 45 at invitation, has a skills assessment (not for a Subclass 485 visa) in an occupation on the Minister's specified list, and has competent English.

If the partner is an applicant for the same visa subclass, is not an Australian citizen or permanent resident, and only has competent English, the applicant gets 5 points.

Applicants with no spouse or de facto partner, or whose partner is an Australian permanent resident or citizen, get 10 points.

An applicant invited for a Subclass 491 (or the closed 489) visa gets 15 points for a state or territory nomination that has not been withdrawn, or for family sponsorship the Minister has accepted.

To be invited for the Subclass 189, 190 or 491 visa, an EOI must meet or exceed the points threshold of 65.

In the state and territory program, the Regional category (which includes the 491) is cut from 33,000 to 14,110 places for 2026-27, while the State/Territory Nominated category (which includes the 190) rises from 33,000 to 35,500.

The applicant must have at least competent English at the time of invitation.

When the application is assessed, the points score must be at least the score stated in the invitation and at least the qualifying score set for the points system.

The pool mark and the pass mark for the Subclass 189, 190 and 491 points test are both 65 points for applications made on or after 16 November 2019.

The primary applicant must not have turned 45 at the time of the invitation to apply.

Age points at the time of invitation are 25 for an applicant aged 18 or over but under 25, 30 for 25 to under 33, 25 for 33 to under 40, 15 for 40 to under 45, and none from age 45.

English points are 20 for superior English and 10 for proficient English; competent English earns no points.

Overseas skilled work in the nominated or a closely related occupation scores 5 points for at least 36 months, 10 for 60 months and 15 for 96 months within the 10 years before invitation.

Australian skilled work in the nominated or a closely related occupation scores 5 points for 12 months, 10 for 36 months, 15 for 60 months and 20 for 96 months within the 10 years before invitation.

Overseas and Australian employment points combined are capped at 20 points.

Completing an Australian professional year of at least 12 months in the nominated or a closely related occupation within the 48 months before invitation earns 5 points.

Education points are 20 for a doctorate and 15 for at least a bachelor degree (Australian, or overseas of a recognised standard).

An Australian diploma, an Australian trade qualification, or a qualification recognised by the assessing authority as suitable for the occupation each earn 10 points.

A specialist education qualification, meaning an Australian research masters or doctorate with at least 2 academic years in a specified field, earns 10 points.

Meeting the Australian study requirement earns 5 points, and a credentialled community language qualification earns another 5.

Study in a designated regional area earns 5 more points when the applicant met the Australian study requirement, the campus was in a designated regional area, they lived in such an area while studying and none of the study was by distance education.

Partner points: 10 if the partner applies for the same subclass, is under 45, is not an Australian citizen or permanent resident, nominated a listed skilled occupation, holds a suitable skills assessment and has competent English; 10 if the applicant is single or the partner is an Australian citizen or permanent resident; and 5 if the partner applies for the same subclass, is not a citizen or permanent resident and has competent English.

An invitation to apply for a 491 visa with a state nomination that stands, or an accepted family sponsor, adds 15 points.

For IELTS, competent English needs at least 6 in each of the four components, proficient 7 and superior 8.

To be invited for a 189, 190 or 491 visa an applicant needs to meet or exceed the points threshold of 65.

On 4 November 2025 the government set 2025-26 state and territory nomination allocations at 20,350 in total.

The Skilled Regional category was planned at 33,000 places for 2025-26, the same as 2024-25.

Home Affairs' 2025-26 allocation table gives each jurisdiction its 190 and 491 places: ACT 800 and 800, NSW 2,100 and 1,500, NT 850 and 800, Queensland 1,850 and 750, SA 1,350 and 900, Tasmania 1,200 and 650, Victoria 2,700 and 700, WA 2,000 and 1,400.

WA requires competent English in a single sitting and publishes the minimum component scores (L/R/W/S) for tests taken from 7 August 2025: IELTS 6 each, PTE 47/48/51/54, TOEFL iBT 16/16/19/19, Cambridge C1 163/163/170/179, OET 290/310/290/330, CELPIP 7 each, LANGUAGECERT 57/60/64/70, Michigan 56/55/57/48.

Program outcomes matched planning levels: Skilled Independent 32,100 in 2022-23, 30,375 in 2023-24 and 16,900 in 2024-25; State/Territory Nominated 31,000, 30,400 and 33,000; Skilled Regional 33,944, 32,300 and 32,948, with the 2025-26 planning levels at 16,900, 33,000 and 33,000.

For 2025-26 the Australian Government allocated 7,500 Subclass 491 nomination places in total: ACT 800, NSW 1,500, NT 800, Queensland 750, SA 900, Tasmania 650, Victoria 700 and WA 1,400.

Queensland nomination adds 15 points to the Home Affairs points test for a Subclass 491 visa.

NSW lets employers of occupations on its TSMIT/CSIT Concession List apply for a concession so a Pathway 1 salary can be as low as 90 percent of TSMIT/CSIT, but the employer must apply first and the form is currently closed.

Queensland requires at least 65 points on the Home Affairs points test and at least Competent English for its skilled streams.

WA caps Graduate stream nominations at up to 75 percent for higher education graduates and up to 25 percent for VET graduates.

WA had issued 8,162 invitations in the 2025-26 program year to date, mainly in WASMOL Schedule 2, and after its latest priority-trade invitations on 20 May 2026 the last invited building-trade Schedule 2 subclass 190 EOI had 65 points.

For SA onshore streams the 65-point minimum on the Home Affairs points test includes the state nomination points.

The skills assessment must still be valid when the invitation is issued: if it states a validity period that period must not have ended, and in any case no more than 3 years may have passed since the assessment date.

The 491 visa is a temporary visa that lets the primary holder travel to, enter and remain in Australia for 5 years from the date of grant.

For an invited applicant, the English test counted as competent English must have been taken in the 3 years immediately before the date of the invitation.

To apply for the 191 in the Regional Provisional Visas stream, the primary applicant must have held a regional provisional visa (a 491 or 494) for at least 3 years, and these applications can only be made on or after 16 November 2022.

After WA nomination and visa grant the nominee must live and work in WA for two years (moving to WA within three months if not already there), and a person nominated for any skilled subclass cannot be nominated again in the same program year.

SA gives an average processing time of 2 to 8 weeks for 190 and 491 nomination applications and publishes no processing time for Registrations of Interest.

ACS says an application needing no extra documents takes 4 to 6 weeks, treats any applicant with a visa deadline under 12 weeks away as priority at no charge, and does not require an English test for the skills assessment.

An ACS suitable assessment outcome letter is valid for 2 years, which is shorter than the ceiling Home Affairs sets on how old an assessment may be when the invitation is issued.

VETASSESS gives about 7 weeks for a migration skills assessment of a professional occupation, 10 business days for priority processing once eligibility is confirmed (not offered for trades), and varying times for trade occupations set by the TRA program.

A suitable VETASSESS full skills assessment is usually valid for three years from the issue date, can be renewed online only before it expires, and once expired needs a new application at the full fee.

Engineers Australia says a standard migration skills assessment generally takes 15 weeks just to be assigned to an assessor, and that its outcome letter stays valid indefinitely with Engineers Australia while Home Affairs sets the visa validity.

Engineers Australia offers a paid fast-track option for a migration skills assessment under which an application can be assigned to an assessor within 20 business days, which does not promise when the outcome arrives.

NSW says a nomination application is typically assessed within six weeks and asks applicants not to chase for updates during that period.

WA says the current processing time for a decision-ready nomination application is 28 working days.

SA gives an average processing time of 2 to 8 weeks for Subclass 190 and 491 nomination applications and none for ROIs.

An NSW invitation to apply for nomination is valid for only 14 days, and the window will not be extended or reissued.

NSW has closed Subclass 491 nomination for the current program year because every nomination place has been allocated, and lodged applications continue to be assessed once new places arrive.

Queensland closed skilled ROIs for the 2025-26 State Nominated Migration Program because all nomination places were filled, and new settings and an opening date for the next year are still to be published.

A WA nomination outcome can be reviewed on request, and the request form must reach WA Migration Services within 14 calendar days of the outcome email.

An offshore candidate selected by SA has 14 days to submit the nomination application, which must show eligibility for the claims in the SkillSelect EOI at the time of invitation.

The 191 first-instalment charge in the Regional Provisional Visas stream is A$630 base, A$315 per additional adult and A$160 per additional child (A$515, A$260 and A$135 for Pacific-regional passport holders).

SA lists a nomination fee of AUD 394 for both the 190 and the 491 and no fee for the Registration of Interest.

ACS charges AUD 625 for the Qualification Only pathway and the Recognition of Prior Learning pathway, AUD 1,136 for Post Australian Study and AUD 1,498 for General Skills, with Level 1 and Level 2 appeals at AUD 516 and AUD 620.

VETASSESS charges AUD 1,260.60 (AUD 1,146.00 for non-residents without GST) for a full skills assessment of a professional occupation, an extra AUD 949.30 for priority processing, and AUD 357.50 for qualification-only points test advice.

Engineers Australia's migration skills assessment fees for the 2026 to 2027 period (GST-inclusive) are AUD 555.50 for a Washington/Sydney/Dublin Accord qualification, AUD 346.50 for an Australian accredited qualification and AUD 1,034 for a standard competency demonstration report, with a fast-track option at AUD 396.

Under LIN 23/002 Trades Recognition Australia charges AUD 795 for a Migration Skills Assessment, AUD 450 for Migration Points Advice, AUD 1,120 for a TSS documentary evidence assessment, AUD 2,000 (Pathway 1) or AUD 900 (Pathway 2) for the TSS technical interview and AUD 2,200 for the practical assessment, with internal review at AUD 610 for a Migration Skills Assessment.

The Migration Queensland fee table currently lists the 190 and 491 nomination fees only as "To be advised", so no nomination fee amount is published there.

Sources disagree: Migration Queensland news (migration.qld.gov.au/news/minor-adjustment-to-application-processing-fees): processing fees rise from 1 January 2026 by indexation; the fee table still shows To be advised

Once invited, a WA nomination application carries a non-refundable AUD 200 fee and must be lodged within 28 calendar days.

SA lists a nomination application fee of AUD 394 for both the 190 and 491, and no charge for the Registration of Interest.

A person can only be granted a 189, 190 or 491 visa if the Minister has invited them in writing to apply for that visa.

Under condition 8581, a 491 holder must attend an interview if the Minister asks in writing, at the time and place or in the manner specified.

Points are given for only one qualification in each Part of Schedule 6D, namely the one that carries the most points.

The Immigration Minister specifies by legislative instrument which person or body is the relevant assessing authority for an occupation and for applicants from given countries.

Applicants cannot lodge a 189, 190 or 491 application directly; they first submit an expression of interest in SkillSelect and must be invited.

Submitting an EOI does not require uploading documents, only personal information, work experience and qualification details.

Reaching 65 points does not guarantee an invitation to apply for a skilled visa.

An EOI can be updated at any time before an invitation is received if the applicant’s circumstances change.

If the main applicant does not reach the points threshold but the partner might, the partner can submit an EOI as the primary applicant and include the main applicant as a family member.

WA ranks General stream EOIs first by whether the candidate lives in WA, then by priority sector (building and construction trades first, then other construction, healthcare, hospitality and education), then by EOI points and earliest submission date.

WA expects to issue invitations each month, and a candidate whose EOI seeks both 190 and 491 is generally invited for the 491 first; an invitee has 28 calendar days to lodge and pays a non-refundable AUD 200 nomination fee.

Under Ministerial Direction 122, in force from 19 September 2026, provisional and permanent skilled applications (including the 189, 190, 191 and 491) are processed first for construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing and resources sectors or law enforcement and defence interests, then applicants in Australia at lodgement, then primary applicants outside Australia not combined with another application, then all others.

NSW does not accept direct applications for nomination: candidates lodge a SkillSelect EOI and may only apply after Investment NSW invites them, and NSW itself says nomination is exceptionally competitive.

NSW ranks EOIs within each ANZSCO unit group using factors such as age, English, education, points score and years of skilled work experience, and the date an EOI was submitted or amended does not affect the chance of an invitation.

NSW invitation rounds happen throughout the financial year with no predetermined or publicly announced dates.

An EOI is invited only once per EOI number, so someone who misses the 14-day window must lodge a new SkillSelect EOI and cannot be assured of another invitation.

Queensland requires a Registration of Interest on the Migration Queensland site in addition to a SkillSelect EOI, and the EOI must be lodged before the ROI.

Queensland aims to nominate building and construction workers for the permanent 190 so they can work anywhere in the state, and uses the 491 when they do not meet the 190 requirements or when their occupation is only eligible for 491 nomination.

WA ranks General stream EOIs with candidates living in WA ahead of others, then by whether the occupation is in a priority sector (building and construction trades and other occupations, health and social assistance, hospitality and tourism, education and training), then by EOI points and then by the oldest submission date.

WA expects to issue invitations monthly, and when an EOI seeks both 190 and 491 the candidate is generally invited for the 491 first because its EOI score is usually higher.

Onshore candidates for SA nomination submit a SkillSelect EOI and also an ROI with documents through the Apply Portal, while offshore candidates need only the EOI and are reviewed directly from it.

Citizens of Canada, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States who hold a valid passport of that country are treated as having competent English without a test, but this shortcut does not give proficient or superior points.

Only specified professional year programs count: those run by the Australian Computer Society (IT), the Australian accounting bodies (CA ANZ, CPA Australia, Institute of Public Accountants) and Engineers Australia.

The specified fields for specialist education are 21 fields across natural and physical sciences, information technology, and engineering and related technologies.

Home Affairs uses the 2022 version of ANZSCO for the 186 and Skills in Demand 482 (including the Core Skills Occupation List) and the 2013 version for the other skilled visas, whose lists (MLTSSL, STSOL, ROL) still use older codes.

An eligible 491 family sponsor can be the applicant's parent, child or step-child, sibling, aunt or uncle, nephew or niece, grandparent or first cousin, or hold one of those relationships to the applicant's partner when that partner also applies for the 491.

The postcode instrument LIN 22/022 names the designated regional areas in two tables (designated cities or major regional centres, and regional centres or other regional areas); it covers the whole ACT and Northern Territory and long postcode ranges in the other states, while most Greater Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane postcodes are not listed.

Citizens of Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, the United Kingdom or the United States who hold a valid passport from that country are treated as having competent English without a test.

For 189 invitations, and for 491 invitations to people not nominated by a state or territory, only occupations on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List are eligible.

For state-nominated 491 invitations, the MLTSSL, the STSOL and the Regional Occupation List are all eligible occupation lists.

The Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List in the March 2026 compilation of LIN 19/051 contains 212 numbered occupations.

The Short-term Skilled Occupation List has 215 numbered occupations and the Regional Occupation List has 77 in the same compilation.

The occupations for the 189, 190 and 491 visas are specified in legislative instrument LIN 19/051, which also names the assessing authority for each occupation.

The instrument lists the Australian Computer Society as the assessing authority for ICT occupations such as developer programmer (261312) and software engineer (261313).

Of the 2025-26 allocations, 12,850 places are for the 190 and 7,500 for the 491, with Victoria (2,700) and NSW (2,100) largest for 190 and NSW (1,500) and WA (1,400) largest for 491.

Applications lodged for the 491 were 26,314 in 2021-22, 47,814 in 2022-23, 17,685 in 2023-24, 19,598 in 2024-25 and 5,843 in the first half of 2025-26.

Applications lodged for the 191 permanent visa rose from 1,168 in 2022-23 to 10,594 in 2023-24 and 16,462 in 2024-25, with 12,572 in the first half of 2025-26.

NSW offers three 491 pathways: apply if employed with a regional NSW employer for six months, be invited by Investment NSW, or apply as a recent regional NSW graduate.

WA nominates for the 190 and 491 through a General stream (occupations on WASMOL Schedule 1 or Schedule 2) and a Graduate stream for WA graduates (Graduate occupation list), and the Home Affairs points bonus is 5 for the 190 and 15 for the 491.

For the 2026-27 GSM program South Australia prioritises construction, engineering, manufacturing, trades, health and education, giving 190 invitations to priority-industry candidates whose occupation is 190-eligible and 491 invitations to the rest.

South Australia's Skilled Occupation List covers 353 occupations at 65 points: 288 are open to both 190 and 491 and 65 to the 491 only for the Skilled Employment stream, while offshore 224 are open to both, 27 to the 491 only and 102 are not available to offshore candidates.

Section 8 of LIN 19/051 (compilation of 28 March 2026) lists 212 occupations as the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List, the only list usable for a 189 invitation or a family-sponsored 491, and each of them is also usable for the 190 and the state-nominated 491.

Section 9 of LIN 19/051 lists 215 occupations as the Short-term Skilled Occupation List, which is usable for a state-nominated 190 and a state-nominated 491 but not for a 189 or a family-sponsored 491.

Section 10 of LIN 19/051 lists 77 occupations as the Regional Occupation List, which adds to the other two lists only for a state-nominated 491.

Sources disagree: Home Affairs skilled occupation list page shows Agricultural Engineer (233912) on both MLTSSL and ROL, while the LIN 19/051 ROL table (77 items) does not contain it

Section 11 of LIN 19/051 names 37 assessing-authority abbreviations in full, from the architects council AACA and Engineers Australia to TRA for trades and VETASSESS for general professional and para-professional occupations.

In the section 10AA table of LIN 19/051 each of the 504 skilled occupations has a named relevant assessing authority; VETASSESS covers about 242 of them, TRA 93, the Medical Board 34, Engineers Australia 30, ACS 23 and ANMAC 20, and some occupations list alternative authorities.

In LIN 19/051 each authority is tied to named occupations: for example VETASSESS covers 242 of the 504 skilled occupations, TRA 93, the Medical Board of Australia 34, Engineers Australia 30, ACS 23 and ANMAC 20, while 37 other bodies cover between one and seven occupations each.

Sources disagree: Home Affairs skilled occupation list page names Community Work Australia Limited as the assessing authority for community worker occupations, while the LIN 19/051 compilation of 28 March 2026 still names ACWA (Australian Community Workers Association Inc)

NSW uses two lists at ANZSCO unit-group level, the NSW Skills List for the 190 and the NSW Regional Skills List for the 491, and it does not invite EOIs in occupations outside them (491 Pathway 1 is the exception).

Queensland’s occupation lists derive from Legislative Instrument 19/051 using ANZSCO 2013, not every listed occupation is open for the 190, and an occupation absent from the list could not be nominated in 2025-26.

SA says it will focus invitations on priority sectors, naming building and construction, defence, education, engineering, health and manufacturing, while still considering high-ranking candidates in other sectors.

Sources disagree: stream pages list construction, engineering, manufacturing, trades, health, education (no defence)

For the 2026-27 GSM program SA prioritises candidates in construction, engineering, manufacturing, trades, health and education, giving 190 invitations to priority-industry candidates whose occupation allows it and 491 to the others.

Institution of Surveyors NSW (ISNSW) became the skills assessing authority for Surveyors after the Geospatial Council of Australia went into liquidation on 21 August 2025; the amendment applies to visa applications made on or after 8 October 2025.

Ministerial Direction 121 (temporary skilled visas) and Ministerial Direction 122 (provisional and permanent skilled visas) took effect on 19 September 2026 and replaced all processing priorities under Ministerial Direction 119.

Holders of a 491 visa that was in effect while they were outside Australia on any day between 1 February 2020 and 14 December 2021, and that was still in effect on 18 February 2022, were given an 8-year visa period instead of 5.

The Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) subclass 191 visa began on 16 November 2022 as an independent permanent residence pathway for 491 and 494 holders.

The 2026-27 Budget sets the permanent Migration Program planning level at 185,000 places, with 132,240 places allocated to the Skill stream.

The 2026-27 Budget announced that the permanent migration points test will be reformed, with details such as start date not stated in the paper.

The budget says the reformed points test will be optimised to select migrants who are better educated, higher skilled and younger overall.

NSW announced that 491 nominations are closed for the current program year because all places are allocated, with program settings for the next year under review.

The March 2026 amendment of LIN 19/051 (LIN 26/027, effective 28 March 2026) changed the surveyor's authority and added the data-scientist split, and it applies to assessments made on or after 8 October 2025 except surveyor assessments dated on or before 21 August 2025.

In his 17 September 2026 National Press Club speech the Home Affairs Minister said the points test has been redone with Treasury for the permanent skilled program and will let chosen skills such as the housing trades earn the same points as a university qualification on implementation, but gave no start date or new point values.

The Home Affairs Legislation Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Regulations 2026 raise the first instalment of the visa application charge by 25 percent from 1 July 2026 for most visas in Schedule 1, with Pacific-regional and Timor-Leste concessions kept.

For 2026-27 Queensland says the state nomination allocations are still being finalised by the Australian Government and its skilled program will open once they are confirmed.

On 22 October 2026 South Australia opened Registrations of Interest for people already living and working in SA whose visas expire by 31 January 2027, while offshore candidates are invited straight from their SkillSelect EOI.