Overall Quota Progress
The Department of Home Affairs has just released the 190/491 quota usage figures as of the end of February (see header image). Roughly half of the overall allocation remains, and on a pro-rata basis each state should have used more than 60 % of its quota by this point — only NT 190, Queensland 491, and Victoria 491 are on track.
Compared with January alone, the states collectively issued 1,667 formal 190 nominations this month (200+ more than the previous month) and 1,388 491 nominations (600+ more). Queensland issued the most 190s for the month, while Western Australia led on 491.
State-by-State Progress
ACT (Canberra)
Progress is relatively fast, with roughly 55 % of the quota remaining. Processing speed is moderate — only 200-odd nominations cleared in the month. On 12 March, the ACT ran its Matrix round and issued a sizeable batch: 123 onshore 190 nominations, 149 491 nominations, and 23 small-business 190 nominations.
NSW
Usage is relatively high — more than 55 % of the 190 quota and 46 % of the 491 quota used. The 190 release timing and volume are quite consistent, and formal nominations are processed efficiently, but there are few surprises in terms of occupation lists or score cut-offs. Both 491 pathways 1 and 2 have been closed. It now comes down to processing speed — if roughly half of the 491 quota is still available in March, could pathway 2 reopen for invitations?
NT
The 190 quota is more than 60 % used, leaving only 300-plus places — primarily reserved for onshore candidates. While 491 usage is only 45 %, just 440 places remain, and offshore 491 processing has begun, yet the quota is unlikely to be enough given the sheer number of applicants.
Queensland
Queensland needs to keep pushing. Even after issuing 340 formal nominations in the month, 190 usage still lags the rest of the country — over 65 % of the quota remains unused. 491 usage is moving a little faster, with more than 61 % used. Invitations are going out in small, high-frequency batches to both onshore and offshore candidates, but small batches are not enough. Could Queensland loosen its 190 quota?
South Australia
The laggard. South Australia runs one pre-invitation round per month, yet 190 usage has not reached half and 491 usage sits at only 40 %. Either the round frequency or the volume per round needs to increase.
Tasmania
Last week Tasmania suddenly announced that 190 invitations would temporarily be limited to Gold Pass holders. By the end of February, 617 places remained, but processing is very slow — as of 19 March, 380 190 nominations were still awaiting assessment, leaving a rough estimate of around 200 places available. For 491, 445 places remained at the end of February; as of 19 March, 228 nominations were pending, which again leaves roughly 200 places. This week Tasmania invited a 491 Green Pass candidate with a score of 301.
Victoria
In the earlier rounds Victoria was fairly cautious, issuing invitations only to priority occupations and a small number of IT applicants, which left 48 % of the 190 quota untouched. So in March the state ran a large round — marketing, audit, accounting, and advertising occupations all received invitations, with even more going to IT and engineering. After this round there is unlikely to be much room left. Only 164 491 places remain, and after the March round the figure is expected to drop to double digits.
Western Australia
Processing speed is gradually catching up. Despite the long-running perception that WA is slow, the state has in fact cleared close to 300 190 nominations in each of the past two months, and processed 400 491 nominations in February. Proportionally it is still behind, but the recent rounds have been spot-on: all four priority groups were covered. The question now is whether to keep lowering the cut-off for priority occupations, or give non-priority occupations a chance.
In March nearly every state ran a new pre-invitation round, and NT began processing offshore 491 applications. We hope that in April more states will follow Victoria’s lead and give applicants more hope — and a few pleasant surprises.
