Australian state nomination and temporary visa policies have continued to attract attention recently. This week’s highlights include some states not yet starting their new financial year nomination rounds, clarification of reports about regional boundaries, when to apply for a second regional Subclass 485 visa, and Tasmania’s latest state nomination round.
We have also compiled this week’s actual visa grants, state nomination invitations and skills assessment cases for reference.
1. Are most states unhappy with their allocations and still negotiating?
2. Rumour check: no change to regional area legislation
3. Apply sooner! You do not need to wait for your first Subclass 485 visa to expire before applying for a second
4. Tasmania keeps issuing invitations as Subclass 190 scores fall again
5. This week’s visa grants, invitations and skills assessment results
1. Are most states unhappy with their allocations and still negotiating?
So far, only Tasmania and the Northern Territory are continuing their state nomination programmes as usual. Western Australia unexpectedly issued its first invitations of the new financial year earlier, but numbers were small and the occupations selected largely followed its previous invitation pattern. There have been no further updates on its website or in related official announcements.
Information recently published by ISCah suggests that other states’ delays in starting their new financial year nomination programmes may relate to disagreements over the allocations provided by the federal government.
Queensland also attracted attention by cancelling its planned state nomination information sessions at short notice.
Online and in-person sessions had been scheduled for this Thursday and Friday respectively, but were subsequently cancelled at short notice. The state government gave the reason as “out of our control”.
We previously learned that the federal government’s state nomination allocation for Queensland this year was broadly the same as in the previous financial year. If this is correct, Queensland may be seeking more places and may be unable to announce its full plans for the new financial year until final allocations and arrangements are settled.
In the previous financial year, states had at least begun receiving interim allocations and making preparations during September. Progress this year has been noticeably quieter so far.
With October approaching, it remains to be seen whether states will launch soon with their existing allocations or continue seeking more places before opening.
If you are waiting for state nomination programmes to open, we recommend preparing your skills assessment, English results, EOI or ROI and other documents in advance. Being ready to lodge as soon as a state formally opens applications will put you in a stronger position.
2. Rumour check: no legislative change to regional boundaries
A claim has recently circulated online that Australian regional area legislation changed from 18 September, including all of Victoria becoming regional while Newcastle and Wollongong were excluded.
This claim requires a distinction between different legal concepts.
The legislative adjustment concerns Designated Areas, rather than the Designated Regional Areas currently used for skilled migration points, second regional Subclass 485 visas, and Subclass 491 and 494 visas.
Although the names are similar, their scope and purposes differ.
Designated Areas mainly relate to earlier Subclass 489 and 887 visa arrangements. The area definitions used for current skilled migration, second regional Subclass 485 visas, and Subclass 491 and 494 visas do not change as a result of this adjustment to Designated Areas.
The original text’s comparison of the old 2016 provisions with the current 2026 version shows no substantive change to the areas covered.
For applicants looking at regional requirements for a second Subclass 485 visa, Subclass 491 or Subclass 494, this legislative change has therefore not altered the existing regional boundaries.
Put simply, this change concerns Designated Areas. It does not mean that the regional boundaries used for current skilled migration and second Subclass 485 visas have changed.
3. Apply sooner! You do not need to wait for your first Subclass 485 visa to expire before applying for a second
With numerous recent changes to Australian temporary visas and secondary applicant policies, we again remind eligible graduates who studied in regional areas that, if they already meet the requirements for a second Subclass 485 visa, they can consider applying early. They do not need to wait until their first Subclass 485 visa is about to expire.
Many students mistakenly believe that, after applying for their first Subclass 485 visa, they must wait until it is nearly expired before applying for a second regional visa.
In fact, eligible applicants can, in principle, apply for a second visa after receiving their first Subclass 485 visa. The period granted for the second visa will follow on from the existing visa arrangements, so applying early will not cost them any of the original validity of their first visa.
Applicants who have continued living and working in an eligible regional area since graduation, in particular, can check their residence, study and work records and prepare supporting documents in advance.
However, bear in mind that a second Subclass 485 visa has corresponding regional residence and work requirements, and may carry visa conditions such as condition 8601.
Before lodging a second visa application, you therefore need to confirm that you meet the relevant requirements and prepare evidence of regional residence and work.
If you already meet the conditions for a second visa, consider assessing your eligibility and organising documents early rather than waiting until your first visa is close to expiry.
4. Tasmania keeps issuing invitations as the lowest Subclass 190 score falls further
Tasmania continued issuing state nomination invitations this week.
The round issued 38 Subclass 190 invitations, comprising 20 Gold and 18 Green applicants, as well as 24 Subclass 491 pre-invitations.
Although Green applicants made up a smaller proportion of Subclass 190 invitations in this round, the lowest invitation score fell further, from 375 points last week to 352 points.
For Subclass 491, the lowest invitation score remained at 72 points.
Tasmania currently has approximately 992 Subclass 190 places and 712 Subclass 491 places remaining in its formal allocation.
The application backlog has increased from around 30 last week to 78 this week. Processing has reached nomination applications lodged around 17 September.
The figures show that Tasmania is maintaining a relatively steady invitation schedule, while the lowest Subclass 190 invitation score continues to fall. As other states open their new financial year nomination programmes, it will be worth watching whether Tasmania’s application volumes and invitation schedule change.
5. This week’s visa grants, invitations and skills assessment results
Subclass 190 state nomination
A Subclass 190 application lodged on 29 May 2025 was approved on 21 September 2026. It was an offshore application, with no request for further information.
Employer sponsorship
A Subclass 186 nomination application lodged on 18 February 2026 was approved on 23 September 2026, for the occupation of Marketing Specialist.
Partner migration
A Subclass 820 Partner visa application lodged on 3 September 2024 received simultaneous Subclass 820 and 801 approvals on 21 September 2026.
Parent visas
A parent visa application lodged on 23 January 2019 received a request for further information on 23 June 2026, followed by a request to pay the second Visa Application Charge (VAC) on 18 September 2026. Subclass 864 was granted on 21 September 2026.
A Subclass 870 temporary parent visa application lodged on 28 February 2026 was approved on 25 September 2026.
A Subclass 870 sponsorship application lodged on 29 June 2026 was approved on 25 September 2026.
Subclass 485 graduate visas
A Subclass 485 application lodged on 27 August 2026 was approved on 19 September 2026.
A Subclass 485 application lodged on 2 September 2026 was approved on 22 September 2026.
Subclass 500 student visas
A Subclass 500 Student visa application lodged on 7 August 2026 was approved on 22 September 2026. It was lodged offshore, with no request for further information.
Subclass 600 visitor visas
A Subclass 600 Visitor visa application lodged on 15 September 2026 was approved on 24 September 2026, with six months’ validity and condition 8503.
A Subclass 600 Visitor visa application lodged on 1 September 2026 was approved on 22 September 2026, with six months’ validity and condition 8503.
A Subclass 600 Visitor visa application lodged on 9 September 2026 was approved on 19 September 2026, with six months’ validity and condition 8503.
Subclass 155 Resident Return visa
A Subclass 155 visa application lodged on 15 September 2026 was approved on 21 September 2026.
Skills assessments
An ACECQA skills assessment application lodged on 4 August 2026 received its result on 24 September 2026.
