Queensland opened Registration of Interest (ROI) submissions for state nomination on 6 November. At noon that day, the state government also held a policy briefing for the financial year, releasing further details of the application requirements and selection process.
Queensland has received its state nomination allocation for this financial year. However, as the Department of Home Affairs has not yet released the final allocations for all jurisdictions, the state government cannot disclose its figures for now.
Queensland plans to aim for one invitation round each month this year. Compared with last financial year, when small rounds were held roughly every two to three weeks, invitations may follow a more regular schedule this year. The state government has not yet announced a date for the first round.
Key changes to Queensland’s 2026–27 state nomination policy
Queensland’s state nomination policy has not changed substantially overall this year, but applicants should pay particular attention to several adjustments.
First, student visa holders who meet the requirements of the relevant pathway can also submit an ROI this year.
Second, income for applicants in Queensland will be assessed directly against their taxable income for the 2025–26 financial year, without recalculating it to reflect salary changes in 2026–27.
Work experience requirements have also been relaxed across different pathways this year.
Occupation lists: technicians and draftspersons added to the construction priority pathway
Queensland’s occupation lists have changed little overall this year.
Several technician and draftsperson occupations have been added to the construction priority pathway.
For offshore applicants, this year’s occupation list is more focused on healthcare and construction and engineering occupations.
Applicants therefore need to check the occupation list for their particular pathway and application location, rather than relying solely on Queensland’s overall occupation list.
Further relaxation of work experience requirements
Pathways for workers and graduates in Queensland
Queensland has made work experience requirements more flexible for its worker and graduate pathways this year.
Subclass 190 applicants must have accumulated nine months of relevant work experience in the 12 months before submitting their ROI; Subclass 491 applicants must have accumulated six months of work experience in the preceding nine months.
The work experience no longer needs to be continuous. Gaps are acceptable, provided the required total is reached within the specified period.
Applicants can also combine experience from multiple jobs, and casual work is accepted, but they must meet the requirement to work 20 hours per week.
However, applicants must still be working in Queensland when they submit their ROI.
For the graduate pathway, any Skill Level 1 job can count towards Queensland’s prerequisite work experience requirement. Note that this requirement is separate from the work experience used to claim skilled migration points in an EOI.
Offshore applicants: continuous employment no longer required
Work experience requirements for offshore applicants have been relaxed this year.
The new requirements no longer require applicants to remain continuously employed in relevant work. They only need at least one year of work experience within the past three years.
This experience must be in the nominated occupation or a closely related occupation.
Onshore construction priority pathway: recent relevant work experience still required
The construction priority pathway has different requirements from the other pathways.
Before submitting an ROI, applicants must still meet the prerequisite of three months of relevant work experience, which must be closely related to their nominated occupation.
Applicants must also be working in a relevant job when they submit their ROI.
Applicants preparing to use Queensland’s construction priority pathway therefore cannot rely solely on past construction work experience. Their current employment status when submitting the ROI also matters.
What evidence of work experience do you need?
Work experience from multiple jobs can be combined this year.
If you use multiple jobs to meet the work experience requirement, you must provide supporting evidence for each job, including at least three payslips, a Statement of Service and an Employment Contract.
If you plan to combine several jobs to meet Queensland’s state nomination work experience requirements, check in advance that you have complete supporting documents for each job.
Income for applicants in Queensland is assessed directly against 2025–26 taxable income
Queensland has adjusted how it calculates income for applicants in the state this year.
The state government will use applicants’ taxable income from their 2025–26 tax return directly as the relevant income measure.
Even if an applicant’s salary has changed in the 2026–27 financial year, it does not need to be recalculated.
The state government explained that the main reason for this change is that taxable income provides a more complete picture of an applicant’s economic contribution.
For example, taxable income can include not only wages but also other income. If an applicant holds multiple jobs, income from work outside the nominated occupation can also be considered.
This approach also makes the calculation simpler and clearer.
However, income is only one factor in the state government’s selection process. Using taxable income does not mean applicants’ relevant work experience will no longer be considered.
Does a higher income give you a greater advantage for an invitation?
The state government gave a relatively cautious response to this question during the briefing’s FAQ session.
Generally, higher earnings mean higher taxable income, which may offer some advantage.
However, the state government also said it would try to avoid excluding applicants outright because of lower income.
Applicants therefore should not assume that the highest earners are guaranteed an invitation. Other selection factors still need to be considered.
How does Queensland select ROIs?
By the morning of the day ROI submissions opened, Queensland had already received around 800 ROIs.
The state government explicitly stated that the timing of an ROI submission does not affect the likelihood of receiving an invitation.
In other words, submitting an ROI earlier does not make an invitation more likely, so applicants should not sacrifice the accuracy of their documents simply to submit sooner.
The Queensland Government also does not select applicants based on their EOI points scores.
The state government considers a range of other factors during selection.
One clearly identified factor is how remote the applicant’s work location is.
The state government explicitly stated that the more remote an applicant’s work location, the greater their advantage in receiving an invitation.
Last year’s ROIs must be resubmitted
With the opening of state nomination for the 2026–27 financial year, ROIs submitted in the previous financial year cannot simply be carried over.
All ROIs from last year must be resubmitted.
If you plan to apply for Queensland nomination for Subclass 190 or 491 this financial year, you need to reassess your pathway, occupation, work experience and income eligibility under this year’s policy and submit a new ROI.
Applicants preparing to seek Queensland state nomination need to follow the latest 2026–27 rules, particularly the work experience, income and occupation list requirements that have changed this year.
