Because this round was issued while WA only held transitional places,the numbers were very limited, and invitations went exclusively to construction-trade occupations.One of WA’s priority changes this year is that blue-collar construction trades have been split out on their own. They were already a priority in the past as part of the construction and engineering sector, but this financial year that sector is split into trade occupations and other occupations — showing these trades now sit at the top of the priority list. The main hurdle for these occupations under the points-tested skilled migration pathway is obtaining a skills assessment, so the applicant pool is never very large,so in order to attract the most in-demand talent, WA invited applicants living offshore or in other states for most occupations this round.

The acceptance rate for this round is expected to be low,as you can see that for most occupations the minimum invitation score was 85 — meaning either 70 + 15 for a 491 or 80 + 5 for a 190, which is not a low score at all.The same occupations can be invited under the 189 at 65 or 70 points, and since many of these applicants are living in other states or offshore, a good number would already have received a 189 invitation or a nomination from another state.Even for applicants still waiting, if they sit on a raw score of 70 they could simply wait a little longer and pick up a 189 at the same score, so they are unlikely to take this 491 invitation.For that reason, this round of pre-invitations is unlikely to consume many of WA’s 2025–26 financial-year places.

WA — and Australia more broadly — is extremely hungry for construction-trade occupations. Even in the most competitive channels, the 189 and NSW nomination, these occupations have a strong chance of being invited at 65–70 points. If you are currently studying a bachelor’s or master’s degree in Australia in a hard-to-invite field such as commerce or IT, it is worth looking early during your studies to see whether you can pair your course with a trade qualification. A typical example is Carpenter, which we have recommended before:Steadily invited at 65 points over the past 18 months — commerce and IT students in Australia can tap into this “happy” pathway too! Make the most of your student visa without waiting until graduation!You can also contact us to learn about courses that are close substitutes for Carpenter, such as Wall and Floor Tiler or Joiner.

2. Official data: how many places has each state actually used?

The Department of Home Affairs has updated its website with figures as atthe end of September 2025, showing how many 190 or 491 places each state has actually used.None of the states has yet received its full allocation, so these numbers are calculated against the transitional places as the base.

NSW:

holds 200 + 180 transitional places,with 201 places still remaining — most of which are being used to issue formal nominations for last financial year’s invitees. The first round of 190 invitations went out last Tuesday, which is not yet reflected in the data; once it is counted, there won’t be many 190 transitional places left.

VIC:

Victoria also has 380 transitional places, and has barely used any. Unlike NSW, Victoria finished its work early last year and has no backlog of invitees from the previous financial year. ROI invitations were issued in mid-October and are not yet reflected in the data — we already have clients invited in October who have cleared processing and received their formal nomination.

WA:

The 104 places already issued have all gone to the backlog of invitees from the previous financial year. The first round of invitations only went out this week and is not yet reflected in the data. WA has said it will wait until it receives its full allocation before it begins processing the pre-invitations and issuing formal nominations.

QLD

Similar to Victoria, its places have barely moved. The handful of invitations issued so far have mostly gone to applicants in the SBO stream whose visas are close to expiring.

ACT

The ACT was the first state/territory to release its first round, and is also issuing nominations for last financial year’s invitees. As at the end of September, 70 of 85 190 places had been used and 44 of 80 491 places, leaving only 51 transitional places — likely to be exhausted by the end of October.

TAS

had used a total of 151 places by the end of September, with most of the transitional places having gone to ROI invitations issued at the end of last financial year.When we met with Tasmania on 14 October,，they said at the time that all of their transitional places had been used up, and that before they receive their full allocation they will only issue a very small number of ROI invitations and no formal nominations.

NT

The NT itself announced this week that it has exhausted all of its transitional places (more on this below); prior to that, it had been issuing formal nominations for last financial year’s invitees along with a very small number of new invitations.

SA

has used 97 places in total. Although various versions of a new SA occupation list and policy have been circulating, the SA authorities have not yet publicly confirmed anything, so it is essentially still working through the previous financial year’s backlog using its transitional places.

3. The Northern Territory has exhausted all its transitional places

The NT had previously confirmed that it had received transitional places, but did not give a specific number.On 31 October it announced on its official website that all of its transitional places have been used up.This makes it the second jurisdiction after Tasmania to exhaust its transitional places.

The NT had previously opened an application channel for extreme edge cases — for example, applicants living in the Territory who were about to turn 45 by year-end and so would no longer be eligible for points-tested skilled migration. That channel is now on hold as well, and applications will not reopen until the NT receives its full allocation.

4. State nomination status as at 31 October