The financial year is already half over — states still have nearly 10,000 190 places and 6,000 491 state-nomination places unused! QLD / WA / NT / SA have over 70% left!
WA released its first 2026 round a few days ago, QLD has also been issuing small, scattered invitations (QLD is running many small rounds this year), and yesterday on 15 January NSW and VIC sent invitations on the same day — so the four states with the largest populations and quotas all woke up in the same week and got busy sending invitations. TAS and SA also issued invitations last week, and NT has started processing onshore applications. It’s clear that state governments are being particularly diligent this 2026. Taking a look at the data today confirms it — close to 80% of the quota is still on hand, with only half a year left; progress is seriously behind schedule. How could they not be in a rush? Overall situation– 190 still has close to 10,000 places remaining, i.e. 77% unused– 491 has close to 6,000 places remaining — although the absolute number is smaller, the proportion left is higher, with almost 80% yet to actually be used– December actually used 1,278 of the 190 allocation and 369 of the 491, a combined total of 1,657 — which is on the low side; in busier periods a single state alone has hit this volume. Because of the holiday period, many states ran at less than full capacity for roughly half the month — NSW, for example, did not issue pre-invitations and instead put its head down processing those already invited, while some states only sent a small number of invitations at the very start of December. State-by-state situationCanberra (ACT): launched pre-invitations relatively early, running 2 rounds before the full quota had even been received. Combined with ACT’s consistently orderly processing, Canberra has overall used more than 30% of its quota, leaving 1,000+ places still available. NSW: this year’s strategy is to handle 190 first. 190 pre-invitations are being issued once a month — frequency has gone up while the number per round has come down slightly. NSW is very experienced in processing, with outcomes typically delivered within a month of invitation.491 is about to launch — Pathway 1 and Pathway 3 will open for applications next Monday, 19 January (if you want to discuss lodgement, please contact us straight away), and processing will begin immediately after opening. Processing time is expected to exceed the standard 6 weeks. This is the direct nomination-application pathway, and once the state government believes the quota may be filled, applications will be closed. Pre-invitation Pathway 2 is a lower priority than Pathways 1 and 3, with only a small quota set aside — it is expected to open no earlier than April, with likely just 1 round, at most 2. NT: also processing higher-priority onshore applicants first, so more of the 190 quota has been used, with roughly 71% remaining, while 491 still has 81% left. The 491 offshore priority-occupation pathway will, at the earliest, start processing in Q1, and possibly not until Q2. QLD: is the only state to have significantly increased its quota this year, but for now its stance on invitations and processing has not been very proactive. On top of that, QLD is running many small rounds this year, with only small-scale invitations in both December and January. Over 90% of 190 and 83% of 491 remain. QLD has said invitation volumes will increase from January — we hope to see QLD step up the pace from here. SA: as the last state to announce its policy and issue pre-invitations, SA has made up for lost time — one round per month, with the first round of 2026 pushed out early on 5 January, and the monthly cadence set to continue from here. TAS: the most consistent state so far this year — one round of invitations per week, with the second round of 2026 already issued this Thursday. For quota reasons, TAS is mostly issuing 190 this year — over 30% consumed — while only 103 places of 491 have been used. VIC: issued several rounds in the second half of 2025, and by the look of it yesterday’s round was the largest to date. VIC is a model among the big states — consistently steady issuance and quick processing. So far this year invitations have mostly gone to onshore applicants, and yesterday’s round also invited quite a few non-priority occupations. However, within-state competition in VIC is becoming increasingly fierce: it is now more common to see applicants with the same occupation, the same salary level and broadly similar profile who nonetheless do not receive an invitation. WA:it shouldn’t really be down to just 6–7% of the quota used — processing is still too slow. To date, 3 rounds have been issued: the first to construction tradespeople, the second releasing 1,800 pre-invitations to all priority occupations, and this week’s round of 1,000+ again only to construction tradespeople. Set aside which occupations were invited — even the volume alone shouldn’t have left usage this low. WA has to reserve more time each year for processing, so usage likely won’t catch up until after April. State governments received their full quotas unusually late this year, so extraordinarily the bulk of the work has piled up in the second half of the financial year — which is also why, coming out of the end-of-year holidays, state governments have returned to work earlier than usual. More invitations can be expected over the coming months, so anyone not yet in the pool should get in touch with us right away for an assessment and lodgement.
(Filmed in 2021)
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In the chat box, [search the item number] to view the articleItem No.: 01– Australia’s most popular skilled-migration programs: 189, 190 and 491 Item No.: 02– Employer-sponsored pathways that combine work and migration in one step: 482, 186 and 494 Item No.: 03– Study first, then migrate — recommended majors and courses Item No.: 04– Study pathways: high school / Gaokao / undergraduateItem No.: 05– A must for international students on the migration pathway: the 485 Temporary Graduate visa Item No.: 06– Plan straight after PR is granted: Parent migration and visasItem No.: 07– Master of Marriage: Partner migration Item No.: 08– Pivoting to Hong Kong (China): the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme and the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and ProfessionalsItem No.: 09– Essential for parents, relatives and friends visiting Australia: the Subclass 600 visaItem No.: 10– Weekly updates on visa grants, invitations and skills assessments: Success Stories
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