The Department of Home Affairs has finally updated the full state-nomination quota figures. We now know the complete state-by-state allocation, and most of the previously unannounced states came in as expected, while Queensland delivered a big surprise.

This year, the total state-nomination quota is only 20,350 places (in line with the earliest reports), comprising 12,850 for the Subclass 190 and 7,500 for the Subclass 491 — that is 3,650 fewer 190 places and 2,260 fewer 491 places than last financial year.

Broken down by state —

Only Queensland and the Northern Territory saw their total quotas increase. Queensland gained 1,250 additional 190 places and 150 additional 491 places, the Northern Territory picked up another 50 190 places, making these the only two states with quota increases.

Every other state saw cuts —

For the Subclass 190, SA was slashed the most with 1,650 places cut, followed by WA losing 1,000, NSW and TAS each losing 900, VIC losing 300, and Canberra losing 200.

For the Subclass 491, VIC was hit hardest with a cut of 1,300 places, followed by WA down 600, NSW down 500, and TAS down 110. QLD gained 150, SA gained 100, and NT held steady.

Queensland announced its state-nomination policy early and confirmed an ROI (Registration of Interest) system. With an extra 1,250 190 places, its combined 190 + 491 quota now reaches 2,600, so we expect to see larger and more frequent invitation rounds from Queensland. To date, Queensland has not issued any significant round of 190 invitations — only a handful of small-business 491 invitations — and has recently indicated that pre-invitations will be sent out shortly. For the full Queensland policy, see: Queensland: Applications open 19 September, small-business stream closes!

For further analysis of the state-nomination quotas, see

Today Victoria issued a small round of ROI invitations

The round was modest in size, still dominated by the “three treasures” (accounting, engineering and IT) and construction, with relatively more nursing and broader health-care occupations than before.

–This round — nursing: most scores this round fell between 70 and 85; we have not tallied every individual nursing specialisation, but while waiting for the Subclass 189, nursing applicants should definitely keep Victoria in mind.

– This round continues to prioritise onshore applicants with employment and the Subclass 190 — at time of writing we have only seen a handful of 491 invitations and a small number of offshore invitations.

– The most striking result — and the lowest score — this round was: Construction Project Manager invited at just 65 points, and more than one applicant at that score was invited. A non-trade occupation getting invited at 65 points — especially in a big, highly competitive state like Victoria — is quite rare.

–Victoria’s 190 quota was only trimmed by 300 places to 2,700, which counts as good news. The 491, however, was cut straight to 700 places — a 65% reduction — which will push even more applicants towards the 190 and make 190 competition markedly tougher. All Victoria applicants should actively try to secure employment in their nominated occupation.

State-by-state summary:

NSW: Two rounds of 190 have been issued; 491 has not opened for applications and no invitations have been sent.

Victoria: Two rounds of 190 and 491 have been issued; today was the second round, dominated by onshore 190s.

Canberra (ACT): One round of 190 and 491 has been issued, after which the occupation list was significantly revised.

SA: Has not yet published its policy or opened ROI submissions.

Tasmania: Both 190 and 491 have reached the stable weekly-invitation and rolling formal-nomination processing stage.

Queensland: The ROI channel opened for applications some time ago; the first round has not yet been issued, but the official site indicates it will be soon.

WA: A first round of 190 and 491 has been issued, focused on construction trades; the official site says another round will follow in November. WA has previously stated that formal-nomination processing will only begin once its formal quota is received.